1 Chronicles 23

²⁸He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.

⁵And of all my sons—for the Lord has given me many sons—He has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

³³“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.

³⁴There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

¹Now King David was old and well along in years, and though they covered him with blankets, he could not keep warm.

²²That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord. Then, for a second time, they designated David’s son Solomon as king, anointing him before the Lord as ruler, and Zadok as the priest.

²³So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

³⁰I will carry out this very day exactly what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

¹Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.

¹Then David conferred with all his leaders, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds.

¹Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

²⁹Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰And he went up to the house of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites—all the people great and small—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord.

²he summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers. “I am old and well along in years,” he said,

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the Lord.

²“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,

³men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

⁸Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.

¹⁸You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

⁹Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them, and Judah son of Hassenuah was over the Second District of the city.

²⁰Now their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things.

²¹From the descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and heads of the families of Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli,

⁴⁸Their fellow Levites were assigned to every kind of service of the tabernacle, the house of God.

⁷For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

¹⁴In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.

⁵You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.

⁷Singers and pipers will proclaim, “All my springs of joy are in You.”

²⁵Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command had come from the Lord through His prophets.

²⁶The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

³¹These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark rested there.

³²They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.

⁷So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.

¹⁴In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.

¹The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁶The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

²⁵Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command had come from the Lord through His prophets.

¹⁸They also appointed the priests by their divisions and the Levites by their groups to the service of God in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.

⁵⁷Now these were the Levites numbered by their clans: The Gershonite clan from Gershon, the Kohathite clan from Kohath, and the Merarite clan from Merari.

⁵⁸These were the families of the Levites: The Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, and the Korahite clan. Now Kohath was the father of Amram,

²¹From the descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and heads of the families of Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli,

¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

⁷from the Gershomites, Joel the chief and 130 of his relatives;

¹⁷The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berechiah; from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

¹⁸and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.

²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play the harps according to Alamoth.

²¹And Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to Sheminith.

¹¹David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

⁷from the Gershomites, Joel the chief and 130 of his relatives;

³³These are the men who served, together with their sons. From the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

³⁴the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

⁵⁸These were the families of the Levites: The Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, and the Korahite clan. Now Kohath was the father of Amram,

²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁷From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.

²⁰And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

⁵And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.

²⁸And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.

⁶Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony—before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you.

⁷And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.

³Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

¹⁶And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

¹⁷Each man is to take his censer, place incense in it, and present it before the Lord—250 censers. You and Aaron are to present your censers as well.”

¹This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

²³From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites:

²⁴Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries.

¹A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.

³along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

⁴The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

²²And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”

²⁰So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

²⁴Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries.

²⁰Now these were the rest of the descendants of Levi: From the sons of Amram: Shubael; from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

²⁰the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons, and his brothers—12 in all;

²⁵His relatives through Eliezer included Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.

²⁶This Shelomith and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders.

²²From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

²³From the sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

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

⁹from the Hebronites, Eliel the chief and 80 of his relatives;

¹⁹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites according to their records.

³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

⁶Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²⁰Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,

²⁶The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

²⁷The descendants of Merari from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

²⁸From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

⁶This is what the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry within a clan of the tribe of their father.

⁷No inheritance in Israel may be transferred from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

³⁰And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites, according to their families.

¹⁷Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting it.

²¹Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.

³The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000.

³men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

²⁴“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

⁸In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the Lord.

¹¹and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.

¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:

¹⁴“This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.

¹⁸“Is not the Lord your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land has been subdued before the Lord and His people.

²¹Blessed be the Lord from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

³This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

¹After the king had settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

⁵Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

⁹But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.

¹⁵When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.

⁴⁹At the Lord’s command through Moses they were numbered, and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day.

²⁴These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the Lord.

¹These are the last words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel:

³The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000.

²⁰Thus conclude the prayers of David son of Jesse.

¹¹Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare storerooms in the house of the Lord, and they did so.

³To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the Lord, Josiah said: “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. It is not to be carried around on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel.

⁴Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and Solomon his son.

⁹Then I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored to them, along with the grain offerings and frankincense.

¹¹And they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests splattered the blood handed to them and the Levites skinned the animals.

¹²They set aside the burnt offerings to be given to the divisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And they did the same with the bulls.

⁴and I brought them into the house of the Lord, to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper.

¹⁸Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported, “We have cleansed the entire house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all its utensils.

¹⁹Moreover, we have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz in his unfaithfulness cast aside during his reign. They are now in front of the altar of the Lord.”

³⁵You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume.

³⁶You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

⁴Now if you bring an offering of grain baked in an oven, it must consist of fine flour, either unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers coated with oil.

⁵If your offering is a grain offering prepared on a griddle, it must be unleavened bread made of fine flour mixed with oil.

²⁰“This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

²¹It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded and present it as a grain offering broken in pieces, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

⁵You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,

⁶and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the Lord.

³⁰And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

¹⁸Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported, “We have cleansed the entire house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all its utensils.

¹A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,

²to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning and Your faithfulness at night

³³Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.

¹⁰When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as David king of Israel had prescribed.

¹¹And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For He is good; for His loving devotion to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord had been laid.

³⁹Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.

⁴⁰With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.

²Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—for the burnt offerings and peace offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for singing praises at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.

³And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

¹³Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.

¹⁴I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.

³⁹On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the Lord for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day.

²⁴“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts.

¹Then the Lord said to Moses,

²“Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My food offerings, as a pleasing aroma to Me.

¹For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

²Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.

¹Then the Lord said to Moses,

²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the Lord that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

⁵³But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.

⁷They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle.

³⁸Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.

²⁷They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they were responsible for guarding it and opening it every morning.

⁴and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up.