2 Chronicles 29
29
King Hezekiah
1-2Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old and was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. In God’s opinion he was a good king; he kept to the standards of his ancestor David.
3-9In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah, having first repaired the doors of The Temple of God, threw them open to the public. He assembled the priests and Levites in the court on the east side and said, “Levites, listen! Consecrate yourselves and consecrate The Temple of God—give this much-defiled place a good housecleaning. Our ancestors went wrong and lived badly before God—they discarded him, turned away from this house where we meet with God, and walked off. They boarded up the doors, turned out the lights, and canceled all the acts of worship of the God of Israel in the holy Temple. And because of that, God’s anger flared up and he turned those people into a public exhibit of disaster, a moral history lesson—look and read! This is why our ancestors were killed, and this is why our wives and sons and daughters were taken prisoner and made slaves.
10-11“I have decided to make a covenant with the God of Israel and turn history around so that God will no longer be angry with us. Children, don’t drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take your place before him to serve in conducting and leading worship—this is your life work; make sure you do it and do it well.”
12-17The Levites stood at attention: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites; Shimri and Jeiel sons of Elizaphan; Zechariah and Mattaniah sons of Asaph; Jehiel and Shimei of the family of Heman; Shemaiah and Uzziel of the family of Jeduthun. They presented themselves and their brothers, consecrated themselves, and set to work cleaning up The Temple of God as the king had directed—as God directed! The priests started from the inside and worked out; they emptied the place of the accumulation of defiling junk—pagan rubbish that had no business in that holy place—and the Levites hauled it off to the Kidron Valley. They began the Temple cleaning on the first day of the first month and by the eighth day they had worked their way out to the porch—eight days it took them to clean and consecrate The Temple itself, and in eight more days they had finished with the entire Temple complex.
18-19Then they reported to Hezekiah the king, “We have cleaned up the entire Temple of God, including the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Table of the Bread of the Presence with their furnishings. We have also cleaned up and consecrated all the vessels which King Ahaz had gotten rid of during his misrule. Take a look; we have repaired them. They’re all there in front of the Altar of God.”
20-24Then Hezekiah the king went to work: He got all the leaders of the city together and marched to The Temple of God. They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats to sacrifice as an Absolution-Offering for the royal family, for the Sanctuary, and for Judah as a whole; he directed the Aaronite priests to sacrifice them on the Altar of God. The priests butchered the bulls and then took the blood and sprinkled it on the Altar, and then the same with the rams and lambs. Finally they brought the goats up; the king and congregation laid their hands upon them. The priests butchered them and made an Absolution-Offering with their blood at the Altar to atone for the sin of all Israel—the king had ordered that the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Absolution-Offering be for all Israel.
25-26The king ordered the Levites to take their places in The Temple of God with their musical instruments—cymbals, harps, zithers—following the original instructions of David, Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet; this was God’s command conveyed by his prophets. The Levites formed the orchestra of David, while the priests took up the trumpets.
27-30Then Hezekiah gave the signal to begin: The Whole-Burnt-Offering was offered on the Altar; at the same time the sacred choir began singing, backed up by the trumpets and the David orchestra while the entire congregation worshiped. The singers sang and the trumpeters played all during the sacrifice of the Whole-Burnt-Offering. When the offering of the sacrifice was completed, the king and everyone there knelt to the ground and worshiped. Then Hezekiah the king and the leaders told the Levites to finish things off with anthems of praise to God using lyrics by David and Asaph the seer. They sang their praises with joy and reverence, kneeling in worship.
31-35Hezekiah then made this response: “The dedication is complete—you’re consecrated to God. Now you’re ready: Come forward and bring your sacrifices and Thank-Offerings to The Temple of God.”
And come they did. Everyone in the congregation brought sacrifices and Thank-Offerings and some, overflowing with generosity, even brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings, a generosity expressed in seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs—all for Whole-Burnt-Offerings for God! The total number of animals consecrated for sacrifice that day amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. They ran out of priests qualified to slaughter all the Whole-Burnt-Offerings so their brother Levites stepped in and helped out while other priests consecrated themselves for the work. It turned out that the Levites had been more responsible in making sure they were properly consecrated than the priests had been. Besides the overflow of Whole-Burnt-Offerings there were also choice pieces for the Peace-Offerings and lavish libations that went with the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The worship in The Temple of God was on a firm footing again!
36Hezekiah and the congregation celebrated: God had established a firm foundation for the lives of the people—and so quickly!
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2 Chronicles 29: MSG
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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.
Divrey Hayamim Bais 29
29
1Chizkiyahu (Yechizkiyahu) began to reign when he was 25 years old, and he reigned 29 years in Yerushalayim. And the shem immo was Aviyah bat Zecharyahu.
2And he did that which was yashar in the eyes of Hashem, according to all that Dovid Aviv had done.
3He in the first year of his reign, in the chodesh harishon, opened the daletot Beis Hashem, and repaired them.
4And he brought in the Kohanim and the Levi'im, and gathered them together into the rechov hamizrach (eastern plaza),
5And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levi'im, set yourselves apart as kodesh now and consecrate the Beis Hashem Elohei Avoteichem, and remove the niddah (contamination) from HaKodesh.
