1 Chronicles 26

1 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

This is a list of the groups of men who guarded the temple gates: From the descendants of Korah, there was Meshelemiah, the son of Kore, who was one of the sons of Asaph.

2 Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,

The oldest son of Meshelemiah was Zechariah. His other sons were Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel,

3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh.

Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

4 And Obed-edom also had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth,

[Another guard] was Obed-Edom. His oldest son was Shemaiah. His other sons were Jehozabad, Joah, Sacar, Nethanel,

5 Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth. For God had blessed Obed-edom.

Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai. It was because God had blessed him that he had many sons.

6 Also to his son Shemaiah were born sons who ruled over their families because they were strong, capable men.

Obed-Edom’s son Shemaiah also had sons. They were leaders in their father’s family because they were capable of doing many things well.

7 Shemaiah’s sons were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad; his brothers were Elihu and Semachiah, also capable men.

The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. Shemaiah’s relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also capable men.

8 All these were descendants of Obed-edom; they and their sons and brothers were capable men with strength to do the work—62 in all from Obed-edom.

All of those descendants of Obed-Edom and their sons and relatives were capable people and strong workers. Altogether there were 62 of them.

9 Meshelemiah also had sons and brothers who were capable men—18 in all.

Another guard was Meshelemiah. He and his sons and relatives were also capable people. There were 18 of them altogether.

10 Hosah the Merarite also had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him as the first),

Another guard was Hosah’s son Shimri, a descendant of Merari. Hosah appointed Shimri to be the leader, even though he was not Hosah’s oldest son.

11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and brothers of Hosah numbered 13 in all.

Hosah’s other sons were Hilkiah, Tabaliah, and Zechariah. Altogether there were 13 sons and relatives of Hosah.

12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, through their chief men, had duties for ministering in the house of the LORD, just as their brothers did.

Those men were leaders of the groups of men who guarded the gates of the temple. They worked at the temple like their relatives did.

13 They cast lots for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.

By casting lots, the leader of each family chose one gate for their group to guard. [All of them, including] young men and old men (OR, including leaders of large families and small families), cast lots.

14 The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him.

Shelemiah’s group was selected to guard the East Gate. The group of Shelemiah’s son Zechariah, who was a wise counselor, was selected to guard the North Gate.

15 The lot for the South Gate fell to Obed-edom, and the lot for the storehouses to his sons.

Then Obed-Edom’s group was selected to guard the South Gate, and his sons were selected to guard the [entrances to the temple] storerooms.

16 The lots for the West Gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the ascending highway fell to Shuppim and Hosah. There were guards stationed at every watch.

Then Shuppim’s group and Hosah’s group were selected to guard the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road [to the temple]. The work for the guards was divided evenly.

17 Each day there were six Levites on the east, four on the north, four on the south, and two pairs at the storehouse.

Each day there were six descendants of Levi who guarded the East Gate, four who guarded the North Gate, four who guarded the South Gate, and two at a time who guarded the entrances to the storerooms.

18 As for the court on the west, there were four at the highway and two at the court.

At the West gate there were two men who guarded the courtyard and four who guarded the road outside the courtyard.

19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari.

Those were the groups of men who were descendants of Korah and Merari who guarded the gates [of the temple].

20 Now their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things.

Other descendants of Levi were in charge of the chests that contained the money that was dedicated to Yahweh, money that the people brought to the temple.

21 From the descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and heads of the families of Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli,

[One of those men was] Ladan, a descendant of Gershon. He was the ancestor of several family groups. Jehiel was the leader of one of those family groups.

22 the sons of Jehieli, Zetham, and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

Others who had that work were Zetham and his [younger] brother Joel, who were the sons of Jehiel.

23 From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites:

Others who did that work were descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

24 Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries.

[From the descendants of Amram], Shubael, a descendant of Moses’s son Gershom, was the leader who was in charge of the money chests.

25 His relatives through Eliezer included Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.

[Others who did that work were] the descendants of [Gershom’s younger brother] Eliezer. Those men were Eliezer’s son Rehabiah, Rehabiah’s son Jeshaiah, Jeshaiah’s son Joram, Joram’s son Zicri, and Zicri’s son Shelomith.

26 This Shelomith and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and by the army commanders.

Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the valuable things that had been dedicated [to Yahweh] by King David, by the leaders of the family groups, by the army commanders of 1,000 soldiers and commanders of 100 soldiers, and by other army commanders.

27 They had dedicated some of the plunder from their battles to the repair of the house of the LORD.

Some of the things that those army officers had taken [from Israel’s enemies] in battles they dedicated for the repair of the temple of Yahweh.

28 Everything that had been dedicated by Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah, along with everything else that was dedicated, was under the care of Shelomith and his brothers.

And Shelomith and his relatives were also in charge of everything that had been dedicated [to Yahweh] by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, and by [David’s two army commanders] Ner and Joab.

29 From the Izrahites, Chenaniah and his sons had the outside duties as officers and judges over Israel.

From the descendants of Izhar, Kenaniah and his sons were given work outside [the temple area]. They were officials and judges in [various places] in Israel.

30 From the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 capable men, had charge of the affairs of Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the LORD and for the service of the king.

From the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and his relatives were responsible for the work done for Yahweh and for the king in all the area west of the Jordan [river]. There were 1,700 of them who were able to do their work well.

31 As for the Hebronites, Jerijah was the chief of the Hebronites, according to the genealogies of his ancestors. In the fortieth year of David’s reign the records were searched, and strong, capable men were found among the Hebronites at Jazer in Gilead.

It was written in the records of the descendants of Hebron that Jeriah was their leader. When David had been ruling for almost 40 years, they searched in those records, and they found [names of] capable men descended from Hebron who were at Jazer [city] in the Gilead [region].

32 Among Jerijah’s relatives there were 2,700 capable men who were heads of families. King David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God and to the affairs of the king.

Jeriah had 2,700 relatives who were able to do their work well, and who were leaders of their families. King David put them in charge of governing the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and [the eastern] half of the tribe of Manasseh, to be sure that all the people did what God and the king told them to do.