1 Chronicles 23 (A Chapter a Day)

The Levites

1 When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2 He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4
David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work
of the temple of the LORD and six thousand are to be officials and
judges. 5 Four thousand are
to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the
musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”

6 David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Gershonites

7 Belonging to the Gershonites:
Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan:
Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel—three in all.

9 The sons of Shimei:
Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran—three in all.
These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

10 And the sons of Shimei:
Jahath, Ziza, ^[a] Jeush and Beriah.
These were the sons of Shimei—four in all.

11
Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not
have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.

Kohathites

12 The sons of Kohath:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel—four in all.

13 The sons of Amram:
Aaron and Moses.

Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the
most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister
before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses:
Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The descendants of Gershom:
Shubael was the first.

17 The descendants of Eliezer:
Rehabiah was the first.
Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

18 The sons of Izhar:
Shelomith was the first.

19 The sons of Hebron:
Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

20 The sons of Uzziel:
Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

Merarites

21 The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli:
Eleazar and Kish.

22 Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

23 The sons of Mushi:
Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.

24
These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of
families as they were registered under their names and counted
individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served
in the temple of the LORD. 25
For David had said, “Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted
rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.” 27 According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

28
The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service
of the temple of the LORD : to be in charge of the courtyards, the side
rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of
other duties at the house of God. 29
They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the flour for
the grain offerings, the unleavened wafers, the baking and the mixing,
and all measurements of quantity and size. 30 They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening 31
and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on Sabbaths and
at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. They were to serve
before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way
prescribed for them.

32
And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the Tent of
Meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their brothers the descendants
of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the LORD.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Chronicles 23:10 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also verse 11 most Hebrew manuscripts Zina

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

1 Chronicles 22 (A Chapter a Day)

1 Then David said, “The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Preparations for the Temple

2
So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from
among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for
building the house of God. 3
He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the
gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4
He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the
Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

5
David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house
to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and
splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make
preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his
death.

6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. 8
But this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and
have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name,
because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9
But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will
give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be
Solomon, ^[a] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10
He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son,
and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his
kingdom over Israel forever.’

11 “Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12
May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in
command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.
13 Then you will have
success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the
LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid
or discouraged.

14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents ^[b] of gold, a million talents ^[c] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you.”

17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18
He said to them, “Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not
granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of
the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his
people. 19 Now devote your
heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the
sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the
covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the
temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.”

Footnotes:

1. 1 Chronicles 22:9 Solomon sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for peace .
2. 1 Chronicles 22:14 That is, about 3,750 tons (about 3,450 metric tons)
3. 1 Chronicles 22:14 That is, about 37,500 tons (about 34,500 metric tons)

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society