In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he (A)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the public square on the east.

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Then he said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites. (B)Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out of the holy place. For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him and (C)turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have [a]turned their backs. They have also (D)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. Therefore (E)the wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of (F)hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For behold, (G)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 (H)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 (I)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: (J)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of (K)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, (L)consecrated themselves, and went in (M)to cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king (N)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 (O)the Kidron [d]Valley. 17 Now they began [e]the consecration (P)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, (Q)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.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 29:6 Lit given
  2. 2 Chronicles 29:13 Or Jeuel
  3. 2 Chronicles 29:14 Another reading is Jehuel
  4. 2 Chronicles 29:16 Or wadi
  5. 2 Chronicles 29:17 Lit to consecrate

In the very first year of his rule, during the first month, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Lord’s temple, having repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the eastern square.

“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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 29:17 March–April, Nisan