¹⁷The following temple guards lived in Jerusalem: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸Down to that time members of their clans had been stationed at the eastern entrance to the King’s Gate.^z Formerly they had stood guard at the gates to the camps of the Levites.

¹⁹Shallum, the son of Kore and grandson of Ebiasaph, together with his fellow-members of the clan of Korah, was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Tent of the Lord’s presence, just as their ancestors had been when they were in charge of the Lord’s camp. ²⁰Phineas son of Eleazar—may the Lord be with him!—had supervised them at one time.

²¹Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was also a guard at the entrance to the Tent of the Lord’s presence.

²²In all, 212 men were chosen as guards for the entrances and gates. They were registered according to the villages where they lived. It was King David and the prophet Samuel who had put their ancestors in these responsible positions. ²³They and their descendants continued to guard the gates to the Temple. ²⁴There was a gate facing in each direction, north, south, east, and west, and each had a chief guard. ²⁵These guards were assisted by their relatives, who lived in the villages and who had to take turns at guard duty for seven days at a time. ²⁶The four chief guards were Levites and had the final responsibility. They were also responsible for the rooms in the Temple and for the supplies kept there. ²⁷They lived near the Temple, because it was their duty to guard it and to open the gates every morning.

The Other Levites

²⁸Other Levites were responsible for the utensils used in worship. They checked them out and checked them back in every time they were used. ²⁹Others were in charge of the other sacred equipment, and of the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices. ³⁰But the responsibility for mixing the spices belonged to the priests.

³¹A Levite named Mattithiah, eldest son of Shallum, of the clan of Korah, was responsible for preparing the baked offerings.^a ³²Members of the clan of Kohath were responsible for preparing the sacred bread^b for the Temple every Sabbath.

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Footnotes

zking’s gate: The east gate of the Temple, through which the king usually entered.
abaked offerings: Thin cakes of flour and olive oil which were baked and then presented as offerings to God (see Lev 2:4–6).
bsacred bread: Twelve loaves of bread which were placed on a table in the Temple each Sabbath as an offering to God (see Lev 24:5–9).