Beginning

Ahaz Succeeds Jotham^(A)

28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem, but he did not practice what the Lord considered to be right, as his ancestor David had done. ² Instead, he lived like^[a] the kings of Israel did. He cast metal images of Baal,^{[b] 3} burned incense in the Ben-hinnom Valley, and burned his sons^[c] as an offering, following the detestable activities of the nations whom the Lord had expelled in front of the people of Israel. ⁴ He sacrificed and burned incense on high places, on the top of hills, and under every green tree.

Aram and Israel Defeat Judah^(B)

⁵ As a result, the Lord his God handed Ahaz^[d] over to the king of Aram, who defeated him and took a large number of captives away to Damascus. Ahaz^[e] was also delivered over to the control of the King of Israel, who defeated him with many heavy casualties. ⁶ Remaliah’s son Pekah killed 120,000 soldiers in a single day, all of them elite forces, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their ancestors. ⁷ Zichri, a valiant soldier from Ephraim, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam, the palace manager, and Elkanah, who was second in rank to the king. ⁸ The Israelis carried away 200,000 women, sons, and daughters from among their own relatives. They also took a great deal of plunder, and brought it all to Samaria.

Oded the Prophet Rebukes Israel

⁹ But a prophet of the Lord was there named Oded. He went out to greet the army as it arrived in Samaria. He warned them, “Look! Because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry at Judah, he delivered them into your control, but you have killed them with a vehemence that has reached all the way to heaven! ¹⁰ Now you’re intending to make the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem to be your slaves. Surely you have your own sins against the Lord your God for which you’re accountable,^[f] don’t you? ¹¹ So listen to me! Return the captives whom you’ve captured from your brothers, because the anger of the Lord is burning hot against you!”

¹² Some of the leaders of the descendants of Ephraim, including Johanan’s son Azariah, Meshillemoth’s son Berechiah, Shallum’s son Jehizkiah, and Hadlai’s son Amasa, stood up to the army as they were coming back from the battle ¹³ and told them, “Don’t bring those captives here! You’ll bring even more guilt on us from the Lord, in addition to our own existing sin and guilt! He’s already mad enough against Israel because of our guilt!”

¹⁴ So the army abandoned the captives and the war booty in front of the officers and the entire assembled retinue. ¹⁵ After this, some men who were chosen by name took charge of the captives, clothed those who were naked with clothes appropriated from the war booty, gave them clothes and sandals, fed them, gave them something to drink, anointed them with oil, provided those who weren’t able to walk^[g] with donkeys to ride on, and took them back to their relatives at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Assyria Plunders the Temple^(C)

¹⁶ Right about then, King Ahaz sent for help from the kings of Assyria ¹⁷ because the Edomites had invaded, attacked Judah, and carried off some captives. ¹⁸ The Philistines also invaded some of the cities in the Shephelah^[h] and in the Negev^[i] of Judah. They captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, and their surrounding villages, Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages. Then the Philistines^[j] settled there, ¹⁹ because the Lord was humiliating Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, since Ahaz had brought about a lack of restraint within Judah and had remained unfaithful to the Lord. ²⁰ King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked Ahaz^[k] and, instead of helping him, attacked him. ²¹ Even though Ahaz took some of the assets belonging to the Lord’s Temple from the royal palace, and from the palaces belonging to the princes, and gave them to the king of Assyria, none of his gifts did any good.

The Apostasy and Death of Ahaz^(D)

²² In the midst of his troubles, King Ahaz became more and more unfaithful to the Lord. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him, reasoning, “The gods of the kings of Aram helped them, so I’ll sacrifice to them so they will help me!” But those gods^[l] brought about his downfall, and the downfall of all of Israel, too. ²⁴ Ahaz also collected the utensils of God’s Temple, cut them all into pieces, and closed the doors of the Lord’s Temple. Then he made altars to^[m] himself on every corner in Jerusalem ²⁵ and established high places in every city of Judah where incense was burned to other gods, thus provoking the Lord God of his ancestors to anger. ²⁶ The rest of his accomplishments, and records of everything he did from first to last are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ So Ahaz died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but they didn’t bury him among the tombs of the kings of Israel. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz^(E)

29 Hezekiah began his reign at the age of 25. He reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah, Zechariah’s daughter. ² He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, following all of the examples set by his ancestor David.

Hezekiah’s Temple Restoration Project^(F)

³ In the first month of the first year of his reign he repaired and reopened the doors of the Lord’s Temple. ⁴ Then he brought in the priests and descendants of Levi, gathered them into the square in the eastern part of the Temple,^{[n] 5} and told them,

¹² Here are the names of the descendants of Levi who made themselves available to God: Amasai’s son Mahath and Azariah’s son Joel from the descendants of Kohath; Abdi’s son Kish and Jehallelel’s son Azariah from the descendants of Merari; Zimmah’s son Joah and Joah’s son Eden from the descendants of Gershon; ¹³ Elizaphan’s sons Shimri and Jeiel; Asaph’s sons Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ Heman’s sons Jehiel and Shimei; and Jeduthun’s sons Shemaiah and Uzziel. ¹⁵ They also brought together their brothers, consecrated themselves, and proceeded to cleanse the Lord’s Temple, just as the king had ordered in accordance with what the Lord had told him. ¹⁶ The priests entered the inner courts of the Lord’s Temple to cleanse it, and they brought out everything unclean that they found there to the outer court of the Lord’s Temple. Then the descendants of Levi carried everything from there out to the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ They began their consecration duties on the first day of the first month and finished at the Lord’s outer vestibule^[r] on the eighth day of the month. Another eight days was used to consecrate the Lord’s Temple, so they completed the work on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸ After this, they went to King Hezekiah and told him, “We have cleansed all of the Lord’s Temple, including the altar for burnt offerings, all of its utensils, the table of showbread, and all of its utensils. ¹⁹ In addition, we have prepared and rededicated all of the utensils that King Ahaz threw away during his unfaithful reign, and now they’re back in service at the Lord’s altar.”

Temple Worship is Restored

²⁰ Early the next morning, King Hezekiah got up and assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord’s Temple, ²¹ where they brought seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering on behalf of the kingdom, the Holy Place, and Judah. He ordered that the priests, as descendants of Aaron, place the offerings^[s] on the Lord’s altar. ²² So they slaughtered the bulls and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar, and they also slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. ²³ They brought the male goats for the sin offering to the king within the assembled gathering, laid their hands on them, ²⁴ and then the priests slaughtered them and purged the altar with their blood as a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king ordered that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

²⁵ Hezekiah^[t] stationed descendants of Levi in the Lord’s Temple to play cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the seer,^[u] and Nathan the prophet^[v] had directed, because the command to do so was from the Lord through those prophets. ²⁶ The descendants of Levi played instruments that had been crafted by David and the priests sounded trumpets.

²⁷ Hezekiah gave a command to offer burnt offerings on the altar, and when the burnt offerings began, a song to the Lord also began with trumpets sounding and with the instruments that King David of Israel had crafted. ²⁸ Everybody in the assembly worshipped, the singers sang, and the trumpets sounded. They continued doing this until the burnt offering sacrifice was completed. ²⁹ When the sacrifices had been offered, the king and everyone else who was present with him bowed down and worshipped. ³⁰ King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the descendants of Levi to sing praises to the Lord based on psalms that had been written by David and Asaph the seer.^[w] So they all joyfully sang praises, bowed low, and worshipped.

³¹ After this, Hezekiah announced, “Now that you’ve consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near and bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and everyone who was willing to do so brought burnt offerings. ³² The number of burnt offerings brought by the assembly was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All of these were burnt offerings to the Lord. ³³ The consecrated offerings numbered 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. ³⁴ Because there weren’t enough priests, they were unable to prepare all the burnt offerings until other priests came forward after having consecrated themselves, so their descendant of Levi relatives assisted them until the services were complete. (The descendants of Levi had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than had been the priests.) ³⁵ Furthermore, there were also many burnt offerings, fat from peace offerings, and drink offerings. And that’s how the service of the Lord’s Temple was restored. ³⁶ Hezekiah and all of the people were ecstatic with joy because of what God had done for the people, since everything had come about so suddenly.

Israel Celebrates the Passover

30 Hezekiah also sent word to all of Israel and Judah, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh that they should come to the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. ² The king, his princes, and the entire assembly in Jerusalem had mutually decided to observe the Passover in the second month, ³ but they had been unable to celebrate it then because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not yet been gathered together in Jerusalem. ⁴ This decision seemed to be a good one in the opinion of the king and of the entire assembly, ⁵ so they published a decree that was circulated throughout Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan that they are to come celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem. The Passover^[x] had not been celebrated in great numbers as was being prescribed by the decree.^[y]

⁶ Couriers were sent throughout all of Israel and Judah with letters written by the king and his princes, just as the king had commanded:

¹⁰ Couriers crossed from city to city throughout the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but those people^[aa] just mocked them and laughed at them. ¹¹ Nevertheless, a few men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and traveled to Jerusalem. ¹² God also poured out his grace throughout^[ab] Judah, giving them a dedicated^[ac] heart to do what the king and princes had decreed according to the message from the Lord. ¹³ Many of the people gathered together in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread during the second month. It was a very large assembly. ¹⁴ They all got to work and removed the idolatrous^[ad] altars that were throughout Jerusalem. They also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Brook. ¹⁵ Then they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month.

