Chronological Plan

¹When David was old and full of days, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.

²Then he gathered all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites.

³The Levites thirty years old or more were counted; the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand by headcount.

⁴“Of these,” David said, “twenty-four thousand are to be in charge of the work on the LORD’s temple, six thousand are to be officers and judges,

⁵four thousand are to be gatekeepers, and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the instruments that I have made for worship.”

⁶Then David divided them into divisions according to Levi’s sons: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

⁸Ladan’s sons: Jehiel was the first, then Zetham, and Joel — three.

⁹Shimei’s sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran — three. Those were the heads of the families of Ladan.

¹⁰Shimei’s sons: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah. Those were Shimei’s sons — four.

¹¹Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; however, Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became one family and received a single assignment.

¹²Kohath’s sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel — four.

¹³Amram’s sons: Aaron and Moses. Aaron, along with his descendants, was set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense in the presence of the LORD, to minister to him, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

¹⁴As for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

¹⁵Moses’s sons: Gershom and Eliezer.

¹⁶Gershom’s sons: Shebuel was first.

¹⁷Eliezer’s sons were Rehabiah, first; Eliezer did not have any other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very numerous.

¹⁸Izhar’s sons: Shelomith was first.

¹⁹Hebron’s sons: Jeriah was first, Amariah second, Jahaziel third, and Jekameam fourth.

²⁰Uzziel’s sons: Micah was first, and Isshiah second.

²¹Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi. Mahli’s sons: Eleazar and Kish.

²²Eleazar died having no sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

²³Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth — three.

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their ancestral families  — the family heads, according to their registration by name in the headcount — twenty years old or more, who worked in the service of the LORD’s temple.

²⁵For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to his people, and he has come to stay in Jerusalem forever.

²⁶Also, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the equipment for its service”  —

²⁷for according to the last words of David, the Levites twenty years old or more were to be counted —

²⁸“but their duty will be to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the LORD’s temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God’s temple —

²⁹as well as the rows of the Bread of the Presence, the fine flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baking, the mixing, and all measurements of volume and length.

³⁰They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening.

³¹Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed festivals, they are to offer them regularly in the LORD’s presence according to the number prescribed for them.

³²They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the LORD’s temple.”

¹The divisions of the descendants of Aaron were as follows: Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and they had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

³Together with Zadok from the descendants of Eleazar and Ahimelech from the descendants of Ithamar, David divided them according to the assigned duties of their service.

⁴Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of ancestral families were from Eleazar’s descendants, and eight heads of ancestral families were from Ithamar’s.

⁵They were assigned by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.

⁶The secretary, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king and the officers, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites. One ancestral family was taken for Eleazar, and then one for Ithamar.

⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,

⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,

¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,

¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,

¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,

¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,

¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,

¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,

¹⁷the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,

¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the LORD’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

²⁰As for the rest of Levi’s sons: from Amram’s sons: Shubael; from Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.

²¹From Rehabiah: from Rehabiah’s sons: Isshiah was the first.

²²From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from Shelomoth’s sons: Jahath.

²³Hebron’s sons: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁴From Uzziel’s sons: Micah; from Micah’s sons: Shamir.

²⁵Micah’s brother: Isshiah; from Isshiah’s sons: Zechariah.

²⁶Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi, and from his sons, Jaaziah his son.

²⁷Merari’s sons, by his son Jaaziah: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

²⁸From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

²⁹From Kish, from Kish’s sons: Jerahmeel.

³⁰Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. Those were the descendants of the Levites according to their ancestral families.

³¹They also cast lots the same way as their relatives the descendants of Aaron did in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites — the family heads and their younger brothers alike.

¹David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy accompanied by lyres, harps, and cymbals. This is the list of the men who performed their service:

²From Asaph’s sons: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under Asaph’s authority, who prophesied under the authority of the king.

³From Jeduthun: Jeduthun’s sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah — six — under the authority of their father Jeduthun, prophesying to the accompaniment of lyres, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.

⁴From Heman: Heman’s sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.

⁵All these sons of Heman, the king’s seer, were given by the promises of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the LORD’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority.

⁷They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the LORD.

⁸They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.

⁹The first lot for Asaph fell to Joseph, his sons, and his relatives — — 12 to Gedaliah the second: him, his relatives, and his sons — — 12

¹⁰the third to Zaccur, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹¹the fourth to Izri, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹²the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹³the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹⁴the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹⁵the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹⁶the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹⁷the tenth to Shimei, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹⁸the eleventh to Azarel, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

¹⁹the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁰the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²¹the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²²the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²³the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁴the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁵the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁶the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁷the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁸the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

²⁹the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

³⁰the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons, and his relatives — — 12

³¹and the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons, and his relatives — — 12.