19. Shallum was Kore’s son. Kore was Ebiasaph’s son. Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. Shallum and his relatives from the family of Korah were gatekeepers. They were responsible for guarding the gates of the Temple. Their ancestors had also been responsible for guarding the entrance to the Temple.
20. In the past Phinehas was in charge of the gatekeepers. He was Eleazar’s son. The Lord was with Phinehas.
21. Zechariah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Temple. He was the son of Meshelemiah.
22. In all, 212 men were chosen to guard the gates. Their names were written in their family histories in their villages. David and Samuel the seer chose these men because they were dependable.
23. The gatekeepers and their descendants had the responsibility of guarding the gates of the Temple of the Lord. (The Temple took the place of the Holy Tent.)
24. There were gatekeepers on all four sides of the Temple: east, west, north and south.
25. The gatekeepers’ relatives who lived in the villages had to come and help them at certain times. Each time they came they helped the gatekeepers for seven days.
26. Because they were dependable, four gatekeepers were made the leaders of all the gatekeepers. They were Levites. They were responsible for the rooms and treasures in the Temple of God.
27. They stayed up all night guarding the Temple of God. And they opened it every morning.
28. Some of the gatekeepers were responsible for the tools and dishes used in the Temple services. They counted these tools and dishes when people took them out. And they counted them when people brought them back.
29. Other gatekeepers were chosen to take care of the things in the Holy Place. They also took care of the flour, wine, oil, incense and spices.
30. But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices.
31. There was a Levite named Mattithiah. Because he was dependable, he had the job of baking the bread used for the offerings. He was Shallum’s first son. Shallum was from the family of Korah.
32. Some of the gatekeepers had the job of preparing the special bread. This was the bread that was put on the table every Sabbath. These people were from the Kohath family.
33. Some of the Levites were musicians in the Temple. The leaders of these families stayed in the rooms of the Temple. They were on duty day and night. So they did not do other work in the Temple.
34. These are the leaders of the Levite families. Their names were listed in their family histories. They lived in Jerusalem.