New International Version
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, 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.
Amplified Bible
2 David assembled all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.
3 The Levites thirty years old and upward numbered, man by man, 38,000
4 Of whom 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord and 6,000 were to be officers and judges.
5 And, said David, 4,000 shall be gatekeepers and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments which I made for praise.
6 And David organized them in sections according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan (Libni) and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel--three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran--three in all. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina (Zizah), Jeush, and Beriah. Of these four sons of Shimei
11 Jahath was chief and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons [not enough for a father's house or clan]; so they were counted together 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. Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy and to consecrate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever might burn incense before the Lord, minister to Him, and bless in His name [and the character which that name denotes] 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 son of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
King James Version
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 among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, 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, 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 was the chief.
Becoming a Christian
Would you like to experience forgiveness and new life from the God of the Bible, who calls every person to believe that he sent his son Jesus Christ to make this possible?
The Bible explains why everyone needs to receive forgiveness and is called to serve Jesus Christ. The consistency of the Bible story, which was authored by people living thousands of years apart from diverse cultures and even different languages, is often cited as evidence of divine inspiration. Wikipedia has a list of many Biblical prophesies which have come true.
The story of God's plan to restore his relationship with us can be summarised in eight famous Bible verses below.
- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
- All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
- God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
- Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
- If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
- Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
The truth in these verses is simple, yet to embrace it means letting go of all our personal hopes and dreams and embracing God's greater purpose for our lives instead, a purpose far above anything we could dream or imagine.
This is the most important decision you will ever make, because it affects not just the rest of your life here on earth, but what comes after as well. Don't put it off until too late. If you died tonight make the decision to spend eternity with your loving Father in Heaven.
If you're wondering what to do next as a new Christian, check out these helpful suggestions from Mary Fairchild on About.com: