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

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

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 be in charge of 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 separated the Levites into divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. 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,[1] 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. 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 Ishiah the second. 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.

Other Translations of 1 Chronicles 23:1-23

King James Version

231 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. 4 Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges: 5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. 6 And David divided them into courses courses: Heb. divisions among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, Laadan: or, Libni and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, Zina: or, Zizah and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house. 12 The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever. 14 Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel Shebuel: also called, Shubael was the chief. 17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. the chief: or, the first And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith Shelomith: also called, Shelomoth the chief. 19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second. 21 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren brethren: or, kinsmen the sons of Kish took them. 23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

English Standard Version

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

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

2 DavidHebrew He assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. 3 The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and the total was 38,000 men. 4 "Twenty-four thousand of these," David said,Hebrew lacks David said "shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be officers and judges 5 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments that I have made for praise." 6 And David organized them in divisions corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 The sons of GershonVulgate (compare Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew to the Gershonite were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father's house. 12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should make offerings before the Lord and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of Levi 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth 20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second. 21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish 22 Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters; their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. 23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

The Message

231 When David got to be an old man, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

2 At the same time he brought together all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites. 3 The Levites thirty years and older were counted; the total was 38,000. 4 David sorted them into work groups: "24,000 are in charge of administering worship in the sanctuary; 6,000 are officials and judges 5 4,000 are security guards; and 4,000 are to serve in the orchestra, praising God with instruments that I have provided for praise." 6 David then divided the Levites into groupings named after the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 The Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. 8 The three sons of Ladan: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel. 9 The three sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, all heads of the families of Ladan. 10 The four sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. 11 Jahath came first, followed by Ziza. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons so they were counted as one family with one task. 12 The four sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was especially ordained to work in the Holy of Holies, to burn incense before God, to serve God and bless his Name always. This was a permanent appointment for Aaron and his sons. 14 Moses and his sons were counted in the tribe of Levi 15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 Shubael was the first son of Gershom. 17 Rehabiah was the first and only son of Eliezer; but though Eliezer had no other sons, Rehabiah had many sons. 18 Shelomith was the first son of Izhar. 19 Hebron had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam 20 Uzziel had two sons: Micah and Isshiah. 21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish 22 Eleazar died without any sons, only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married the daughters. 23 Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

New King James Version

231 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were officers and judges 5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the Lord with musical instruments, "which I made," said David, "for giving praise." 6 Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel--three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran--three in all. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father's house. 12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel--four in all. 13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi 15 The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first. 19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth 20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second. 21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth--three in all.

New Living Translation

231 When David was an old man, he appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel.

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

2 David summoned all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and Levites. 3 All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000. 4 Then David said, "From all the Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of the Lord . Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges. 5 Another 4,000 will work as gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have made." 6 Then David divided the Levites into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of Levi-Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 The Gershonite family units were defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of Gershon. 8 Three of the descendants of Libni were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel. 9 These were the leaders of the family of Libni. Three of the descendants of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. 10 Four other descendants of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. 11 Jahath was the family leader, and Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons. 12 Four of the descendants of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the Lord 's presence, to serve the Lord, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 As for Moses, the man of God, his sons were included with the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel, the family leader. 17 Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants. 18 The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith, the family leader. 19 The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel (the third), and Jekameam (the fourth). 20 The descendants of Uzziel included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second). 21 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar died with no sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. 23 Three of the descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Chronicles 23:1-23

Commentary on 1 Chronicles 23:1-23

(Read 1 Chronicles 23:1-23)

David, having given charge concerning the building of the temple, settles the method of the temple service, and orders the officers of it. When those of the same family were employed together, it would engage them to love and assist one another.