1 Chronicles 26:1-19
New Living Translation
Duties of the Gatekeepers
26 These are the divisions of the gatekeepers:
From the Korahites, there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Abiasaph.[a] 2 The sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah (the oldest), Jediael (the second), Zebadiah (the third), Jathniel (the fourth), 3 Elam (the fifth), Jehohanan (the sixth), and Eliehoenai (the seventh).
4 The sons of Obed-edom, also gatekeepers, were Shemaiah (the oldest), Jehozabad (the second), Joah (the third), Sacar (the fourth), Nethanel (the fifth), 5 Ammiel (the sixth), Issachar (the seventh), and Peullethai (the eighth). God had richly blessed Obed-edom.
6 Obed-edom’s son Shemaiah had sons with great ability who earned positions of great authority in the clan. 7 Their names were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. Their relatives, Elihu and Semakiah, were also very capable men.
8 All of these descendants of Obed-edom, including their sons and grandsons—sixty-two of them in all—were very capable men, well qualified for their work.
9 Meshelemiah’s eighteen sons and relatives were also very capable men.
10 Hosah, of the Merari clan, appointed Shimri as the leader among his sons, though he was not the oldest. 11 His other sons included Hilkiah (the second), Tebaliah (the third), and Zechariah (the fourth). Hosah’s sons and relatives, who served as gatekeepers, numbered thirteen in all.
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[b] 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.[c] 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.[d]
19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the clans of Korah and Merari.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 26:1 As in Greek version (see also Exod 6:24); Hebrew reads Asaph.
- 26:14 Hebrew Shelemiah, a variant spelling of Meshelemiah; compare 26:2.
- 26:16 Or the gate of Shalleketh on the upper road (also in 26:18). The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 26:18 Or the colonnade. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
1 Chronicles 26:1-19
Christian Standard Bible
The Levitical Gatekeepers
26 The following were the divisions of the gatekeepers:
From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.
2 Meshelemiah had sons:
Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second,
Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth,
3 Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth,
and Eliehoenai the seventh.
4 Obed-edom also had sons:
Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second,
Joah the third, Sachar the fourth,
Nethanel the fifth, 5 Ammiel the sixth,
Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth,
for God blessed him.
6 Also, to his son Shemaiah were born sons who ruled their ancestral families[a] because they were strong, capable men.
7 Shemaiah’s sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad; his relatives Elihu and Semachiah were also capable men. 8 All of these were among the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and relatives; they were capable men with strength for the work—sixty-two from Obed-edom.
9 Meshelemiah also had sons and relatives who were capable men—eighteen.
10 Hosah,(A) from the Merarites, also had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him as the first), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and relatives of Hosah were thirteen in all.
12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, under their leading men, had duties for ministering in the Lord’s temple, just as their relatives did. 13 They cast lots for each temple gate according to their ancestral families, young and old alike.(B)
14 The lot for the east gate fell to Shelemiah.[b] They also cast lots for his son Zechariah, an insightful counselor, and his lot came out for the north gate. 15 Obed-edom’s was the south gate, and his sons’ lot was for the storehouses; 16 it was the west gate and the gate of Shallecheth on the ascending highway for Shuppim and Hosah.
There were guards stationed at every watch. 17 There were six Levites each day[c] on the east, four each day on the north, four each day on the south, and two pair at the storehouses. 18 As for the court on the west, there were four at the highway and two at the court. 19 Those were the divisions of the gatekeepers from the descendants of the Korahites and Merarites.
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