2 Chronicles 29
29
1 And so Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old. And he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, in accord with all that his father David had done.
3 In the first year and month of his reign, he opened the double doors of the house of the Lord, and he repaired them.
4 And he brought together the priests and Levites. And he gathered them in the wide eastern street.
5 And he said to them: "Listen to me, O Levites, and be sanctified. Cleanse the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and take away every uncleanness from the sanctuary.
6 Our fathers sinned and did evil in the sight of the Lord our God, abandoning him. They turned their faces away from the tabernacle of the Lord, and they presented their backs.
7 They closed up the doors which were in the portico, and they extinguished the lamps. And they did not burn incense, and they did not offer holocausts, in the sanctuary of the God of Israel.
8 And so the fury of the Lord was stirred up against Judah and Jerusalem, and he handed them over to turmoil, and to destruction, and to hissing, just as you discern with your own eyes.
9 Lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword. Our sons, and our daughters and wives have been led away as captives because of this wickedness.
10 Now therefore, it is pleasing to me that we should enter into a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel. And he will turn away the fury of his indignation from us.
11 My sons, do not choose to be negligent. The Lord has chosen you so that you would stand before him, and minister to him, and worship him, and burn incense to him."
12 Therefore, the Levites rose up, Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, from the sons of Kohath; then, from the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehallelel; and from the sons of Gershon, Joah, the son of Zimmah, and Eden, the son of Joah;
13 and truly, from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; also, from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 indeed also, from the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; then too, from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered together their brothers. And they were sanctified. And they entered in accord with the command of the king and the order of the Lord, so that they might expiate the house of God.
16 And the priests, entering the temple of the Lord so that they might sanctify it, took every uncleanness, which they had found inside, out to the vestibule of the house of the Lord; and the Levites took it away and transported it outside, to the torrent Kidron.
17 Now they began to cleanse on the first day of the first month. And on the eighth day of the same month, they entered the portico of the temple of the Lord. And then they expiated the temple over eight days. And on the sixteenth day of the same month, they finished what they had begun.
18 Also, they entered to king Hezekiah, and they said to him: "We have sanctified the entire house of the Lord, and the altar of holocaust, and its vessels, indeed also the table of the presence, with all its vessels,
19 and all the equipment of the temple, which king Ahaz, during his reign, had polluted after his transgression. And behold, these have all been set forth before the altar of the Lord."
20 And rising up at first light, king Hezekiah joined as one all the leaders of the city, and they ascended to the house of the Lord.
21 And together they offered seven bulls and seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats, for sin, for the kingdom, for the Sanctuary, for Judah. And he spoke to the priests, the sons of Aaron, so that they would offer these upon the altar of the Lord.
22 And so they slaughtered the bulls. And the priests took up the blood, and they poured it upon the altar. Then they also slaughtered the rams, and they poured their blood upon the altar. And they immolated the lambs, and they poured the blood upon the altar.
23 They brought the he-goats for sin before the king and the entire multitude. And they laid their hands upon them.
24 And the priests immolated them, and they sprinkled their blood before the altar, for the expiation of all Israel. For certainly the king had instructed that the holocaust and the sin offering should be made on behalf of all Israel.
25 Also, he situated the Levites in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, according to the disposition of king David, and of the seer Gad, and of the prophet Nathan. For indeed, this was the precept of the Lord, by the hand of his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood, holding the musical instruments of David, and the priests held the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah ordered that they should offer holocausts upon the altar. And when the holocausts were being offered, they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound the trumpets, and to play various musical instruments, which David, the king of Israel, had prepared.
28 Then the entire crowd was adoring, and the singers and those who were holding the trumpeters were exercising their office, until the holocaust was completed.
29 And when the oblation was finished, the king, and all who were with him, bowed down and adored.
30 And Hezekiah and the rulers instructed the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph, the seer. And they praised him with great joy, and kneeling down, they adored.
31 And now Hezekiah also added: "You have filled your hands for the Lord. Draw near, and offer victims and praises in the house of the Lord." Therefore, the entire multitude offered victims and praises and holocausts, with devout intention.
32 Now the number of the holocausts that the multitude offered was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs.
