¹⁸ Prior to this time, they were responsible for the King’s Gate on the east side. These men served as gatekeepers for the camps of the Levites.

46 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The east gateway of the inner courtyard will be closed during the six workdays each week, but it will be open on Sabbath days and the days of new moon celebrations. ² The prince will enter the entry room of the gateway from the outside. Then he will stand by the gatepost while the priest offers his burnt offering and peace offering. He will bow down in worship inside the gateway passage and then go back out the way he came. The gateway will not be closed until evening.

¹¹ They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

² And the Lord said to me, “This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut. ³ Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the Lord’s presence. But he may come and go only through the entry room of the gateway.”

¹² These divisions of the gatekeepers were named for their family leaders, and like the other Levites, they served at the house of the Lord. ¹³ They were assigned by families for guard duty at the various gates, without regard to age or training, for it was all decided by means of sacred lots.

¹⁴ The responsibility for the east gate went to Meshelemiah^[a] and his group. The north gate was assigned to his son Zechariah, a man of unusual wisdom. ¹⁵ The south gate went to Obed-edom, and his sons were put in charge of the storehouse. ¹⁶ Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate and the gateway leading up to the Temple.^[b] Guard duties were divided evenly. ¹⁷ Six Levites were assigned each day to the east gate, four to the north gate, four to the south gate, and two pairs at the storehouse. ¹⁸ Six were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the gateway leading up to the Temple, and two to the courtyard.^[c]

¹⁹ These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the clans of Korah and Merari.

¹⁹ Then the commanders, the Carite mercenaries, the palace guards, and all the people of the land escorted the king from the Temple of the Lord. They went through the gate of the guards and into the palace, and the king took his seat on the royal throne.

⁵ she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.