These were the singers and the gatekeepers, family heads over the Levites. They stayed in the chambers when free of duty, for day and night they had to be ready for service.
My sons, do not be negligent any longer, for it is you whom the Lord has chosen to stand before him, to minister to him, to be his ministers and to offer incense.”
Stand in the sanctuary according to the branches of the ancestral houses of your kin, the common people, so that the distribution of the Levites and the families may be the same.
A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the Lord guard the city, in vain does the guard keep watch.
A song of ascents. Of David. Lord, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me.
You must remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, carrying out the prescriptions of the Lord, so that you do not die, for this is the command I have received.”
At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to him, and to bless in his name, as they have done to this day.