2 Chronicles 29
29
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple
1Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.
3In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. 4He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 11My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.”
12Then these Levites set to work:
from the Kohathites,
Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites,
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the Gershonites,
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
13from the descendants of Elizaphan,
Shimri and Jeiel;
from the descendants of Asaph,
Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14from the descendants of Heman,
Jehiel and Shimei;
from the descendants of Jeduthun,
Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the Lord, as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord. 16The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord. The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley. 17They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord. For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. 19We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
20Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord. 21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering#29:21 Or purification offering; also in verses 23 and 24 for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord. 22So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and splashed their blood against the altar. 23The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 24The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
25He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets. 26So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.
27Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. 28The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.
29When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. 30King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.
31Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
32The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs—all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord. 33The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. 34The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. 35There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings.
So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. 36Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.
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Diḇre haYamim Bĕt (2 Chronicles) 29
29
1Ḥizqiyahu began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. And his mother’s name was Aḇiyah the daughter of Zeḵaryahu.
2And he did what was right in the eyes of יהוה, according to all that his father Dawiḏ did.
3In the first year of his reign, in the first new moon, he opened the doors of the House of יהוה and repaired them,
4and brought in the priests and the Lĕwites, and gathered them in the open place to the east.
5And he said to them, “Listen to me, O Lĕwites! Now set yourselves apart, set apart the House of יהוה Elohim of your fathers, and remove the uncleanness from the set-apart place.
6“For our fathers have trespassed and have done evil in the eyes of יהוה our Elohim, and have forsaken Him, and have turned their faces away from the Dwelling Place of יהוה, and have given their backs.
7“And they have shut the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and they have not burned incense or offered ascending offerings in the set-apart place to the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl.
8“Therefore the wrath of יהוה fell upon Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim, and He has given them up for a trembling, for an astonishment, and for a hissing, as you see with your eyes.
9“And see, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword. And our sons, and our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for this.
10“Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, so that the heat of His wrath turns away from us.
11“My sons, do not be slack, for יהוה has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be attendants for Him and burn incense.”
12And the Lĕwites rose up: Maḥath son of Amasai and Yo’ĕl son of Azaryahu, of the sons of the Qehathites; and of the sons of Merari, Qish son of Aḇdi and Azaryahu son of Yehallel’ĕl; and of the Gĕreshonites, Yo’aḥ son of Zimmah and Ěḏen son of Yo’aḥ;
13and of the sons of Elitsaphan, Shimri and Ye‛i’ĕl; and of the sons of Asaph, Zeḵaryahu and Mattanyahu;
14and of the sons of Hĕman, Yeḥi’ĕl and Shim‛i; and of the sons of Yeḏuthun, Shemayah and Uzzi’ĕl.
15And they gathered their brothers, and set themselves apart, and went according to the command of the sovereign, at the words of יהוה, to cleanse the House of יהוה.
16And the priests came into the inner part of the House of יהוה to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness they found in the Hĕḵal of יהוה to the courtyard of the House of יהוה. Then the Lĕwites received it to take it outside to the wadi Qiḏron.
17And they began to set apart on the first day of the first new moon, and on the eighth day of the new moon they came to the porch of יהוה. And they set apart the House of יהוה in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first new moon they had finished.
18Then they came in to Sovereign Ḥizqiyahu and said, “We have cleansed all the House of יהוה, and the slaughter-place of ascending offerings with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all its utensils.
19“And all the utensils which Sovereign Aḥaz in his reign had pushed aside, when he trespassed, we have prepared and set apart. And see, they are before the slaughter-place of יהוה.”
20And Sovereign Ḥizqiyahu rose up early, and gathered the heads of the city, and went up to the House of יהוה.
21And they brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the reign, for the set-apart place, and for Yehuḏah. And he said to the priests, the sons of Aharon, to offer them on the slaughter-place of יהוה.
22So they slew the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the slaughter-place. And they slew the rams and sprinkled the blood on the slaughter-place. And they slew the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the slaughter-place.
23And they brought out the male goats of the sin offering before the sovereign and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them,
24and the priests slew them, and with their blood made a sin offering on the slaughter-place, to make an atonement for all Yisra’ĕl, for the sovereign said that the ascending offering and the sin offering is for all Yisra’ĕl.
25And he appointed the Lĕwites in the House of יהוה with cymbals, with harps, and with lyres, according to the command of Dawiḏ, and of Gaḏ, seer of the sovereign, and of Nathan the prophet, for the command was by the hand of יהוה, by the hand of His prophets.
26And the Lĕwites stood with the instruments of Dawiḏ, and the priests with the trumpets.
27And Ḥizqiyahu gave the order to offer the ascending offering on the slaughter-place. And when the ascending offering began, the singing unto יהוה began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of Dawiḏ sovereign of Yisra’ĕl.
28And all the assembly were bowing, and the singers singing, and the trumpeters blowing – all this until the ascending offering was completed.
29And at the completion of the offering, the sovereign and all who were present with him bowed and worshipped.
30And Sovereign Ḥizqiyahu and the rulers ordered the Lĕwites to sing praise to יהוה with the words of Dawiḏ and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
31And Ḥizqiyahu responded and said, “Now that you have ordained yourselves to יהוה, come near, and bring slaughterings and thank offerings into the House of יהוה.” And the assembly brought in slaughterings and thank offerings, and all those whose hearts were so moved brought ascending offerings.
32And the number of the ascending offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs – all these for an ascending offering to יהוה.
33And the set-apart gifts were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep.
34Only, the priests were too few, and were unable to skin all the ascending offerings, so their brothers the Lĕwites helped them until the work was completed and until the other priests had set themselves apart, for the Lĕwites were more upright of heart to set themselves apart, than the priests.
35And there were also many ascending offerings, with the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for every ascending offering. Thus the service of the House of יהוה was re-established.
36And Ḥizqiyahu and all the people rejoiced that Elohim had prepared the people, because the matter came about so suddenly.
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