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Idols are Eliminated from Judah(A)

31 At the conclusion of all of these activities, everybody in Israel who was in attendance traveled throughout the cities of Judah, broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, and broke down the high places and altars throughout the territories of[a] Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh until they had eliminated all of them. Then the people of Israel went back to their cities and back to their work.[b]

Hezekiah Continues His Reforms

Hezekiah appointed the priestly divisions and the divisions of the descendants of Levi, each according to their service duties, including both priests and descendants of Levi who offered morning and evening burnt offerings, peace offerings, general[c] ministry, thanksgiving, and praise in the gateways to the Lord’s campgrounds.[d] He also gave a portion of his own income for both morning and evening burnt offerings, for burnt offerings on the Sabbath, New Moons, and for the scheduled festivals, as is recorded in the Lord’s Law.[e] Hezekiah[f] also directed the people who lived in Jerusalem to give what was due to the priests and descendants of Levi, so they could be strengthened in the Lord’s Law. As the word spread around, the people of Israel gave generously for the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and all of the produce of the fields. They generously gave a tithe of everything. The descendants of Israel and Judah who lived throughout the cities of Judah also brought tithes of cattle and sheep, as well as tithes of gifts that had been dedicated to the Lord their God.

As these gifts were given, they were laid in piles. They began to make these piles of gifts[g] during the third month, and it took them until the seventh month to finish. When Hezekiah and the officials arrived and saw the piles of gifts,[h] they blessed the Lord and his people Israel, and Hezekiah quizzed the priests and the descendants of Levi about the piles of gifts.[i] 10 Azariah replied, “Since they began to bring their gifts into the Lord’s Temple, we have eaten and have been satisfied. Now we still have plenty left, because the Lord has blessed his people so that we have all of this left over.”

The Priests and Descendants of Levi Reorganized

11 Hezekiah gave an order to prepare storerooms in the Lord’s Temple, and so they did. 12 They faithfully brought in the gifts, tithes, and consecrated materials, and Conaniah the descendant of Levi was placed in charge of them. His brother Shimei was second in command, 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah served as supervisors under Conaniah and his brother Shimei, who had been appointed by King Hezekiah. Azariah served as senior officer of God’s Temple. 14 Imnah the descendant of Levi’s son Kore, keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of voluntary offerings to God, apportioning contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. 15 Under his authority, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah served in the priestly cities, making sure contributions were distributed faithfully to their relatives division by division, no matter how large or how small, 16 without regard to genealogical enrollment, to every male 30[j] years old and older—that is, to everyone who entered the Lord’s Temple as their duty obligations required—for their work and duties according to their divisions 17 as well as the priests who were enrolled in the genealogies according to their ancestral households. 18 These genealogical enrollments also included all of their little children, their wives, and their sons and daughters for the entire assembly, because they were being faithful to consecrating themselves in holiness. 19 Furthermore, with respect to the descendants of Aaron, that is, the priests who lived out in the country away from the cities, or who lived in each and every city, men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone who had been enrolled by genealogy among the descendants of Levi.

20 Hezekiah did this throughout all of Judah, and he acted well, doing what the Lord his God considered to be right and true. 21 Everything that Hezekiah[k] began in the service of God’s Temple was done according to the Law and to the commandments as he sought his God, worked with all of his heart, and became successful.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 31:1 The Heb. lacks the territories of
  2. 2 Chronicles 31:1 Lit. possessions
  3. 2 Chronicles 31:2 The Heb. lacks general
  4. 2 Chronicles 31:2 I.e. a portion of land set aside for temporary tents used by visitors to Jerusalem
  5. 2 Chronicles 31:3 Cf. Num 28:1-29:40
  6. 2 Chronicles 31:4 Lit. He
  7. 2 Chronicles 31:7 The Heb. lacks of gifts
  8. 2 Chronicles 31:8 The Heb. lacks of gifts
  9. 2 Chronicles 31:9 The Heb. lacks of gifts
  10. 2 Chronicles 31:16 Lit. three; cf. 1Chr 23:3, which records 30 years of age as the year of enrollment eligibility
  11. 2 Chronicles 31:21 Lit. he

31 When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down(A) the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.

Contributions for Worship(B)

Hezekiah(C) assigned the priests and Levites to divisions(D)—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister,(E) to give thanks and to sing praises(F) at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.(G) The king contributed(H) from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord.(I) He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion(J) due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits(K) of their grain, new wine,(L) olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe(M) of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps.(N) They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.(O) When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed(P) his people Israel.

Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; 10 and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok,(Q) answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”(R)

11 Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the Lord, and this was done. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Konaniah,(S) a Levite, was the overseer in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad,(T) Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah were assistants of Konaniah and Shimei his brother. All these served by appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of the temple of God.

14 Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts. 15 Eden,(U) Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns(V) of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.

16 In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records(W)—all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 17 And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. 18 They included all the little ones, the wives, and the sons and daughters of the whole community listed in these genealogical records. For they were faithful in consecrating themselves.

19 As for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who lived on the farmlands around their towns or in any other towns,(X) men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among them and to all who were recorded in the genealogies of the Levites.

20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful(Y) before the Lord his God. 21 In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.(Z)

31 And when these things were done rightfully, all Israel went out, that was found in the cities of Judah; and they brake [the] simulacra, and cutted down (the) [maumet] woods, and wasted [the] high places, and destroyed [the] altars, not only of all Judah and Benjamin, but also of Ephraim and Manasseh, till that they had destroyed those altars/their idols utterly. And then all the sons of Israel turned again into their possessions and cities. (And when all these things were finished, all Israel went out, who were found in the cities of Judah; and they broke up the idols, and cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and wasted the hill shrines, and destroyed the altars, not only of all Judah and Benjamin, but also of Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed those altars/their idols. And then all the Israelites returned to their possessions, or their own property, in their cities.)

