歷代志上23:1-32

 

23:1 大衛年紀老邁，日子滿足，就立他兒子所羅門作以色列的王。
23:2 大衛招聚以色列的眾首領和祭司利未人。
23:3 利未人從三十歲以外的都被數點，他們男丁的數目共有三萬八千；
23:4 其中有二萬四千人管理耶和華殿的事，有六千人作官長和士師，
23:5 有四千人作守門的，又有四千人用大衛所做的樂器頌讚耶和華。
23:6 大衛將利未人革順、哥轄、米拉利的子孫分了班次。
23:7 革順的子孫有拉但和示每。
23:8 拉但的長子是耶歇，還有細坦和約珥，共三人。
23:9 示每的兒子是示羅密、哈薛、哈蘭三人。這是拉但族的族長。
23:10 示每的兒子是雅哈、細拿、耶烏施、比利亞共四人。
23:11 雅哈是長子，細撒是次子。但耶烏施和比利亞的子孫不多，所以算為一族。
23:12 哥轄的兒子是暗蘭、以斯哈、希伯倫、烏薛共四人。
23:13 暗蘭的兒子是亞倫、摩西。亞倫和他的子孫分出來，好分別至聖的物，在耶和華面前燒香、事奉他，奉他的名祝福，直到永遠。
23:14 至於神人摩西，他的子孫名字記在利未支派的冊上。
23:15 摩西的兒子是革舜和以利以謝。
23:16 革舜的長子是細布業；
23:17 以利以謝的兒子是利哈比雅。以利以謝沒有別的兒子，但利哈比雅的子孫甚多。
23:18 以斯哈的長子是示羅密。
23:19 希伯倫的長子是耶利雅，次子是亞瑪利亞，三子是雅哈悉，四子是耶加面。
23:20 烏薛的長子是米迦，次子是耶西雅。
23:21 米拉利的兒子是抹利、母示。抹利的兒子是以利亞撒、基士。
23:22 以利亞撒死了，沒有兒子，只有女兒，他們本族基士的兒子娶了她們為妻。
23:23 母示的兒子是末力、以得、耶利摩共三人。
23:24 以上利未子孫作族長的，照著男丁的數目，從二十歲以外，都辦耶和華殿的事務。
23:25 大衛說：「耶和華─以色列的上帝已經使他的百姓平安，他永遠住在耶路撒冷。
23:26 利未人不必再抬帳幕和其中所用的一切器皿了。」
23:27 照著大衛臨終所吩咐的，利未人從二十歲以外的都被數點。
23:28 他們的職任是服事亞倫的子孫，在耶和華的殿和院子，並屋中辦事，潔淨一切聖物，就是辦上帝殿的事務，
23:29 並管理陳設餅，素祭的細麵，或無酵薄餅，或用盤烤，或用油調和的物，又管理各樣的升斗尺度；
23:30 每日早晚，站立稱謝讚美耶和華，
23:31 又在安息日、月朔，並節期，按數照例，將燔祭常常獻給耶和華；
23:32 又看守會幕和聖所，並守耶和華吩咐他們弟兄亞倫子孫的，辦耶和華殿的事。

 

When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

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,^[a] 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.

¹⁷ The descendants of Eliezer:

Rehabiah was the first.

Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

¹⁸ The sons of Izhar:

Shelomith was the first.

¹⁹ The sons of Hebron:

Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

²⁰ The sons of Uzziel:

Micah the first and Ishiah the second.

²¹ The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli:

Eleazar and Kish.

²² Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

²³ The sons of Mushi:

Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth—three in all.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the Lord. ²⁵ For David had said, “Since the Lord, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, ²⁶ the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service.” ²⁷ According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

²⁸ The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the temple of the Lord: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. ²⁹ They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. ³⁰ They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening ³¹ and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the Lord regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

³² And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their relatives the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the Lord.

 

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    聖殿建立之後，耶和華上帝安定在耶路撒冷，不需要再像會幕時代一樣漂流不定，也就不再有抬物品的利未人，利未人的工作轉變為聖殿事務的管理。

 

    不同的時代，有些事情是需要調整的，但是最終的目的卻是永不改變。