20. In the past Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, was in charge of the gatekeepers, and the Lord was with Phinehas.
21. Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Temple.
22. In 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.
23. The gatekeepers and their descendants had to guard 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 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, and 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 utensils used in the Temple services. They counted these utensils when people took them out and when they brought them back.
29. Other gatekeepers were chosen to take care of the furniture and utensils 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 who was dependable and had the job of baking the bread used for the offerings. He was the first son of Shallum, who was from the family of Korah.
32. Some of the gatekeepers from the Kohath family had the job of preparing the special bread that was put on the table every Sabbath day.