2 Chronicles 29
New American Standard Bible
Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz in Judah
29 (A)Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 (B)He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father David had done.
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he (C)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the public square on the east.
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5 Then he said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites. (D)Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out of the holy place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him and (E)turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have [a]turned their backs. 7 They have also (F)shut the doors of the porch and extinguished the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore (G)the wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of (H)hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, (I)our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this. 10 Now it is in my heart (J)to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that His burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for (K)the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”
12 Then the Levites arose: (L)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of (M)the Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and [b]Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and from the sons of Heman, [c]Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They assembled their brothers, (N)consecrated themselves, and went in (O)to cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king (P)by the words of the Lord. 16 So the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord out to the courtyard of the house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to (Q)the Kidron [d]Valley. 17 Now they began [e]the consecration (R)on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the Lord. Then they consecrated the house of the Lord in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. 18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all of its utensils. 19 Moreover, (S)all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20 Then King Hezekiah got up early and assembled the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats (T)as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs as well, and (U)sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and (V)they laid their hands on them. 24 The priests slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood (W)to atone for all Israel, because the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
25 (X)He then stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, (Y)according to the command of David and of (Z)Gad, the king’s seer, and of (AA)Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with (AB)the musical instruments of David, and (AC)the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, (AD)the song to the Lord also began with the trumpets, [f]accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel. 28 While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, (AE)the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer. (AF)So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, “(AG)Now that you have [g]consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come forward and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and (AH)everyone who was [h]willing brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all of these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; (AI)therefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished and the other priests had consecrated themselves. For (AJ)the Levites were more [i]conscientious to consecrate themselves than the priests. 35 There were also [j](AK)many burnt offerings with (AL)the fat of the peace offerings and (AM)the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the Lord was established again. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:6 Lit given
- 2 Chronicles 29:13 Or Jeuel
- 2 Chronicles 29:14 Another reading is Jehuel
- 2 Chronicles 29:16 Or wadi
- 2 Chronicles 29:17 Lit to consecrate
- 2 Chronicles 29:27 Lit and on the hands of
- 2 Chronicles 29:31 Lit filled your hands
- 2 Chronicles 29:31 Lit willing of heart
- 2 Chronicles 29:34 Lit upright of heart
- 2 Chronicles 29:35 Lit the burnt offerings to an abundance
2 Chronicles 29
Expanded Bible
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple(A)
29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 Hezekiah did what ·the Lord said was right [L was pleasing/proper in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestor [father] David had done.
3 Hezekiah opened the doors of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and ·repaired [restored] them in the first month of the first year he was king. 4 Hezekiah brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the ·courtyard [square] on the east side of the ·Temple [L house]. 5 Hezekiah said, “Listen to me, Levites. ·Make yourselves ready for the Lord’s service [Consecrate/Purify/Sanctify yourselves], and ·make holy [consecrate/purify/sanctify] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers]. Remove from the ·Temple [L house] everything that makes it ·impure [defiled; ritually unclean]. 6 Our ·ancestors [fathers] were unfaithful to God and did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]. They ·left [abandoned; forsook] the Lord and ·stopped worshiping at [L turned their faces away from] the ·Temple [L house] where he lives. They ·rejected [L turned their backs on] him. 7 They shut the doors of the ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room] of the ·Temple [L house], and ·they let the fire go out in [put/snuffed out] the lamps. They stopped burning incense and offering burnt offerings in the ·holy place to [sanctuary of] the God of Israel. 8 So the Lord became very angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and he ·punished them. Other people are frightened and shocked by what he did to them. So they ·insult the people of Judah. You know these things are true […made them an object of dread/terror, horror, and ridicule/L hissing, as you can see with your own eyes]. 9 That is why our ·ancestors [fathers] ·were killed in battle [L have fallen by the sword] and our sons, daughters, and wives ·were [are] taken captive. 10 Now I, Hezekiah, ·have decided [intend] to make an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the Lord, the God of Israel, so ·he will not be angry with us anymore [L his burning anger will turn away from us]. 11 My sons, don’t ·waste any more time [be negligent now]. The Lord chose you to stand ·before him [in his presence], to ·serve [minister to] him, to be his ·servants [ministers], and to burn incense to him.”
