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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2 Chronicles 29:3-19
Common English Bible
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.”
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- 2 Chronicles 29:17 March–April, Nisan
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