2 Paralipomenon 31
31
1And when these things had been duly celebrated, all Israel that were found in the cities of Juda went out. And they broke the idols, and cut down the groves, demolished the high places, and destroyed the altars, not only out of all Juda and Benjamin, but out of Ephraim also and Manasses, till they had utterly destroyed them. Then all the children of Israel returned to their possessions and cities.
2And Ezechias appointed companies of the priests, and the Levites, by their courses, every man in his own office; to wit, both of the priests, and of the Levites: for holocausts, and for peace-offerings: to minister, and to praise, and to sing in the gates of the camp of the Lord.
3And the king's part was, that of his proper substance the holocaust should be offered always morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and the new moons and the other solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses.
4He commanded also the people that dwelt in Jerusalem, to give to the priests, and the Levites their portion, that they might attend to the law of the Lord.
5Which, when it was noised abroad in the ears of the people, the children of Israel offered in abundance the first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey: and brought the tithe of all things which the ground bringeth forth.
6Moreover the children of Israel and Juda, that dwelt in the cities of Juda, brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they had vowed to the Lord their God: and carrying them all made many heaps.
7In the third month they began to lay the foundations of the heaps; and in the seventh month they finished them.
8And when Ezechias and his princes came in, they saw the heaps; and they blessed the Lord and the people of Israel.
9And Ezechias asked the priests and the Levites, why the heaps lay so.
10Azarias the chief priest of the race of Sadoc answered him, saying: Since the first-fruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have eaten, and have been filled, and abundance is left, because the Lord hath blessed his people: and of that which is left is this great store which thou seest.
11Then Ezechias commanded to prepare storehouses in the house of the Lord. And when they had done so,
12They brought in faithfully both the first-fruits, and the tithes, and all they had vowed. And the overseer of them was Chonenias the Levite; and Semei his brother was the second,
13And after him Jehiel, and Azarias, and Nahath, and Asael, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Jesmachias, and Mahath, and Banaias, overseers under the hand of Chonenias, and Semei his brother, by the commandment of Ezechias the king, and Azarias the high priest of the house of God, to whom all things appertained.
14But Core the son of Jemna the Levite, the porter of the east gate, was overseer of the things which were freely offered to the Lord, and of the first-fruits and the things dedicated for the Holy of Holies.
15And under his charge were Eden, and Benjamin, Jesue, and Semeias, and Amarias, and Sechenias, in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully portions to their brethren, both little and great:
16Besides the males from three years old and upward: to all that went into the temple of the Lord, and whatsoever there was need of in the ministry, and their offices according to their courses, day by day.
17To the priests by their families, and to the Levites from the twentieth year and upward, by their classes and companies.
18And to all the multitude, both to their wives, and to their children of both sexes, victuals were given faithfully out of the things that had been sanctified.
19Also of the sons of Aaron who were in the fields and in the suburbs of each city there were men appointed, to distribute portions to all the males, among the priests and the Levites.
20So Ezechias did all things which we have said in all Juda, and wrought that which was good; and right, and truth, before the Lord his God,
21In all the service of the ministry of the house of the Lord according to the law and the ceremonies, desiring to seek his God with all his heart. And he did it and prospered.
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2 Paralipomenon 31: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
2 Chronicles 31
31
1After the Passover celebration, they all took off for the cities of Judah and smashed the phallic stone monuments, chopped down the sacred Asherah groves, and demolished the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines and local god shops. They didn’t stop until they had been all through Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then they all went back home and resumed their everyday lives.
2Hezekiah organized the groups of priests and Levites for their respective tasks, handing out job descriptions for conducting the services of worship: making the various offerings, and making sure that thanks and praise took place wherever and whenever God was worshiped.
3He also designated his personal contribution for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings for the morning and evening worship, for Sabbaths, for New Moon festivals, and for the special worship days set down in The Revelation of God.
4In addition, he asked the people who lived in Jerusalem to be responsible for providing for the priests and Levites so they, without distraction or concern, could give themselves totally to The Revelation of God.
5-7As soon as Hezekiah’s orders had gone out, the Israelites responded generously: firstfruits of the grain harvest, new wine, oil, honey—everything they grew. They didn’t hold back, turning over a tithe of everything. They also brought in a tithe of their cattle, sheep, and anything else they owned that had been dedicated to God. Everything was sorted and piled in mounds. They started doing this in the third month and didn’t finish until the seventh month.
8-9When Hezekiah and his leaders came and saw the extent of the mounds of gifts, they praised God and commended God’s people Israel. Hezekiah then consulted the priests and Levites on how to handle the abundance of offerings.
10Azariah, chief priest of the family of Zadok, answered, “From the moment of this huge outpouring of gifts to The Temple of God, there has been plenty to eat for everyone with food left over. God has blessed his people—just look at the evidence!”
11-18Hezekiah then ordered storerooms to be prepared in The Temple of God. When they were ready, they brought in all the offerings of tithes and sacred gifts. They put Conaniah the Levite in charge with his brother Shimei as assistant. Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were project managers under the direction of Conaniah and Shimei, carrying out the orders of King Hezekiah and Azariah the chief priest of The Temple of God. Kore son of Imnah the Levite, security guard of the East Gate, was in charge of the Freewill-Offerings of God and responsible for distributing the offerings and sacred gifts. Faithful support out in the priestly cities was provided by Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah. They were even-handed in their distributions to their coworkers (all males thirty years and older) in each of their respective divisions as they entered The Temple of God each day to do their assigned work (their work was all organized by divisions). The divisions comprised officially registered priests by family and Levites twenty years and older by job description. The official family tree included everyone in the entire congregation—their small children, wives, sons, and daughters. The passionate dedication they showed in bringing themselves and their gifts to worship was total—no one was left out.
19The Aaronites, the priests who lived out on the pastures that belonged to the priest-cities, had reputable men on hand to distribute regular rations to every priest—everyone listed in the official family tree of the Levites.
20-21Hezekiah carried out this work and kept it up everywhere in Judah. He was the very best—good, right, and true before his God. Everything he took up, whether it had to do with worship in God’s Temple or the carrying out of God’s Law and Commandments, he did well in a spirit of prayerful worship. He was a great success.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.