NAS - 1 Chronicles Chapter 22 to 23

22 David Prepares for Temple Building

¹Then David said, "This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel."

²So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed; ⁴and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. ⁵David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it." So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Charged with the Task

⁶Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel. ⁷David said to Solomon, "My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. ⁸"But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, `You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. ⁹`Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ¹⁰ `He shall build a house for My name, and he shall 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 that you may be successful, and build the house of the LORD your God just as He has spoken concerning you. ¹²"Only the LORD give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. ¹³"Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the LORD commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴"Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the LORD 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. ¹⁵"Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. ¹⁶"Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may the LORD be with you."

¹⁷David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, ¹⁸"Is not the LORD your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and before His people. ¹⁹"Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the LORD."

23 Solomon Reigns

¹Now when David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. ²And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.

Offices of the Levites

³The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and their number by census of men was 38,000. ⁴Of these, 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of the LORD; and 6,000 were officers and judges, ⁵and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising the LORD with the instruments which David made for giving praise. ⁶David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershonites

⁷Of the Gershonites were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three. ⁹The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' households of Ladan. ¹⁰The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father's household, one class.

Kohathites

¹²The sons of Kohath were four: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. ¹³The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever. ¹⁴But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶The son of Gershom was Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸The son of Izhar was Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

Merarites

²¹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. ²³The sons of Mushi were three: Mahli, Eder and Jeremoth.

Duties Revised

²⁴These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers' households, even the heads of the fathers' households of those of them who were counted, in the number of names by their census, doing the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from twenty years old and upward. ²⁵For David said, "The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶"Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service." ²⁷For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. ²⁸For their office is to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹and with the showbread, and the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or what is baked in the pan or what is well-mixed, and all measures of volume and size. ³⁰They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening, ³¹and to offer all burnt offerings to the LORD, on the sabbaths, the new moons and the fixed festivals in the number set by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the LORD. ³²Thus they are to keep charge of the tent of meeting, and charge of the holy place, and charge of the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of the LORD.