And Hezekiah ordained companies of priests and deacons by their partings, each man in his own office, that is, as well of priests as of deacons, to burnt sacrifices and peaceable sacrifices, that they should minister, and acknowledge, and sing in the gates of the castles of the Lord. (And Hezekiah ordained companies of the priests and the Levites, by their divisions, and each man according to his duty, that is, the priests as well as the Levites, for the offering of the burnt sacrifices and the peace offerings, to serve, or to give thanks, or to sing in the Temple of the Lord.)

And the part of the king’s sacrifice was, that of his own substance, or chattel, burnt sacrifice should be offered evermore in the morrowtide and in the eventide, also in sabbaths, and calends, and in other solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses. (And the king’s portion of the sacrifice, out of his own substance, or chattel, provided the burnt sacrifice that was offered every morning and every evening, and also on the sabbaths, and the calends, and the other Feasts, as it is written in the Law of Moses.)

Also he commanded to the people of them that dwelled in Jerusalem, to give parts to the priests and deacons, that they might give attention to the law of the Lord. (And he commanded to the people who lived in Jerusalem, to give portions to the priests and the Levites, so that they would be able to devote their full attention to the Law of the Lord.)

And when this was known in the ears of the multitude, the sons of Israel offered full many first fruits of wheat, of wine, of oil, and of honey; and of all things which the earth bringeth forth, they offered tithes. (And when this was heard by the multitude, the Israelites offered a great many first fruits of wheat, of wine, of oil, and of honey; and they offered tithes of all the things which the earth brought forth.)

But also the sons of Israel and of Judah, that dwelled in the cities of Judah, offered tithes of oxen, and of sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they avowed to their Lord God, and they brought all things, and made full many heaps. (And the Israelites and the people of Judah, who lived in the cities of Judah, offered their tithes of oxen, and of sheep, and of the holy things which they vowed to the Lord their God, and they brought all these things to the Temple, and made a large number of heaps.)

In the third month they began to lay the foundaments of the heaps, and in the seventh month they filled, or ended (or completed), those heaps.

And when Hezekiah and his princes had entered (And when Hezekiah and his officials came), they saw the heaps, and they blessed the Lord, and the people of Israel.

And Hezekiah asked the priests and deacons why the heaps lay so.

10 And Azariah, the first, or chief, priest of the generation of Zadok (And the High Priest Azariah, a descendant of Zadok), answered to him and said, Since the first fruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have eaten of those fruits, and been fulfilled, and full many things be left; for the Lord hath blessed his people; and this plenty, which thou seest, is of the remnants.

11 Therefore Hezekiah commanded, that they should make ready barns in the house of the Lord; and when they had done this thing, (And so Hezekiah commanded, that they should prepare storerooms in the House of the Lord; and when they had done this thing,)

12 they brought in faithfully both the first fruits, and (the) tithes, and whatever things they had avowed. And Conaniah, the deacon, was [the] sovereign of those things (And Conaniah, the Levite, was the ruler, or the overseer, of those things); and Shimei, his brother was the second, next (to) him;

13 after whom Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were sovereigns under the hands, or powers, of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and of Azariah, the bishop of the house of the Lord (by the command of King Hezekiah, and of Azariah, the High Priest of the House of the Lord), to whom all things pertained.

14 But Kore, the son of Imnah, deacon, and porter of the east gate, was sovereign of those things that were offered by free will to the Lord, and of the first fruits, and of [the] things hallowed into the holy things of the number of holy things; (And Kore, the son of Imnah, the Levite, and the guard, or the doorkeeper, at the East Gate, was in charge of the things that were offered by free will to the Lord, and of the first fruits, and of the things dedicated for the holiest of holy things;)

15 and under his care, (or his charge,) were Eden, and Miniamin, Jeshua, and Shemaiah, and Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of (the) priests, that they should part faithfully to their brethren the parts, to the less and to the greater (who should faithfully distribute the portions to their kinsmen, to the greater and the lesser alike),

16 besides males from three years and above, these things to all that entered into the temple of the Lord, and whatever thing by each day was hired in the service and observances, by their partings. (yea, to males three years of age and older, these things were distributed to all who entered into the Temple of the Lord each day, for their part in the service and observances, by their divisions.)

17 To (the) priests by their families, and to deacons from twenty years and above (and to the Levites from twenty years of age and older), by their orders and companies,

18 and to all the multitude, that is, both to the wives, and the free children of them of ever either kind, meats, (or foods,) were given faithfully of these things that were hallowed. (and to all their multitude, that is, to their wives, and their sons and their daughters, for they were required to perform their sacred duties at any time.)

19 But also men of the sons of Aaron were ordained, by the fields and by suburbs of all the cities, which men should deal parts to all the male kind of priests, and deacons. (And men of the sons of Aaron were ordained, who were in the fields of the suburbs of all their cities, to distribute portions to all the priests, and the Levites.)

20 Therefore Hezekiah did all these things, which we have said, in all Judah, and he wrought that, that was rightful and good and true before the Lord his God,

21 in all the religion of the service of the house of the Lord, by the law and by the ceremonies; and he would seek his Lord God in all his heart, and he did so, and had prosperity. (in all the work of the service of the House of the Lord, and by the Law and the commandments/and by the Law and the statutes; for he sought the Lord his God with all his heart, yea, he did so, and he prospered.)

31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord.

He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord.

Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord.

And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.

And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps.

In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.

And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord, and his people Israel.

Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.

11 Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord; and they prepared them,

12 And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next.

13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.

14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the Lord, and the most holy things.

15 And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small:

16 Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even unto every one that entereth into the house of the Lord, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses;

17 Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;

18 And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness:

19 Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites.

20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God.

21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.