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1 Chronicles 23:24

These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of Yahweh’s house, from twenty years old and upward.
1 Chronicles 23:24 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.
  • BSB These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families, registered individually by name—those twenty years of age or older who worked in the service of the house of the LORD.
  • NKJV These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and above.
  • NASB These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, the heads of the fathers’ households of those among them who were counted, in the number of names by their head count, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.
  • NLT These were the descendants of Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to qualify for service in the house of the Lord.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

These were the Levites by their fathers' houses, the recorded heads who served in the LORD's house, counted from twenty years old and upward. A revised age for service is noted.

Overview

This summary verse identifies the listed men as household heads responsible for the work of God's house, now reckoned from age twenty rather than thirty. The lowered age reflects the changed circumstances David anticipated for the settled temple era. The detailed accounting underscores the importance of dedicated, identifiable servants for ongoing worship.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Num 10:21The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.
  • Num 10:17The tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward.
  • 1 Chr 23:3The Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.
  • Num 4:3from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
  • Ezra 3:8Now in the second year of their coming to God’s house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of Yahweh’s house.
  • Num 8:24“This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;
  • Num 3:47you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; after the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs ):
  • Num 2:32These are those who were counted of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. All who were counted of the camps according to their armies were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.
  • Num 1:22Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were counted of it, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
  • 1 Chr 23:27For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and upward.
  • Num 1:2–4“Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, every male, one by one;
  • Num 1:18They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, one by one.
  • Num 3:15“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”
  • Num 4:34–49Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers’ houses,
  • Num 3:20The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

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Christ at the center

The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.

How 1 Chronicles 23:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.