1. When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.
2. King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites.
3. He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was 38,000.
4. The king assigned 24,000 to administer the work of the Temple, 6,000 to keep records and decide disputes,
5. 4,000 to do guard duty, and 4,000 to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.
6. David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7. Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei.
8. Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel,
9. who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.)
10-11. Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.
12. Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13. His eldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects for ever, to burn incense in the worship of the Lord, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name.
14. But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.)