1   Thanne Dauid olde and ful of days ordeynede Salomon, his sone, king vpon Yrael. 2   And he gaderde alle the princis of Irael, and prestis, and Leuytis; 3   and the Leuytis ben noumbred fro twenty &yogh;eer and aboue, and there ben founde ey&yogh;t and thritty thousand of men. 4   Of thes ben chosen, delid in to the seruyse of the house of the Lord, foure and twenty thousand; of prouostes forsothe, and of domesmen, sixe thousand; 5   bot foure thousand porters, and as fele sawtrers, syngynge in orgnys, that Dauith maad to syngyn. 6   And Dauith departyde hem by whiles of the sonys of Leuy, that is, 7   Jersan, and Caath, and Merary, and Jersam, and Leadan, and Semei. 8   The sones of Leadan; prince Jehiel, and Ethan, and Joel, thre. 9   The sonys of Semei; Salomyth, and Osiel, and Aram, thre; thes the princes of the meynes of Leadan. 10   Bot the sonys of Semei; Leeth, and Sisa, and Jaus, and Baria, thes the sonys of Semei, foure. 11   Forsothe Leeth was the rather, and Sisa the secounde; bot Jaus and Baria hadden no mo sonys, and therfore in oon meyne and in oon hous thei ben countid. 12   The sonys of Caath; Amram, and Ysaar, Ebron, and Osiel, foure. 13   The sonis of Amram;

Aaron and Moyses; and Aaron is seuerd, that he mynystre in to the holy of halowis, he and the sonys of hym in to euermore, and that thei brennen encens to the Lord aftir his ri&yogh;t, and blessen to his name vnto with oute eend. 14   The sonis also of Moises, the man of God, ben noumbred in the lynage of Leuy. 15   The sonys of Moysi; Jersan, and Eliazar. 16   The sonys of Jersan; Sobuel the first. 17   There weren forsothe sonys of Eliasar, Roboia the first, and ther weren not of Eliasar other sonys; bot the sonis of Robie ben multiplied ful myche. 18   The sonys of Ysaar; Salomyth the first. 19   The sonis of Ebron; Jeriahu the first, Amarias the secounde, Jasiel the thrid, Jehemehan the firth. 20   The sonis of Osiel; Mycha the first, Josia the secound. 21   The sonis of Mereri; Mooli and Musi. The sonys of Mooly; Eliasar, and Cis. 22   Eliasar forsothe is deed, and hadde no sonis, bot dou&yogh;ters; and the sonis of Cis token hem, and the bretheren of hem. 23   The sonys of Musi; Mooli, and Heder, and Jeremyth, thre. 24   Thes the sonis of Leuy in kynredis, and in their meynese, princis be whilis, and noumbre of alle the heuedis, the whiche dyden the bysynesse of the seruyse of the hous of the Lord, fro twenty &yogh;eer and aboue. 25   Dauid forsothe seid, The Lord God of Yrael hath &yogh;euen rest to his puple, and a dwellynge in Jerusalem in to with outen eend; ne it schal ben of the office of Leuytis, 26    that eny more thei beren the tabernacle, and alle the vessels of it to mynystren. 27   And aftir the laste hestis of Dauith there schal ben countid a noumbre of the sonys of Leuy fro twenty &yogh;eer and aboue; 28   and thei schul ben vndir the hond of the sonys of Aaron, in to heriynge of the hous of the Lord, in vestiaries, and in chaumbres, and in place of purifyinge,

and in the seyntuarye, and in alle werkis of the seruyce of the temple of the Lord. 29   The prestis forsothe vpon the looues of proposicioun, and to the sacrifice of tryed floure, and to the thynne kakis, and to the therf looues, and to the fryinge panne, and the boylynge tryed floure, and to turnen, and vpon the wei&yogh;t and mesure. 30   The Leuytes forsothe, that thei stoden erly, to knowlechen and syngen to the Lord, and lijc maner at euen, 31   as wele in offrynge of brent sacrifices of the hous of the Lord, as in sabotis, and kalendis, and other solempnytese, aftir the noumbre and cerymonyes of eche thing besily before the Lord; 32   and kepe thei the obseruauncis of the tabernacle of the pese couenaunt, and the rijt of the seyntuarye, and the obseruauncis of the sonys of Aaron, their bretheren, that they mynystren in the hows of the Lord.

Previous section

Next section