1Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah[1] the daughter of Zechariah. (2Ki 18:1; 2Ch 26:5)2And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
3In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. (2Ch 28:24; 2Ch 29:7)4He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east5and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth[2] from the Holy Place. (1Ch 15:12; 2Ch 29:15; 2Ch 29:34; 2Ch 35:6; Ezr 6:20)6For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. (Jer 2:27; Eze 8:16)7They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. (2Ch 28:24)8Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. (De 28:25; 2Ch 24:18; Jer 19:8; Jer 25:9; Jer 25:18; Jer 29:18; Mic 6:16)9For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. (2Ch 28:5; 2Ch 28:8; 2Ch 28:17)10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. (1Ch 22:7; 2Ch 15:12)11My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.” (Nu 3:6; Nu 8:14; Nu 18:2; Nu 18:6)12Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; (Nu 3:17; 2Ch 31:13)13and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; (1Ch 6:39; 1Ch 15:8)14and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. (1Ch 6:33; 1Ch 9:16)15They gathered their brothers and consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. (2Ch 29:5; 2Ch 30:12; Ne 13:9)16The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron. (2Sa 15:23)17They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. (2Ch 29:3)18Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils.19All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.” (2Ch 28:24)
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord.21And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. (Le 4:14)22So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. (Le 8:15; Le 8:19; Le 8:24; 2Ch 35:11; Heb 9:21)23Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them, (Le 4:15)24and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. (Le 4:26)25And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. (1Sa 9:9; 2Sa 12:1; 1Ch 15:16; 1Ch 16:4; 1Ch 23:5; 1Ch 25:1; 1Ch 25:6; 2Ch 8:14)26The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. (1Ch 15:24; 1Ch 23:5; Am 6:5)27Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. (2Ch 23:18)28The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished.29When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. (2Ch 20:18)30And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.31Then Hezekiah said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to[3] the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. (Ex 28:41; Ex 35:5; Ex 35:22; 2Ch 13:9)32The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.33And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep.34But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. (2Ch 30:3; 2Ch 35:11)35Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. (Le 3:1; Le 3:16; Nu 15:5; Nu 15:7; Nu 15:10)36And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.
1Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for 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 side5and 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[1] 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 worshipped.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 worshipped.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 re-established.36Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.
2 Chronicles 29
King James Version
1Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother' name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.2And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.3He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.4And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,5And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place .6For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.7Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.8Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.9For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.10Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.11My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.12Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:13And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:14And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.15And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.16And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it , and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it , to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.17Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.18Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.19Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.20Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.21And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.22So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.23And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:24And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.25And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king' seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.26And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.27And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.28And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.29And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.30Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.31Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.32And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.33And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.34But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.35And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.36And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
1Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah.2Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as King David had done.3In the first month of Hezekiah’s first year as king, he opened the doors of the LORD’s temple. He repaired them.4He brought the priests and Levites in. He gathered them together in the open area on the east side of the temple.5He said, ‘Levites, listen to me! Set yourselves apart to the LORD. Set apart the temple of the LORD. He’s the God of your people who lived long ago. Remove anything “unclean” from the temple.6Our people weren’t faithful. They did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God. They deserted him. They turned their faces away from the place where he lives. They turned their backs on him.7They also shut the doors of the temple porch. They put the lamps out. They didn’t burn incense at the temple. They didn’t sacrifice burnt offerings there to the God of Israel.8So the LORD has become angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them look so bad that everyone is shocked when they see them. They laugh at them. You can see it with your own eyes.9That’s why our fathers have been killed by swords. That’s why our sons and daughters and wives have become prisoners.10So I’m planning to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel. Then he’ll stop being angry with us.11My sons, don’t fail to obey the LORD. He has chosen you to stand in front of him and work for him. He wants you to serve him and burn incense to him.’12Here are the Levites who went to work. Mahath and Joel were from the family line of Kohath. Mahath was the son of Amasai. Joel was the son of Azariah. Kish and Azariah were from the family line of Merari. Kish was the son of Abdi. Azariah was the son of Jehallelel. Joah and Eden were from the family line of Gershon. Joah was the son of Zimmah. Eden was the son of Joah.13Shimri and Jeiel were from the family line of Elizaphan. Zechariah and Mattaniah were from the family line of Asaph.14Jehiel and Shimei were from the family line of Heman. Shemaiah and Uzziel were from the family line of Jeduthun.15All these Levites gathered the other Levites together. They set themselves apart to the LORD. Then they went in to purify the LORD’s temple. That’s what the king had ordered them to do. They did what the LORD told them to.16The priests went into the LORD’s temple to make it pure. They brought out to the temple courtyard everything that was ‘unclean’. They had found ‘unclean’ things in the LORD’s temple. The Levites took them and carried them out to the Kidron Valley.17On the first day of the first month they began to set everything in the temple apart to the LORD. By the eighth day of the month they reached the LORD’s porch. For eight more days they set the LORD’s temple itself apart to him. They finished on the 16th day of the first month.18Then they went to King Hezekiah. They reported, ‘We’ve purified the whole temple of the LORD. That includes the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools. It also includes the table for the holy bread and all its objects.19We’ve prepared all the things King Ahaz had removed. We’ve set them apart to the LORD. Ahaz had removed them while he was king. He wasn’t faithful to the LORD. Those things are now in front of the LORD’s altar.’20Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered together the city officials. They all went up to the LORD’s temple.21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats with them. They sacrificed the animals as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the temple and for Judah. The king commanded the priests to offer them on the LORD’s altar. The priests were from the family line of Aaron.22They killed the bulls. Then they splashed the blood against the altar. Next they killed the rams and splashed the blood against the altar. Then they killed the lambs and splashed the blood against the altar.23The goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the whole community. They placed their hands on them.24Then the priests killed the goats. They put the blood on the altar as a sin offering. It paid for the sin of the whole nation of Israel. The king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for the whole nation.25Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the LORD’s temple. They had cymbals, harps and lyres. They did everything in the way King David, his prophet Gad, and Nathan the prophet had required. The LORD had given commands about all these things through his prophets.26So the Levites stood ready with David’s musical instruments. And the priests had their trumpets ready.27Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. The offering began. Singing to the LORD also began. The singing was accompanied by the trumpets and by the instruments of David. He had been king of Israel.28The whole community bowed down. They worshipped the LORD. At the same time the musicians played their musical instruments. The priests blew their trumpets. All of that continued until the burnt offering had been sacrificed.29So the offerings were finished. King Hezekiah got down on his knees. He worshipped the LORD. So did everyone who was with him.30The king and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD. They used the words of David and Asaph the prophet. They sang praises with joy. They bowed down and worshipped the LORD.31Then Hezekiah said, ‘You have set yourselves apart to the LORD. Come and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings to his temple.’ So the whole community brought sacrifices and thank-offerings. Everyone who wanted to brought burnt offerings.32The whole community brought 70 bulls, 100 rams and 200 male lambs. They brought all of them as burnt offerings to the LORD.33The total number of animals set apart as sacrifices to the LORD was 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep and goats.34But there weren’t enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them. They worked until the task was finished. By that time other priests had been set apart to the LORD. The Levites had been more careful than the priests when they set themselves apart.35There were large numbers of burnt offerings, along with the drink offerings and the fat from the friendship offerings. They were offered along with the burnt offerings. So the service of the LORD’s temple was started up again.36Hezekiah and all the people were filled with joy. That’s because everything had been done so quickly. God had provided for his people in a wonderful way.