3. He counted the Levites who were thirty years old and older. In all, there were thirty-eight thousand Levites.
4. David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand Levites will direct the work of the Temple of the Lord, six thousand Levites will be officers and judges,
5. four thousand Levites will be gatekeepers, and four thousand Levites will praise the Lord with musical instruments I made for giving praise.”
6. David separated the Levites into three groups that were led by Levi’s three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7. From the people of Gershon, there were Ladan and Shimei.
8. Ladan had three sons. His first son was Jehiel, and his other sons were Zetham and Joel.
9. Shimei’s sons were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These three sons were leaders of Ladan’s families.
10. Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.
11. Jahath was the first son, and Ziza was the second son. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many children, so they were counted as if they were one family.
12. Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13. Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were chosen to be special forever. They were chosen to prepare the holy things for the Lord’s service, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, and to serve him as priests. They were to give blessings in his name forever.
14. Moses was the man of God, and his sons were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.
15. Moses’ sons were Gershom and Eliezer.