²⁰ Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the leaders of the city and went up to the Temple of the Lord. ²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven male sheep, seven lambs, and seven male goats. These animals were an offering to remove the sin of the people and the kingdom of Judah and to make the Temple ready for service to God. King Hezekiah commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these animals on the Lord’s altar. ²² So the priests killed the bulls and sprinkled their blood on the altar. They killed the sheep and sprinkled their blood on the altar. Then they killed 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 their hands on the goats, ²⁴ the priests killed them. With the goats’ blood they made an offering on the altar to remove the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God. The king had said that the burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁵ King Hezekiah put the Levites in the Temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, as David, Gad, and Nathan had commanded. (Gad was the king’s seer, and Nathan was a prophet.) This command came from the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments of music, and the priests stood ready with their trumpets.

²⁷ Then Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering 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 worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters blew their trumpets until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹ When the sacrifices were completed, King Hezekiah and everyone with him bowed down and worshiped. ³⁰ King Hezekiah and his officers ordered the Levites to praise the Lord, using the words David and Asaph the seer had used. So they praised God with joy and bowed down and worshiped.

³¹ Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you people of Judah have given yourselves to the Lord, come near to the Temple of the Lord. Bring sacrifices and offerings, to show thanks to him.” So the people brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and anyone who was willing also brought burnt offerings. ³² For burnt offerings they brought a total of seventy bulls, one hundred male sheep, and two hundred lambs; all these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord. ³³ The holy offerings totaled six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. ³⁴ There were not enough priests to skin all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and other priests could be made holy. The Levites had been more careful to make themselves holy for the Lord’s service than the priests. ³⁵ There were many burnt offerings along with the fat of fellowship offerings and drink offerings. So the service in the Temple of the Lord began again. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and the people were very happy that God had made it happen so quickly for his people.