Exo 31:18, 32:26-29, 38:21, Num 3:1-10, 4:15, 25-33, 1Ch 23 | ESV | STEP | And he gave to Moses , when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai , the two tablets of the testimony , tablets of stone , written with the finger of God .

18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the ^atwo tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with ^bthe finger of God.

Exodus 32:26-29

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you ^ckill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ^dordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

Exodus 38:21

Materials for the Tabernacle

21 These are the records of the tabernacle, ^ethe tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites ^funder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Numbers 3:1-10

The Sons of Aaron

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: ^gNadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ^hthe anointed priests, ⁱwhom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 ^jBut Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 ^k“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ^las they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And ^myou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are ⁿwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and ^othey shall guard their priesthood. But if ^pany outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

Numbers 4:15

15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^qthe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ^rbut they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

Numbers 4:25-33

25 ^sthey shall carry ^tthe curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with ^uits covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be ^vunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. 30 ^wFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And ^xthis is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall ^ylist by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, ^zunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

1 Chronicles 23

David Organizes the Levites

1 ^aaWhen David was old and full of days, ^abhe made Solomon his son king over Israel.

2 David ^{▼▼Hebrew He} assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. 3 The Levites, ^adthirty years old and upward, were numbered, and ^aethe total was ^af38,000 men. 4 “Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said, ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks David said} ^ah“shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be ^aiofficers and judges, 5 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments ^ajthat I have made for praise.” 6 ^akAnd David organized them in divisions ^alcorresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 ^amThe sons of Gershon ^{▼▼Vulgate (compare Septuagint, Syriac); Hebrew to the Gershonite} were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan: ^aoJehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father’s house.

12 ^apThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 ^aqThe sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. ^arAaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should ^asmake offerings before the Lord and ^atminister to him and ^aupronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 But the sons of Moses the ^avman of God were named among the ^awtribe of Levi. 15 The ^axsons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: ^ayShebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The ^azsons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 ^baThe sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

21 ^bbThe sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and ^bcKish. 22 Eleazar died ^bdhaving no sons, but only daughters; their ^bekinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. 23 ^bfThe sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

24 ^bgThese were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of fathers’ houses ^bhas they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from ^bitwenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord. 25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, ^bjhas given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 And so the Levites no longer need ^bkto carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from ^bltwenty years old and upward. 28 For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. 29 Their duty was also to assist with the ^bmshowbread, the ^bnflour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the ^bobaked offering, the ^bpoffering mixed with oil, and all ^bqmeasures of quantity or size. 30 And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord ^bron Sabbaths, ^bsnew moons, and feast days, ^btaccording to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. 32 Thus ^buthey were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the ^bvservice of the house of the Lord.