The most sacred Bible, whiche is the Holy Scripture conteyning the Old and New Testament / translated into English, and newly recognised with great diligence after most faythful exemplars, by Rychard Taverner.

¶ Dauid beinge olde ordeyneth Salomon kynge. He causeth the Leuites to be nombred, and assigneth them to their offyces.

CAP. XXIII.

ANd when Dauid was olde and stryken [ A] in yeres, he made Salomon his sonne kynge ouer Israel. And then he gathe∣red togither al the Lordes of Israel with the preastes and the Leuites. And the Leuites were nombred frome .xxx. yere and aboue, and the tale of theym in men polle by polle was .xxxviij. thousand. Of which .xxiiij. thousande were let to further the worke of the house of the Lorde. And sixe thousande were officers & iudges. Foure thousand were porters & foure thousand praysed the Lorde with suche instru¦mentes as Dauid had made to prayse with. And Dauid put an ordre amonge the children of Leui: Gerson, Cahath and Merari: Of y^e Gersonites was Laadan & Semei. The son∣nes of Laadan: the chief was Iehiel, & then [ B] Zethan and Ioel, thre. The sonnes of Semei Salomith, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the auncient heddes of Laadan. And the sonnes of Semei were also Iahath, Zinah, Iaus and Batiah: these foure were the son∣nes of Semei. And Iahath was the chief, Zi¦nah the seconde. But Iaus and Bariah hadde not many sonnes, and therfore they were rec∣kened for one auncient housholde.

The sonnes of Cahath: Amram, Isachar, Hebron and Vziel, foure. The sonnes of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was appointed to consecrate in the place most holy with his sonnes for euer: and to burne the of fringes before the Lorde, and to ministre, and to blesse in his name for euer. And the childrē of Moses the man of God, were named with y^e trybe of Leui. The sonnes of Moses: Ger∣son and Eliezer. And of the sonnes of Gerson: Sabael was the chiefe. The sonnes of Elie∣zer: Rohabiah the chiefe. And Eliezer hadde none other sonnes: But the sonnes of Roha∣biah were verye manye. And of the sonnes of Isachar: Salomi, the chiefe. The sonnes of Hebron: Ieriahu the first, Amariah the secōd [ C] Iahaziel the third and Ieemaam the fourth. The sonnes of Vziel: Micah the first and Ie∣siah the second. The sonnes of Merati: Ma∣hali: and Musi. The sonnes of Mahali: E∣leazar and Cis. And Eleazar dyed and had no sonnes, but doughters onely, and their bre∣thren the sonnes of Cis toke them. The son∣nes of Musi: Mahali, Eder, and Ierimuth, thre. These are the children or Leui in y^e hous¦holdes of their fathers the auncient heddes, vewed and nombred by name & polle by polle

frome .xx. yere and aboue, to worke in the ser¦uice of the house of the Lorde. For Dauid sayd the Lorde God of Israel hath gyuen rest vn∣to his people, and they shall dwell in Ierusa∣lem for euer.

Moreouer the Leuites shall now no more beare the tadernacle and all the vesselles that [ D] pertayned to the seruice therof. But at the last commaundement of Dauid, the Leuites were nombred frome .xx. yere and aboue, to wayte at the handes of the sonnes of Aaron in the seruice of the house of the Lorde, and to haue the ouersight of the courtes, and of the store houses, and of the puryfyenge of all ho¦ly thinges, and of the worke of the thynges that serued for the house of God, as the shew bred, the fyne floure, the meatoff••inges, the flawnes of swete bred, and of the thinges ba¦ken in the fryenge pan, or broyled on the gry dyron, and on all maner measures and cyse, & to wayte euery mornynge to thanke & prayse the Lorde, and lykewyse at euē. And to wayte on euery offerynge of burntsacrifices vnto the Lorde, the Sabbothes and firste dayes of the monethes, and other feastfull dayes by nom∣bre and custome, was their office euer before the Lorde. And that they shulde wayte on the tabernacle of wytnesse and on the holy place, and on the sonnes of Aaron their brethren, in the seruice of the house of the Lorde.

Notes

• iii. Reg .i. ••
• Exo .vi .c. an•• i. Parali .vi. a