Bible Verses About Levites: Degraded from the Levitical office by Jeroboam

The cohanim and L'vi'im from wherever they lived throughout all Isra'el made themselves available to Rechav'am.

The L'vi'im left their pasture lands and property and came to Y'hudah and Yerushalayim; since Yarov'am and his sons had thrown them out, not allowing them to function as cohanim for ADONAI,

and had appointed for himself cohanim for the high places and for the images of goat-demons and calves that he had made.

Those from all the tribes of Isra'el who had set their hearts on seeking ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, followed them to Yerushalayim to sacrifice to ADONAI, the God of their fathers.

For three years they strengthened the kingdom of Y'hudah and made Rechav'am the son of Shlomo strong, because for three years they followed the way of life of David and Shlomo.

Yes, you drove out the cohanim of ADONAI, the descendants of Aharon, and the L'vi'im; and you made yourselves priests as do the peoples in other countries, so that anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of those non-gods.

"But we are different. ADONAI is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have cohanim performing the service for ADONAI, descendants of Aharon. With the L'vi'im doing their work,

they burn to ADONAI every morning and evening burnt offerings and sweet incense; they arrange the showbread on the pure table, and they prepare the gold menorah with its lamps to burn every evening. For we observe the order of ADONAI our God. But you have abandoned him.