29:1 Hezekiah 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.
29:2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done.
29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them.
29:4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side
29:5 and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.
29:6 Our fathers 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.
29:7 They 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.
29:8 Therefore, 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.
29:9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.
29:10 Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.
29:11 My 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.”
29:12 Then 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;
29:13 from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the descendants of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
29:14 from the descendants of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; from the descendants of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
29:15 When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD.
29:16 The 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.
29:17 They 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.
29:18 Then 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.
29:19 We 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.”
29:20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the LORD.
29:21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering 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.
29:22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.
29:23 The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.
29:24 The 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.
29:25 He 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.
29:26 So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.
29:27 Hezekiah 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.
29:28 The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.
29:29 When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped.
29:30 King 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 their heads and worshiped.
29:31 Then 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.
29:32 The 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.
29:33 The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats.
29:34 The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; so their kinsmen 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.
29:35 There 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.
29:36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly.
29:1 Hezekiah began to reign at the age of twenty-five years, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
29:2 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.
29:3 He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Jehovah and repaired them.
29:4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them at the east square.
29:5 And he said to them, Listen to me, you Levites: Sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, the God of your fathers; and bring out the impurity from the holy place.
29:6 For our fathers were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah our God, and they forsook Him and turned their faces from the dwelling place of Jehovah, and they turned their backs on Him.
29:7 They also shut up the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps; and they did not burn the incense, nor did they offer up the burnt offering in the holy place to the God of Israel.
29:8 Therefore the wrath of Jehovah was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He made them an object of horror, astonishment, and hissing, as you see with your own eyes.
29:9 For indeed, our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are captives because of this.
29:10 Now it is on my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah the God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.
29:11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for Jehovah has chosen you to stand before Him to minister to Him and to be His ministers and burn incense.
29:12 Then the Levites rose up: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from among the sons of the Kohathites; and from among 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;
29:13 And of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
29:14 And of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
29:15 And they gathered their brothers together and sanctified themselves. And they went in, according to the command of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah.
29:16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse it; and they brought out into the court of the house of Jehovah all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah, and the Levites took it to carry it outside to the brook Kidron.
29:17 And they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify the house, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of Jehovah; then they sanctified the house of Jehovah for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
29:18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, We have cleansed the whole house of Jehovah: the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels and the table of the rows of bread with all its vessels.
29:19 And all the vessels that King Ahaz cast out during his reign when he trespassed we have prepared and sanctified, and they are now before the altar of Jehovah.
29:20 Then Hezekiah the king rose up early and gathered all the leaders of the city and went up to the house of Jehovah.
29:21 And they brought seven bulls and seven rams and seven lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he ordered the sons of Aaron, the priests, to offer them up on the altar of Jehovah.
29:22 So they slaughtered the cattle, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; then they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar, and they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar.
29:23 Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands on them.
29:24 And the priests slaughtered them and offered their blood as a sin offering upon the altar to make expiation for all Israel, for the king had commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
29:25 And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with harps, and with lyres in the way David and Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet had commanded, for the commandment was from Jehovah through His prophets.
29:26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests, with the trumpets.
29:27 And Hezekiah ordered the offering up of the burnt offering at the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of Jehovah began also, as well as the trumpets with the accompaniment of the instruments of David the king of Israel.
29:28 And the whole congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters trumpeted ? all this until the burnt offering was finished.
29:29 And when the offering was finished, the king and all who were found with him bowed down and worshipped.
29:30 And Hezekiah the king and the leaders commanded the Levites to praise Jehovah with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they praised with rejoicing and bowed down and worshipped.
29:31 Then Hezekiah responded and said, Now you have consecrated yourselves to Jehovah; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Jehovah. So the congregation brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were willing in heart brought burnt offerings.
29:32 And the number of burnt offerings that the congregation brought was seventy cattle, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to Jehovah.
29:33 And the things consecrated were six hundred cattle and three thousand sheep;
29:34 However the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so their brothers the Levites aided them until the work was finished and until the rest of the priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in sanctifying themselves.
29:35 And besides the abundance of burnt offerings there were also the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of Jehovah was established.
29:36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, for the thing had happened so suddenly.