¹⁷Of the gatekeepers there were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸These gatekeepers from the tribe of Levi still stand next to the King’s Gate on the east side of the city. ¹⁹Shallum was Kore’s son. Kore was Ebiasaph’s son, and Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. Shallum and his relatives from the family of Korah were gatekeepers and were responsible for guarding the gates of the Temple. Their ancestors had also been responsible for guarding the entrance to the Temple of the Lord. ²⁰In the past Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, was in charge of the gatekeepers, and the Lord was with Phinehas. ²¹Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Temple.

²²In all, two hundred twelve men were chosen to guard the gates, and their names were written in their family histories in their villages. David and Samuel the seer chose these men because they were dependable. ²³The gatekeepers and their descendants had to guard the gates of the Temple of the Lord. (The Temple took the place of the Holy Tent.) ²⁴There were gatekeepers on all four sides of the Temple: east, west, north, and south. ²⁵The gatekeepers’ relatives who lived in the villages had to come and help them at times. Each time they came they helped the gatekeepers for seven days. ²⁶Because they were dependable, four gatekeepers were made the leaders of all the gatekeepers. They were Levites, and they were responsible for the rooms and treasures in the Temple of God. ²⁷They stayed up all night guarding the Temple of God, and they opened it every morning.

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