God

David said, "Shlomo my son is young and inexperienced, while the house to be built for ADONAI must be so magnificent and splendid that its fame and glory will be known in every country; so I will make preparations for him." Therefore David made extensive preparations before his death.

Then he summoned Shlomo his son and charged him to build a house for ADONAI, the God of Isra'el.

"My son,"said David to Shlomo, "my heart was set on building a house for the name of ADONAI my God.

But a message from ADONAI came to me, 'You have shed much blood and fought great wars. You are not to build a house for my name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth in my sight.

But you will have a son who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies that surround him; for his name is to be Shlomo, and during his reign I will give peace [Hebrew: shalom] and quiet to Isra'el.

It is he who will build a house for my name. He will be my son and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Isra'el forever.'

"Now, my son, may ADONAI be with you and give you success as you build the house of ADONAI your God, in keeping with what he said about you.

May ADONAI give you common sense and understanding, and may he give you his orders concerning Isra'el, so that you will observe the Torah of ADONAI your God.

Then you will succeed, if you take care to obey the laws and rulings that ADONAI ordered Moshe concerning Isra'el. Be strong, be bold; don't be afraid or become discouraged!

"Now look: despite my difficulties, I have prepared for the house of ADONAI 3,300 tons of gold, 33,000 tons of silver, and so much bronze and iron that it can't be weighed. I've also prepared timber and stone, and you can add to it.

the gold, silver, bronze and iron-they're beyond number. So get up, and get to work! And may ADONAI be with you."

"Isn't ADONAI your God with you? Hasn't he given you rest on every side? For he has put the inhabitants of the land under my power - the land has been subdued before ADONAI and his people.

Now set your heart and being on seeking ADONAI your God. Get up, and build the sanctuary for ADONAI, God. Then you can bring the ark for the covenant of ADONAI and the holy articles of God into the house that will be built for the name of ADONAI."

Of these, 24,000 were to oversee the work on the house of ADONAI, while 6,000 were officials and judges

4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 sang praise to ADONAI "with the instruments I made for the purpose of singing praise."

The sons of 'Amram: Aharon and Moshe. Aharon was set apart to be consecrated as especially holy, he and his sons forever; so that they might bring offerings before ADONAI, perform the service for him and bless in his name forever.

But as for Moshe the man of God, his sons are included with the tribe of Levi

These were the descendants of Levi, according to their clans, the heads of clans according to their listing in the register, who did the work for the service of the house of ADONAI, those twenty years old and over.

For David said, "ADONAI the God of Isra'el has given rest to his people, and he lives in Yerushalayim forever.

Their role was to assist the descendants of Aharon with the service of the house of ADONAI in the courtyards and rooms, and with purification of all the holy articles - in other words, with the work needed to minister in the house of God.

They were to stand every morning to sing thanks and praises to ADONAI, and likewise every evening.

They were to be present regularly before ADONAI whenever burnt offerings were offered to ADONAI on Shabbat, at Rosh-Hodesh, and at the other designated times, in the numbers required by the rules for sacrifices.

Finally, for the service in the house of ADONAI they were to perform their duties in relation to the tent of meeting, the Holy Place and their kinsmen the descendants of Aharon.

They were assigned [periods of service] by lot, the one group equally with the other, since both the descendants of El'azar and the descendants of Itamar had officers of the sanctuary and officers of God.

These are the divisions and the sequence in which they served in the house of ADONAI, in accordance with the rule they were given through Aharon their ancestor, as ADONAI the God of Isra'el had ordered him.