¹⁷ They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year,^[a] and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the Lord’s Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days.

⁷ They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

Hezekiah Reopens the Temple

³ In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them.

⁴ The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet^[a] wide, running across the entire width of the Temple, and 30 feet^[b] high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

¹¹ Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary—which was the place of atonement.

³ The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet^[a] wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet^[b] from the front of the Temple.

² “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. ³ Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. ⁴ If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. ⁵ The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.

⁶ “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. ⁷ They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. ⁸ That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.