2 Chronicles 29
Modern English Version
Hezekiah, King of Judah(A)
29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. The name of his mother was Abijah[a] the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was correct in the eyes of the Lord just as his father David had done.
Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
3 And in the first year and first month of his reign he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and restored them. 4 He then brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the square on the eastern side 5 and said to them, “Listen to me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord God of your fathers. And bring out the detestable things from the holy sanctuary. 6 For our fathers have acted unfaithfully and have done what is evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him. They have turned their face from the sanctuary of the Lord and have turned their back. 7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and have extinguished the lamps, nor have they burned incense or burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord has come on Judah and Jerusalem for a terror, horror, and scorn as you all can see with your own eyes. 9 Observe, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and now our sons, daughters, and wives are in captivity for all this. 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel so that His burning anger might turn away from us. 11 My people, do not now be negligent for the Lord has chosen you all to stand in His presence, to serve Him, and to be ministers and make sacrifices for Him.”
12 Then the Levites arose:
from the Kohathites,
Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites,
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the Gershonites,
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
13 from the descendants of Elizaphan,
Shimri and Jeiel;
from the descendants of Asaph,
Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 from the descendants of Heman,
Jehiel and Shimei;
from the descendants of Jeduthun,
Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 So they gathered their brothers together and consecrated themselves and entered in as the king commanded by the words of the Lord in order to cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 Then the priests came into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they removed everything that they found that was unclean in the main hall of the temple of the Lord to the court. And the Levites took those things and brought them out to the Kidron Valley. 17 They began to consecrate themselves on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the vestibule of the Lord. They consecrated the house of the Lord for eight days. Then on the sixteenth day of the first month they completed the task.
18 Then they came toward Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleaned the entire house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the table for showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the vessels that King Ahaz discarded from use during his reign in his treachery we have prepared and consecrated. They are before the altar of the Lord.”
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20 So King Hezekiah got up early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And he brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, sanctuary, and Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them up on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took their blood and sprinkled it on the altar and then slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. They did the same for the lambs. 23 And they brought the male goats for a sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on the goats. 24 And the priests slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood to provide atoning reconciliation for all Israel because the king said that the burnt offering and sin offering would be for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites at the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the commandment of David, and Gad the seer of the king, and Nathan the prophet. For the commandment came from the Lord through His prophets. 26 So the Levites stood with the instruments of David and the priests with the trumpets.
27 Then Hezekiah gave the command to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When they started the burnt offering, the song of the Lord began also, with the trumpets and the instruments of David, king of Israel. 28 The entire assembly worshipped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All of this took place until the burnt offering was finished.
29 When the burnt offering was finished, the king and all those with him bowed down and worshipped. 30 Then Hezekiah the king and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they praised with gladness and bowed down to worship.
31 Then Hezekiah responded, “Now you have dedicated yourselves to the Lord. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who had a willing heart brought burnt offerings.
32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 The consecrated animals were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 However there were too few priests, and they were not able to skin the burnt offerings. But their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests consecrated themselves, for the Levites were more upright in heart to consecrate themselves than the priests. 35 Also burnt offerings were in abundance with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings.
So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events happened suddenly.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:1 Or Abi in 2Ki 18:2.
2 Chronicles 29
Common English Bible
Hezekiah rules
29 Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah; she was Zechariah’s daughter. 2 He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes, just as his ancestor David had done. 3 In the very first year of his rule, during the first month, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Lord’s temple, having repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the eastern square.
5 “Listen to me, you Levites!” he said. “Make yourselves holy so you can make holy the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors by removing from the sanctuary any impure thing. 6 Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the Lord our God’s eyes. They abandoned him, they ignored the Lord’s dwelling, and they defied him. 7 They even closed the doors of the entrance hall, snuffed out the lamps, and stopped burning incense and offering entirely burned offerings in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 8 This angered the Lord so much that he made Judah and Jerusalem an object of terror and horror, something people hiss at, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 That’s why our ancestors died violent deaths, while our sons, daughters, and wives were taken captive. 10 But now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, Israel’s God, so God will no longer be angry with us. 11 Don’t be careless, my sons! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence to serve him, so that you can be his servants and burn incense to him.”
12 Then the following Levites got up:
from the descendants of the Kohathites: Mahath, Amasai’s son, and Joel, Azariah’s son;
from the descendants of Merari: Kish, Abdi’s son, and Azariah, Jehallelel’s son;
from the Gershonites: Joah, Zimmah’s son, and Eden, Joah’s son;
13 from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeuel;
from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 from the descendants of Heman: Jehuel and Shimei;
and from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 These men gathered their relatives, made themselves holy, and went in to purify the Lord’s temple by obeying the king’s command as the Lord had told him. 16 The priests went in to purify the inner portion of the Lord’s temple. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple all the impurities they discovered inside. Then the Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. 17 They began to make things holy on the first day of the first month.[a] On the eighth day of the month they reached the Lord’s entrance hall. They made holy the Lord’s temple for eight days, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went before King Hezekiah. “We have purified the Lord’s entire temple,” they said, “and the altar for the entirely burned offering together with all its equipment, and the table for the stacks of bread together with all its equipment. 19 We have also restored and made holy all the items King Ahaz threw out during his rule in his unfaithfulness. They are now before the Lord’s altar.”
Hezekiah rededicates the temple
20 Early the next morning Hezekiah gathered the city leaders and went to the Lord’s temple. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, and seven lambs, along with seven male goats, for a purification offering on behalf of the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. Hezekiah ordered the priests, Aaron’s sons, to offer them up on the Lord’s altar. 22 When they slaughtered the bulls, the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar. Next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar, and also slaughtered the lambs, splashing their blood against the altar as well. 23 Finally, they brought the goats for the purification offering before the king and the assembly. After laying their hands on them, 24 the priests slaughtered them and smeared the blood on the altar as a purification offering to take away the sin of all Israel, because the king had specifically ordered that the entirely burned sacrifice and the purification offering should be on behalf of all Israel. 25 Hezekiah had the Levites stand in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and zithers, just as the Lord had ordered through David, the king’s seer Gad, and the prophet Nathan. 26 While the Levites took their places holding David’s instruments, and the priests their trumpets, 27 Hezekiah ordered the entirely burned offering to be offered up on the altar. As they began to offer the entirely burned offering, the Lord’s song also began, accompanied by the trumpets and the other instruments of Israel’s King David. 28 The whole congregation worshipped with singing choirs and blaring trumpets until the end of the entirely burned offering. 29 After the entirely burned offering was complete, the king and all who were with him bowed down in worship. 30 Then King Hezekiah and the leaders ordered the Levites to praise the Lord by using the words of David and the seer Asaph. They did so joyously; then they bowed down in worship too.
31 “Now that you have dedicated yourselves to the Lord,” King Hezekiah told them, “bring sacrificial thank offerings to the Lord’s temple.” So the assembly brought sacrificial thank offerings, with some people volunteering to provide entirely burned offerings. 32 All in all, the congregation brought seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs as entirely burned offerings for the Lord, 33 as well as six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep as holy offerings. 34 Unfortunately, there weren’t enough priests to skin all these entirely burned offerings. So their relatives the Levites (who had been more conscientious about preparing themselves than the priests) stepped in and helped them until the work was done or additional priests had made themselves holy. 35 In addition to the wealth of entirely burned offerings, there was the fat of the well-being sacrifices and drink offerings accompanying the entirely burned offerings. In this way, the service of the Lord’s temple was restored, 36 and Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had done for them, since it had happened so quickly.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:17 March–April, Nisan
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible