1 When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.
2 King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites.
3 He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was thirty-eight thousand.
4 The king assigned twenty-four thousand to administer the work of the Temple, six thousand to keep records and decide disputes,
5 four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.
6 David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei.