2 Chronicles 29:3-19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Temple Cleansed
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.(A) 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east. 5 He said to them, “Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and carry out the filth from the holy place.(B) 6 For our ancestors have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God; they have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the dwelling of the Lord and turned their backs.(C) 7 They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not offered incense or made burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.(D) 9 Our fathers have fallen by the sword and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.(E) 10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger may turn away from us.(F) 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence to minister to him and to be his ministers and offer incense.”(G)
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;(H) 13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers, sanctified themselves, and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.(I) 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took them and carried them out to the Wadi Kidron. 17 They began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord; then for eight days they sanctified the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.(J) 18 Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of bread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils that King Ahaz discarded during his reign when he was faithless, we have restored and sanctified; see, they are in front of the altar of the Lord.”(K)
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2 Chronicles 29:3-19
Christian Standard Bible
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them.(A) 4 Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the eastern public square.(B) 5 He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves(C) now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place. 6 For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place, and turned their backs on him.[a](D) 7 They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery,[b](E) as you see with your own eyes. 9 Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.(F) 10 It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel(G) so that his burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, don’t be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.”(H)
Cleansing the Temple
12 Then the Levites stood up:
Mahath(I) son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites;
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites;(J)
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;
13 Shimri and Jeuel from the Elizaphanites;
Zechariah and Mattaniah from the Asaphites;
14 Jehiel[c] and Shimei from the Hemanites;
Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthunites.
15 They gathered their brothers together, consecrated themselves,(K) and went according to the king’s command by the words of the Lord(L) to cleanse the Lord’s temple.(M)
16 The priests went to the entrance of the Lord’s temple to cleanse it. They took all the unclean things they found in the Lord’s sanctuary to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. Then the Levites received them and took them outside to the Kidron Valley.(N) 17 They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of the Lord’s temple. They consecrated the Lord’s temple for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
18 Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of the Bread of the Presence and all its utensils. 19 We have set up and consecrated all the utensils that King Ahaz rejected during his reign(O) when he became unfaithful. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”
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The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.