12 ·These are [Then] the Levites ·who started to work [L rose]. From the Kohathite ·family [clan] there were Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. From the Merarite ·family [clan] there were Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. From the Gershonite ·family [clan] there were Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah. 13 From Elizaphan’s ·family [clan] there were Shimri and Jeiel. From Asaph’s ·family [clan] there were Zechariah and Mattaniah. 14 From Heman’s ·family [clan] there were Jehiel and Shimei. From Jeduthun’s ·family [clan] there were Shemaiah and Uzziel [5:12].
15 These Levites gathered their brothers together and ·made themselves holy [consecrated/purified/sanctified themselves]. Then they went into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord to purify it. They obeyed the king’s command that had come from the Lord. 16 When the priests went into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord to ·purify [cleanse] it, they took out all the ·unclean [defiled; C ritually] things they found in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and put them in the ·Temple [L house] courtyard. Then the Levites took these things out to the Kidron Valley. 17 Beginning on the first day of the first month, they ·made holy [consecrated; purified; sanctified] the ·Temple [L house]. On the eighth day of the month, they came to the ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room] of the ·Temple [L house], and for eight more days they ·made holy [consecrated; purified; sanctified] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. So they finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and said, “We have ·purified [cleansed] the entire ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the altar for burnt offerings and its ·utensils [equipment], and the table for the ·holy bread [T showbread] and all its ·utensils [equipment]. 19 When Ahaz was king, he was unfaithful to God and ·removed some things [discarded some utensils/equipment]. But we have ·put them back [prepared] and ·made them holy [consecrated/purified/sanctified them] for the Lord. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah ·gathered [assembled] the ·leaders [officials] of the city and went up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 21 They brought seven ·bulls [oxen], seven ·male sheep [rams], seven lambs, and seven male goats. These animals were an ·offering to remove the sin of the people and [sin offering for] the kingdom ·of [or and for] Judah and ·to make [for] the ·Temple [sanctuary]. King Hezekiah commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to ·offer [sacrifice] these animals on the Lord’s altar. 22 So the priests ·killed [slaughtered] the ·bulls [oxen] and sprinkled their blood on the altar. They ·killed [slaughtered] the ·sheep [rams] and sprinkled their blood on the altar. Then they ·killed [slaughtered] the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar. 23 Then the priests brought the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the people there. After the king and the people ·put [laid] their hands on the goats, 24 the priests ·killed [slaughtered] them. They ·made an offering [sprinkled/presented their blood] on the altar to ·remove the sins of the Israelites [atone for all Israel]. The king had said that the burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] and ·sin [or purification] offering [Lev. 4:3] should be made for all Israel.
25 King Hezekiah ·put [stationed; positioned] the Levites in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, as David, Gad, and Nathan had commanded. (Gad was the king’s ·seer [prophet], and Nathan was a prophet.) This command came from the Lord through his prophets. 26 So the Levites stood ready with David’s musical instruments, and the priests with their trumpets.
27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to ·sacrifice [offer] the burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] on the altar. When the burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] began, the singing to the Lord also began. The trumpets were blown, and the musical instruments of David king of Israel were played. 28 ·All the people [The entire assembly] worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters ·blew their trumpets [sounded] until the burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] was finished.
29 When the sacrifices were completed, King Hezekiah and everyone with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 King Hezekiah and his ·officers [officials] ordered the Levites to ·praise [sing praises to] the Lord, using the words David and Asaph the ·seer [prophet] had used. So they praised God with ·joy [gladness] and bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you people of Judah have ·given [consecrated; dedicated] yourselves to the Lord, come near to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Bring sacrifices and ·offerings, to show thanks to him [or thank offerings].” So the people brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and anyone who was willing also brought burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17]. 32 For burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] they brought a total of seventy ·bulls [oxen], one hundred ·male sheep [rams], and two hundred lambs; all these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord. 33 The ·holy [consecrated] offerings totaled six hundred ·bulls [oxen] and three thousand sheep and goats. 34 There were not enough priests to skin all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their ·relatives [brothers] the Levites helped them until the work was finished and other priests could be ·made holy [consecrated; purified; sanctified]. The Levites had been more careful to ·make themselves holy [consecrate/purify/sanctify themselves] than the priests. 35 There were many burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] along with the fat of ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] and drink offerings. So the service in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·began again [was established/restored]. 36 And Hezekiah and the people ·were very happy [rejoiced] that God had made it happen so quickly for his people.
2 Chronicles 29
King James Version
29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.
4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.
7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
8 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:
13 And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:
14 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.
16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and 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, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.
17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.
19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.
21 And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, 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 killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
23 And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:
24 And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.
32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.
33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
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