The descendants of Merari

21 Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi.

• The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
• 22 Eleazar had no sons; he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.
• 23 The three sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

24 Those were the descendants of Levi, whose names were listed according to their families/clans. They were chosen for special jobs by ◄casting lots/throwing small marked stones►. Each person who was at least 20 years old was listed. They all worked in the temple of Yahweh. 25 David had said previously, “Yahweh, the God to whom we Israeli people belong, has enabled us to have peace, and he has come to live in Jerusalem forever. 26 Therefore, the descendants of Levi no longer need to carry the Sacred Tent and the items used in the work there.” 27 Obeying the final instructions of David before he died, instructions for doing this work at the temple, they counted only the descendants of Levi who were at least 20 years old.

28 The work of those descendants of Levi was to assist the descendants of Aaron in their work in the temple of Yahweh: To be in charge of the temple courtyards and the side rooms, the ceremonies for purifying all the sacred things, and to do other work at the temple. 29 They were also in charge of the sacred loaves of bread that were placed each week on the table in the temple, the flour for the grain offerings, the wafers that were made without yeast, and the measuring the ingredients and mixing them and baking that bread and those wafers. 30 They were also told to stand every morning at the temple and thank Yahweh and praise him. They were also required to do the same thing every evening. 31 And they were to do the same thing whenever offerings that were to be completely burned on the altar were presented/offered to Yahweh on Sabbath days and during the new moon celebrations and other religious festivals. They were told how many of them should be there and what they should do each time.

32 So the descendants of Levi did the work that was assigned to them by their fellow Israelis who were descendants of Aaron. They did that work in the area surrounding the Sacred Tent, and in the Sacred Tent, and later at the temple.