Ang Gawain ng mga Levita
1Nang matandang-matanda na si David, ginawa niyang hari ng Israel ang anak niyang si Solomon. 2Ipinatipon niya ang lahat ng pinuno ng Israel, pati ang mga pari at mga Levita. 3Binilang ang mga Levita na nasa edad 30 pataas, at ang bilang nilaʼy 38,000. 4Sinabi ni David, “Ang 24,000 sa kanila ay mamamahala ng mga gawain sa templo ng Panginoon, ang 6,000 ay maglilingkod bilang mga opisyal at mga hukom, 5ang 4,000 ay maglilingkod bilang mga guwardya ng mga pintuan ng templo, at ang 4,000 ay magpupuri sa Panginoon sa pamamagitan ng mga instrumentong ipinagawa ko para sa gawaing ito.” 6Hinati ni David sa tatlong grupo ang mga Levita, ayon sa mga pamilya ng mga anak ni Levi na sina Gershon, Kohat at Merari.
Ang mga Angkan ni Gershon
7Ang mga anak ni Gershon ay sina Ladan23:7 Ladan: o, Libni. at Shimei. 8Tatlo ang anak ni Ladan: si Jehiel, ang pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya,23:8 pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya: o, panganay. si Zetam at si Joel. 9Sila ang mga pinuno ng mga pamilya ni Ladan.
Si Shimei ay may tatlo ring anak na lalaki na sina Shelomot, Haziel at Haran. 10-11Nagkaroon pa ng apat na anak na lalaki si Shimei: ang pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya ay si Jahat, ang pangalawa ay si Zina,23:10-11 Zina: o, Ziza. at sumunod sina Jeush at Beria. Kakaunti lang ang mga anak ni Jeush at Beria, kaya binilang sila na isang pamilya lang.
Ang mga Angkan ni Kohat
12Si Kohat ay may apat na anak na lalaki na sina Amram, Izar, Hebron at Uziel. 13Ang mga anak na lalaki ni Amram ay sina Aaron at Moises. Ibinukod si Aaron at ang kanyang mga angkan para sa pagtatalaga ng mga pinakabanal na bagay, sa pag-aalay ng mga handog sa Panginoon, sa paglilingkod sa kanya at sa pagbabasbas sa pamamagitan ng pangalan ng Panginoon. Ito ang magiging tungkulin nila magpakailanman. 14Ang mga anak na lalaki ni Moises na lingkod ng Dios ay kabilang sa mga Levita. 15Ang mga anak niyang lalaki ay sina Gershom at Eliezer. 16Ang isa sa mga anak na lalaki ni Gershom ay si Shebuel na pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya. 17Si Eliezer ay may kaisa-isang anak na lalaki, si Rehabia na pinakapinuno rin ng kanilang pamilya. Marami ang mga angkan ni Rehabia.
18Ang isa sa mga anak na lalaki ni Izar ay si Shelomit na pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya.
19Ang mga anak na lalaki ni Hebron ay sina Jeria na pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya, si Amaria ang ikalawa, si Jahaziel ang ikatlo, at si Jekameam ang ikaapat.
20Ang mga anak na lalaki ni Uziel ay sina Micas na pinakapinuno ng kanilang pamilya, at Ishia ang pangalawa.
Ang mga Angkan ni Merari
21Ang mga anak na lalaki ni Merari ay sina Mahli at Mushi. Ang mga anak na lalaki ni Mahli ay sina Eleazar at Kish. 22Namatay si Eleazar na walang anak na lalaki kundi puro babae. Silaʼy napangasawa ng kanilang mga pinsan na mga anak ni Kish.
23Si Mushi ay may tatlong anak na lalaki na sina Mahli, Eder at Jeremot.
24Sila ang lahi ni Levi ayon sa mga pinuno ng kanilang mga pamilya. Nakatala ang kani-kanilang mga pangalan. Ang bawat isa sa kanila ay dapat nasa edad na 20 pataas para makapaglingkod sa templo ng Panginoon. 25-26Sinabi ni David, “Binigyan tayo ng Panginoon, ang Dios ng Israel, ng kapayapaan at maninirahan siya sa Jerusalem magpakailanman. Hindi na kailangang dalhin ng mga Levita ang Tolda at ang mga kagamitan nito.”
27Ayon sa huling utos ni David, ang lahat ng Levita na nasa edad 20 pataas ay itinala para maglingkod. 28Ang tungkulin ng mga Levita ay ang pagtulong sa mga pari, na mga angkan ni Aaron sa paglilingkod sa templo ng Panginoon. Sila ang mangangalaga ng bakuran ng templo at ng mga kwarto sa gilid nito. Sila rin ang tutulong sa mga seremonya ng paglilinis at ng iba pang gawain sa templo ng Dios. 29Sila rin ang pinagkatiwalaan sa banal na tinapay na inilalagay sa mesa, sa harina para sa mga handog ng pagpaparangal sa Panginoon, sa tinapay na walang pampaalsa, at sa iba pang niluluto at minamasa. Sila rin ang pinagkatiwalaan sa pagtitimbang at sa pagtatakal ng lahat ng handog. 30Tungkulin din nila ang tumayo tuwing umaga at gabi sa templo para magpasalamat at magpuri sa Panginoon. 31Tutulong din sila sa pag-aalay ng mga handog na sinusunog sa Panginoon tuwing Araw ng Pamamahinga, tuwing Pista ng Pagsisimula ng Buwan,23:31 Pista ng Pagsisimula ng Buwan: Tingnan sa Talaan ng mga Salita sa likod. at sa iba pang mga pista. May mga sinusunod silang tuntunin kung ilang mga Levita ang gagawa ng gawaing ito at kung paano nila ito gagawin.
32Kaya ginawa ng mga Levita ang tungkulin nilang alagaan ang Toldang Tipanan at ang Banal na Lugar, at sa pagtulong sa mga kamag-anak nilang pari na mula sa angkan ni Aaron sa paglilingkod sa templo ng Panginoon.
The Family Line of Levi
1David had become very old. So he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2He gathered together all the leaders of Israel. He also gathered the priests and the Levites together. 3The Levites who were 30 years old or more were counted. The total number of men was 38,000. 4David said, “From them, 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the Lord’s temple. And 6,000 will be officials and judges. 5Another 4,000 will guard the gates. And 4,000 will praise the Lord with the instruments of music I’ve provided for that purpose.”
6David separated the Levites into groups. He did it according to the sons of Levi. The sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
The Family of Gershon
7Ladan and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon.
8The sons of Ladan were
Jehiel, Zetham and Joel. Jehiel was the oldest son. The total number of sons was three.
9The sons of Shimei were
Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran. The total number of sons was three.
They were the leaders of the families of Ladan.
10The sons of Shimei were
Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. The total number of the sons of Shimei was four.
11Jahath was the first son. Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons. So they were counted as one family. They had only one task.
The Family of Kohath
12The sons of Kohath were
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The total number of sons was four.
13The sons of Amram were
Aaron and Moses.
Aaron and his family line were set apart forever as the Lord’s priests. They had the duty of setting the most holy things apart to the Lord. They offered sacrifices to the Lord. They served him. They gave blessings in his name forever. 14The sons of Moses, the man of God, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15The sons of Moses were
Gershom and Eliezer.
16Shubael was the oldest son in the family line of Gershom.
17Rehabiah was the oldest son in the family line of Eliezer.
Eliezer didn’t have any other sons. But Rehabiah had a great many sons.
18Shelomith was the oldest son of Izhar.
19Jeriah was the first son of Hebron.
Amariah was his second son. Jahaziel was the third. Jekameam was the fourth.
20Micah was the first son of Uzziel. Ishiah was his second son.
The Family of Merari
21The sons of Merari were
Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli were
Eleazar and Kish.
22Eleazar died without having any sons. All he had was daughters. They married their cousins. The cousins were the sons of Kish.
23The sons of Mushi were
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. The total number of sons was three.
24Those were the family lines of Levi. They were recorded under the names of the family leaders. Each worker who was 20 years old or more was counted. They served in the Lord’s temple. 25David had said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He has given peace and rest to his people. He has come to Jerusalem to live there forever. 26So the Levites don’t need to carry the holy tent anymore. They don’t need to carry any of its objects anymore. Those were the things that were used to serve there.” 27The Levites who were 20 years old or more were counted. That was in keeping with David’s final directions.
28The Levites had the duty of helping the members of Aaron’s family line. They helped them serve in the Lord’s temple. They were in charge of the courtyards and the side rooms. They made all the sacred things pure and “clean.” They also had other duties at the house of God. 29They were in charge of setting the holy bread out on the table. They prepared the special flour for the grain offerings. They made the thin loaves without using any yeast. They did the baking and the mixing. They measured the amount and size of everything. 30They stood every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They did the same thing every evening. 31They also did it every time burnt offerings were brought to the Lord. Those offerings were brought every Sabbath day. They were also brought at every New Moon feast and during the appointed yearly feasts. The Levites served in front of the Lord at regular times. The proper number of Levites was always used when they served. They served in the way the law required.
32So the Levites carried out their duties for the tent of meeting and for the Holy Room. They worked under their relatives who were in the family line of Aaron. They helped them serve at the Lord’s temple.
