Ahaz Reigns in Judah

28 ^(A)Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, ² but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made ^(B)metal images for ^(C)the Baals, ³ and ^(D)he made offerings in the ^(E)Valley of the Son of Hinnom and ^(F)burned his sons as an offering,^[a] according to ^(G)the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. ⁴ And he sacrificed and ^(H)made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Judah Defeated

^5 (I)Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. ⁶ For ^(J)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.

⁸ The men of Israel took captive 200,000 ^(K)of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, ^(L)was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage ^(M)that has reached up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the Lord your God? ¹¹ Now hear me, and send back the captives ^(N)from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”

¹² Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war ¹³ and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the Lord in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. ¹⁵ And ^(O)the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, ^(P)provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, ^(Q)the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

^16 (R)At that time King Ahaz sent to the king^[b] of Assyria for help. ¹⁷ For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. ^18 (S)And the Philistines had made raids on ^(T)the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco ^(U)with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. ¹⁹ For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made ^(V)Judah act sinfully^[c] and had been very unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ So ^(W)Tiglath-pileser^[d] king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. ^21 (X)For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the Lord and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.

Ahaz's Idolatry

²² In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. ²³ For ^(Y)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, ^(Z)“Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. ²⁴ And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and ^(AA)cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself ^(AB)altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to ^(AC)make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers. ^26 (AD)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for ^(AE)they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

29 ^(AF)Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah^[e] the daughter of ^(AG)Zechariah. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^(AH)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. ⁴ He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east ⁵ and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now ^(AI)consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth^[f] from the Holy Place. ⁶ For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and ^(AJ)have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. ⁷ They also ^(AK)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. ⁸ Therefore ^(AL)the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them ^(AM)an object of horror, of astonishment, ^(AN)and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ For behold, ^(AO)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. ¹⁰ Now ^(AP)it is in my heart ^(AQ)to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not now be negligent, ^(AR)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.”

¹² Then the Levites arose, ^(AS)Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of ^(AT)the Kohathites; and of the sons of ^(AU)Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the ^(AV)Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; ¹³ and of the sons of ^(AW)Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of ^(AX)Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ and of the sons of ^(AY)Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of ^(AZ)Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. ¹⁵ They gathered their brothers and ^(BA)consecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, ^(BB)by the words of the Lord, ^(BC)to cleanse the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ The 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 ^(BD)the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ They began to consecrate ^(BE)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. ¹⁸ Then 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. ¹⁹ All the utensils ^(BF)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.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

²⁰ Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. ²¹ And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ^(BG)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. ²² So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood ^(BH)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. ²³ Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, ^(BI)and they laid their hands on them, ²⁴ and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, ^(BJ)to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

^25 (BK)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, ^(BL)according to the commandment of David and of Gad ^(BM)the king's seer and of ^(BN)Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with ^(BO)the instruments of David, ^(BP)and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, ^(BQ)the song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ When the offering was finished, ^(BR)the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. ³⁰ And 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.

³¹ Then Hezekiah said, ^(BS)“You have now consecrated yourselves to^[g] 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 ^(BT)of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. ³² The 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. ³³ And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. ³⁴ But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, ^(BU)their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—^(BV)for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. ³⁵ Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was ^(BW)the fat of the peace offerings, and there were ^(BX)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

Passover Celebrated

30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. ² For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover ^(BY)in the second month— ³ for they could not keep it ^(BZ)at that time ^(CA)because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— ⁴ and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. ⁵ So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, ^(CB)from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. ^6 (CC)So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, ^(CD)return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^(CE)the kings of Assyria. ^7 (CF)Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. ^8 (CG)Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^(CH)that his fierce anger may turn away from you. ⁹ For ^(CI)if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children ^(CJ)will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For ^(CK)the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, ^(CL)if you return to him.”

^10 (CM)So the couriers went from city to city through the country of ^(CN)Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but ^(CO)they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. ¹¹ However, ^(CP)some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded ^(CQ)by the word of the Lord.

¹³ And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^(CR)in the second month, a very great assembly. ¹⁴ They set to work and removed ^(CS)the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away ^(CT)and threw into the brook Kidron. ^15 (CU)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. ^(CV)And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, ^(CW)so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. ^16 (CX)They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses ^(CY)the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a majority of the people, ^(CZ)many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise ^(DA)than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone ^19 (DB)who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”^{[h] 20} And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. ²¹ And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(DC)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might^[i] to the Lord. ²² And Hezekiah spoke ^(DD)encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing ^(DE)peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast ^(DF)for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(DG)gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests ^(DH)consecrated themselves in great numbers. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, ^(DI)and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶ So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for ^(DJ)since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then ^(DK)the priests and the Levites arose and ^(DL)blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to ^(DM)his holy habitation in heaven.

Hezekiah Organizes the Priests

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and ^(DN)broke in pieces the ^(DO)pillars and cut down ^(DP)the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.

² And Hezekiah appointed ^(DQ)the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, division by division, each according to his service, the priests and the Levites, ^(DR)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to minister in the gates of the camp of the Lord and to give thanks and praise. ^3 (DS)The contribution of the king from his own possessions was for the burnt offerings: the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts, ^(DT)as it is written in the Law of the Lord. ⁴ And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give ^(DU)the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. ⁵ As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly ^(DV)the tithe of everything. ⁶ And the people of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of cattle and sheep, and ^(DW)the tithe of the dedicated things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and laid them in heaps. ⁷ In the third month they began to pile up the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. ⁹ And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the heaps. ¹⁰ Azariah the chief priest, who was ^(DX)of the house of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, ^(DY)for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare ^(DZ)chambers in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. ¹² And they faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the dedicated things. The chief officer ^(EA)in charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with ^(EB)Shimei his brother as second, ^13 (EC)while Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, ^(ED)Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers assisting Conaniah and Shimei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king and ^(EE)Azariah the chief officer of the house of God. ¹⁴ And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the east gate, was over the freewill offerings to God, to apportion the contribution reserved for the Lord and the most holy offerings. ^15 (EF)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah were faithfully assisting him in ^(EG)the cities of the priests, to distribute the portions to their brothers, old and young alike, by divisions, ¹⁶ except those enrolled by genealogy, males from three years old and upward—all who entered the house of the Lord ^(EH)as the duty of each day required—for their service according to their offices, by their divisions. ¹⁷ The enrollment of the priests was according to their fathers' houses; that of the Levites ^(EI)from twenty years old and upward was according to their offices, by their divisions. ¹⁸ They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. ¹⁹ And for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of common land belonging to their cities, there were men in the several cities who were ^(EJ)designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone among the Levites who was enrolled.

²⁰ Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, ^(EK)and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. ²¹ And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.