Judah’s King Hezekiah

29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old^(A) when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah^[a] daughter of Zechariah. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s sight^(B) just as his ancestor David had done.

³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them.^{(C) 4} Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the eastern public square.^{(D) 5} He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves^(E) now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place. ⁶ For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place, and turned their backs on him.^{[b](F) 7} They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery,^[c](G) as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.^{(H) 10} It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel^(I) so that his burning anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, don’t be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.”^(J)

Cleansing the Temple

¹² Then the Levites stood up:

¹⁵ They gathered their brothers together, consecrated themselves,^(M) and went according to the king’s command by the words of the Lord^(N) to cleanse the Lord’s temple.^(O)

¹⁶ The priests went to the entrance of the Lord’s temple to cleanse it. They took all the unclean things they found in the Lord’s sanctuary to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. Then the Levites received them and took them outside to the Kidron Valley.^{(P) 17} They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of the Lord’s temple. They consecrated the Lord’s temple for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

¹⁸ Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of the Bread of the Presence and all its utensils. ¹⁹ We have set up and consecrated all the utensils that King Ahaz rejected during his reign^(Q) when he became unfaithful. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”

Renewal of Temple Worship

²⁰ King Hezekiah got up early, gathered the city officials, and went to the Lord’s temple. ²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he told the descendants of Aaron, the priests, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. ²² So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and splattered it on the altar.^(R) They slaughtered the rams and splattered the blood on the altar. They slaughtered the lambs and splattered the blood on the altar. ²³ Then they brought the goats for the sin offering right into the presence of the king and the congregation, who laid their hands on them.^{(S) 24} The priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar for a sin offering, to make atonement for all Israel,^(T) for the king said that the burnt offering and sin offering were for all Israel.

²⁵ Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres^(U) according to the command of David,^(V) Gad the king’s seer,^(W) and the prophet Nathan.^(X) For the command was from the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments of David,^(Y) and the priests with the trumpets.^(Z)

²⁷ Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. When the burnt offerings began, the song of the Lord and the trumpets began, accompanied by the instruments of King David of Israel. ²⁸ The whole assembly was worshiping, singing the song, and blowing the trumpets—all this continued until the burnt offering was completed. ²⁹ When the burnt offerings were completed, the king and all those present with him bowed down and worshiped.^{(AA) 30} Then King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to sing praise to the Lord in the words of David and of the seer Asaph. So they sang praises with rejoicing and knelt low and worshiped.

³¹ Hezekiah concluded, “Now you are consecrated^[e] to the Lord. Come near and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s temple.” So the congregation brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all those with willing hearts^(AB) brought burnt offerings. ³² The number of burnt offerings the congregation brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. ³³ Six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats were consecrated.

³⁴ However, since there were not enough priests, they weren’t able to skin all the burnt offerings, so their Levite brothers helped them^(AC) until the work was finished and until the priests consecrated themselves. For the Levites were more conscientious^[f](AD) to consecrate themselves than the priests were.^{(AE) 35} Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the fellowship offerings^(AF) and with the drink offerings^(AG) for the burnt offering.

So the service of the Lord’s temple was established. ³⁶ Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come about suddenly.

Celebration of the Passover

30 Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel.^{(AH) 2} For the king and his officials and the entire congregation in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover of the Lord in the second month,^{(AI) 3} because they were not able to observe it at the appropriate time. Not enough of the priests had consecrated themselves,^(AJ) and the people hadn’t been gathered together in Jerusalem. ⁴ The proposal pleased the king and the congregation, ⁵ so they affirmed the proposal and spread the message throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan,^(AK) to come to observe the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they hadn’t observed it often,^[g] as prescribed.^[h]

⁶ So the couriers^(AL) went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.^{(AM) 7} Don’t be like your ancestors and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors^(AN) so that he made them an object of horror^(AO) as you yourselves see. ⁸ Don’t become obstinate^[i](AP) now like your ancestors did. Give your allegiance^[j] to the Lord, and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that he may turn his burning anger away from you,^{(AQ) 9} for when you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land.^(AR) For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful;^(AS) he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰ The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants^[k] laughed at them and mocked them.^{(AT) 11} But some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.^{(AU) 12} Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them^[l] to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord.

¹³ A very large assembly of people was gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They proceeded to take away the altars that were in Jerusalem,^(AV) and they took away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.^{(AW) 15} They slaughtered the Passover lamb^(AX) on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Lord’s temple. ¹⁶ They stood at their prescribed posts,^(AY) according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests splattered the blood received from the Levites, ¹⁷ for there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, and so the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the Lord.^{(AZ) 18} A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover^(BA) contrary to what was written.^(BB) But Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement on behalf of ¹⁹ whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God,^(BC) the Lord, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.^{(BD) 21} The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy,^(BE) and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day after day with loud instruments. ²² Then Hezekiah encouraged^[m](BF) all the Levites who performed skillfully before the Lord. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.^(BG)

²³ The whole congregation decided to observe^(BH) seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy, ²⁴ for King Hezekiah of Judah contributed one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation. Also, the officials contributed one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the congregation,^(BI) and many priests consecrated themselves.^{(BJ) 25} Then the whole assembly of Judah with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that came from Israel, the resident aliens who came from the land of Israel, and those who were living in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶ There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.^(BK)

²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites^(BL) stood to bless the people,^(BM) and God heard them, and their prayer came into his holy dwelling place^(BN) in heaven.