33 And they sanctified to the Lord six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 Truly, the priests were few; neither were they sufficient to remove the pelts from the holocausts. Therefore, the Levites, their brothers, also assisted them, until the work was completed, and the priests, who were of higher rank, were sanctified. For indeed, the Levites are sanctified with an easier ritual than the priests.
35 Thus, there were very numerous holocausts, with the fat of the peace offerings and the libations of the holocausts. And the service of the house of the Lord was completed.
36 And Hezekiah and all the people were joyful because the ministry of the Lord was accomplished. For certainly, it had pleased them to do this suddenly.
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2 Chronicles 29
29
Hezekiah Consecrates the Temple
1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. His mother was Abijah,#tn The parallel passage in 2 Kgs 18:2 has “Abi.” the daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done.#tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which David his father had done.”
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the square on the east side. 5 He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors!#tn Heb “fathers.” Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean! 6 For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of#tn Heb “in the eyes of.” the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned#tn Heb “turned their faces.” away from the Lord’s dwelling place and rejected him.#tn Heb “and turned the back.” 7 They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 8 The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn,#tn Heb “and he made them [an object] of dread and devastation and hissing.” as you can see with your own eyes. 9 Look, our fathers died violently#tn Heb “fell by the sword.” and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off#tn Heb “are in captivity.” because of this. 10 Now I intend#tn Heb “now it is with my heart.” to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger.#tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from us.” The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding statement of intention. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices.”#tn Heb “to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and sacrificers.”
12 The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders:#tn Heb “and the Levites arose.”
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;
13 from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel;
from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 from the descendants of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei;
from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word#tn Heb “words” (plural). of the Lord. 16 The priests then entered the Lord’s temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside.#tn Heb “in the temple of the Lord.” The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. 17 On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord’s temple.#tn Heb “porch of the Lord.” For eight more days they consecrated the Lord’s temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished. 18 They went to King Hezekiah and said: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, including the altar of burnt sacrifice and all its equipment, and the table for the Bread of the Presence and all its equipment. 19 We have prepared and consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed during his reign when he acted unfaithfully. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”
20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord’s temple. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah.#sn Perhaps these terms refer metonymically to the royal court, the priests and Levites, and the people, respectively. The king#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity. told the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer burnt sacrifices on the altar of the Lord. 22 They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; next they slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood on the altar. 23 Finally they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on them. 24 Then the priests slaughtered them. They offered their blood as a sin offering on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had decreed#tn Heb “said.” that the burnt sacrifice and sin offering were for all Israel.
25 King Hezekiah#tn Heb “he”; the referent (King Hezekiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the king’s prophet,#tn Or “seer.” and Nathan the prophet had ordered. (The Lord had actually given these orders through his prophets.) 26 The Levites had#tn Heb “stood with” (i.e., stood holding). David’s musical instruments and the priests had trumpets. 27 Hezekiah ordered the burnt sacrifice to be offered on the altar. As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel. 28 The entire assembly worshiped, as the singers sang and the trumpeters played. They continued until the burnt sacrifice was completed.
29 When the sacrifices were completed, the king and all who were with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise the Lord, using the psalms#tn Heb “with the words.” of David and Asaph the prophet.#tn Or “seer.” So they joyfully offered praise and bowed down and worshiped. 31 Hezekiah said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves#tn Heb “filled your hand.” to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings#tn Or “tokens of thanks.” to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so#tn Heb “and all who were willing of heart.” brought burnt sacrifices.
32 The assembly brought a total of 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs as burnt sacrifices to the Lord,#tn Heb “and the number of burnt sacrifices which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs; for a burnt sacrifice to the Lord were all these.” 33 and 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep#tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (ts’on) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but there is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other. were consecrated. 34 But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals,#tn Heb “the burnt sacrifices.” so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.)#tn Heb “for the Levites were more pure of heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.” 35 There was a large number of burnt sacrifices, as well as fat from the peace offerings and drink offerings that accompanied the burnt sacrifices. So the service of the Lord’s temple was reinstituted.#tn Or “established.” 36 Hezekiah and all the people were happy about what God had done#tn Heb “prepared.” for them,#tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun “they” has been used here for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy. for it had been done quickly.#tn Heb “for quickly was the matter.”
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