⁴ He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion^(A) due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. ⁵ As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits^(B) of their grain, new wine,^(C) olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. ⁶ The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe^(D) of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps.^{(E) 7} They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.^{(F) 8} When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and blessed^(G) his people Israel.

⁹ Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; ¹⁰ and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok,^(H) answered, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.”^(I)

¹⁴ Kore son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the East Gate, was in charge of the freewill offerings given to God, distributing the contributions made to the Lord and also the consecrated gifts. ¹⁵ Eden,^(A) Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah assisted him faithfully in the towns^(B) of the priests, distributing to their fellow priests according to their divisions, old and young alike.

¹⁶ In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records^(C)—all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions. ¹⁷ And they distributed to the priests enrolled by their families in the genealogical records and likewise to the Levites twenty years old or more, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.