6For Avoteinu have been unfaithful, and have done that which is rah in the eyes of Hashem Eloheinu, have forsaken Him, have turned away their faces from the Mishkan Hashem, and to it they have turned their backs.
7Also they have shut the daletot of the Ulam, and put out the nerot, and have not burned ketoret nor offered olah in HaKodesh unto Elohei Yisroel.
8Therefore the wrath of Hashem was upon Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and he hath caused them to be a horror and an object of scorn and hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9For, hinei, Avoteinu have fallen by the cherev, our banim, our banot, our nashim are in captivity for this.
10Now it is in mine lev to make a Brit with Hashem Elohei Yisroel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11My banim, be not now negligent, for Hashem hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that ye should minister unto Him, and burn ketoret.
12Then the Levi'im arose: Machat ben Amasai, and Yoel ben Azaryahu, of the Bnei HaKehati; and of the Bnei Merari, Kish ben Avdi, Azaryahu ben Yehallelel; and, of the Gershoni, Yoach ben Zimmah, and Eden ben Yoach;
13And of the Bnei Elitzaphan, Shimri, and Ye'iel; and of the Bnei Asaph; Zecharyahu, and Matanyahu;
14And of the Bnei Heman, Yechiel, and Shime'i; and of the Bnei Yedutun, Shema'yah, and Uzziel.
15And they gathered their achim, and set themselves apart as kodesh, and went in, according to the mitzvat HaMelech, by the words of Hashem, to make tahor the Beis Hashem.
16And the Kohanim went into the penimah (inner part) Beis Hashem, to make it tahor, and brought out all tumah that they found in the Heikhal Hashem into the khatzer (courtyard) of the Beis Hashem. And the Levi'im took it, to carry it outside into the Wadi Kidron.
17Now they began on the first day of the chodesh harishon to set apart as kodesh, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the Ulam Hashem; so they set apart as kodesh the Beis Hashem in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
18Then they went penimah to Chizkiyahu HaMelech, and said, We have made tahor all the Beis Hashem, and the Mizbe'ach HaOlah, with all the vessels thereof, and the Shulchan HaMa'arechet (Table of the Stacks of Showbread), with all the vessels thereof.
19Moreover all the kelim (vessels), which HaMelech Achaz in his reign did remove in his unfaithfulness, have we prepared and set apart as kodesh, and, hinei, they are before the Mizbe'ach Hashem.
20Then Chizkiyahu (Yechizkiyahu) HaMelech got up, and gathered the sarim of HaIr, and went up to the Beis Hashem.
21And they brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven male goats, for a chattat (sin offering) for the Mamlachah (Kingdom), and for the Mikdash, and for Yehudah. And he commanded the Bnei Aharon HaKohanim to offer them on the Mizbe'ach Hashem.
22So they slaughtered the bulls, and the kohanim received the dahm, and sprinkled it on the Mizbe'ach; likewise, when they had slaughtered the rams, they sprinkled the dahm upon the Mizbe'ach; they slaughtered also the lambs, and they sprinkled the dahm upon the Mizbe'ach.
23And they brought forth the male goats for the chattat before HaMelech and HaKahal; and they laid their hands upon them,
24And the Kohanim slaughtered them, and they made a sin offering with their dahm upon the Mizbe'ach, to make kapporah for kol Yisroel; for HaMelech commanded that the olah (burnt offering) and the (chattat) should be made for kol Yisroel.
25And he stationed the Levi'im in the Beis Hashem with cymbals, with nevalim, and with kinnorot, according to the mitzvat Dovid, and of Gad the Chozeh HaMelech and Natan HaNavi; for so was the commandment of Hashem by His Nevi'im.
26And the Levi'im stood with the instruments of Dovid, and the Kohanim with the trumpets.
27And Chizkiyahu commanded to offer the olah (burnt offering) upon the Mizbe'ach. And when the olah (burnt offering) began, the Shir Hashem began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by Dovid Melech Yisroel.
28And Kol HaKahal worshiped, and the Shir was being sung, and sounded, and all this continued until the olah was completed.
29And when it had made an end of being offered up, HaMelech and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshiped.
30Moreover Chizkiyahu (Yechizkiyahu) HaMelech and the sarim commanded the Levi'im to praise Hashem with the words of Dovid, and of Asaph the Chozeh (seer). And they sang praises with simchah, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
31Then Chizkiyahu (Yechizkiyahu) answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto Hashem, come near and bring zevakhim and todot into the Beis Hashem. And the Kahal brought in zevakhim and todot; and, as many as were of a willing heart, olot (burnt offerings).
32And the number of the olah, which the Kahal brought, was threescore and ten bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for an olah (burnt offering) to Hashem.
33And the kadashim were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep.
34But the Kohanim were too few, so that they could not skin all the olot; therefore their achim the Levi'im did help them, until the work was completed, and until the other Kohanim had set them apart as kodesh for the Levi'im were more yashar in lev to set themselves apart as kodesh than the Kohanim.
35And also the olah were in abundance, with the fat of the shelamim, and the nesakhim for every olah. So the Avodas Beis Hashem was set in order.
36And Chizkiyahu (Yechizkiyahu) rejoiced, and kol HaAm, that HaElohim had prepared the people, for the matter was done suddenly.
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