The priests and descendants of Levi felt ashamed of themselves, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Lord’s Temple. ¹⁶ Then they took their customary places, as the Law of Moses the man of God prescribes, and the priests sprinkled the blood that they were given by the descendants of Levi. ¹⁷ Because there were so many in the assembly that had not consecrated themselves, therefore the descendants of Levi supervised the slaughter of the Passover sacrifices on behalf of everyone who remained unclean, so they could be consecrated to the Lord. ¹⁸ Even though a large crowd of people from as far away as Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not completed consecrating themselves, they still ate the Passover in a manner not proscribed by the Law,^[ae] because Hezekiah had prayed like this for them: “May the good Lord extend a pardon on behalf of ¹⁹ everyone who prepares his own heart to seek God, the Lord God of his ancestors, even though he does so inconsistent with the laws of consecration.” ²⁰ The Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread is Observed

²¹ The Israelis who were present in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with immense gladness, and the descendants of Levi and priests praised the Lord throughout each day, singing mightily to the Lord. ²² Hezekiah encouraged all the descendants of Levi who demonstrated significant insight in their service to the Lord, so they all participated in the festival meals for seven days, all the while sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their ancestors. ²³ After this, the whole assembly agreed to celebrate for another seven days, and so they did—and they were very happy to do so! ²⁴ King Hezekiah of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes contributed 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep, and a large number of priests consecrated themselves.

²⁵ Everyone in the assembly of Judah rejoiced, as did the priests, the descendants of Levi, and the people who gathered together from throughout Israel, including those who came from the land of Israel and those who lived in Judah. ²⁶ There was great joy throughout Jerusalem, because nothing had happened like this in Jerusalem since the days of David’s son Solomon, king of Israel. ²⁷ After this, the priests arose, blessed the people, and their voices were heard in prayer all the way to heaven, where God resides in holiness.

Idols are Eliminated from Judah^(G)

31 At the conclusion of all of these activities, everybody in Israel who was in attendance traveled throughout the cities of Judah, broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, and broke down the high places and altars throughout the territories of^[af] Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh until they had eliminated all of them. Then the people of Israel went back to their cities and back to their work.^[ag]

Hezekiah Continues His Reforms

² Hezekiah appointed the priestly divisions and the divisions of the descendants of Levi, each according to their service duties, including both priests and descendants of Levi who offered morning and evening burnt offerings, peace offerings, general^[ah] ministry, thanksgiving, and praise in the gateways to the Lord’s campgrounds.^{[ai] 3} He also gave a portion of his own income for both morning and evening burnt offerings, for burnt offerings on the Sabbath, New Moons, and for the scheduled festivals, as is recorded in the Lord’s Law.^{[aj] 4} Hezekiah^[ak] also directed the people who lived in Jerusalem to give what was due to the priests and descendants of Levi, so they could be strengthened in the Lord’s Law. ⁵ As the word spread around, the people of Israel gave generously for the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and all of the produce of the fields. They generously gave a tithe of everything. ⁶ The descendants of Israel and Judah who lived throughout the cities of Judah also brought tithes of cattle and sheep, as well as tithes of gifts that had been dedicated to the Lord their God.

As these gifts were given, they were laid in piles. ⁷ They began to make these piles of gifts^[al] during the third month, and it took them until the seventh month to finish. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the officials arrived and saw the piles of gifts,^[am] they blessed the Lord and his people Israel, ⁹ and Hezekiah quizzed the priests and the descendants of Levi about the piles of gifts.^{[an] 10} Azariah replied, “Since they began to bring their gifts into the Lord’s Temple, we have eaten and have been satisfied. Now we still have plenty left, because the Lord has blessed his people so that we have all of this left over.”

The Priests and Descendants of Levi Reorganized

¹¹ Hezekiah gave an order to prepare storerooms in the Lord’s Temple, and so they did. ¹² They faithfully brought in the gifts, tithes, and consecrated materials, and Conaniah the descendant of Levi was placed in charge of them. His brother Shimei was second in command, ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah served as supervisors under Conaniah and his brother Shimei, who had been appointed by King Hezekiah. Azariah served as senior officer of God’s Temple. ¹⁴ Imnah the descendant of Levi’s son Kore, keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of voluntary offerings to God, apportioning contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. ¹⁵ Under his authority, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah served in the priestly cities, making sure contributions were distributed faithfully to their relatives division by division, no matter how large or how small, ¹⁶ without regard to genealogical enrollment, to every male 30^[ao] years old and older—that is, to everyone who entered the Lord’s Temple as their duty obligations required—for their work and duties according to their divisions ¹⁷ as well as the priests who were enrolled in the genealogies according to their ancestral households. ¹⁸ These genealogical enrollments also included all of their little children, their wives, and their sons and daughters for the entire assembly, because they were being faithful to consecrating themselves in holiness. ¹⁹ Furthermore, with respect to the descendants of Aaron, that is, the priests who lived out in the country away from the cities, or who lived in each and every city, men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone who had been enrolled by genealogy among the descendants of Levi.

²⁰ Hezekiah did this throughout all of Judah, and he acted well, doing what the Lord his God considered to be right and true. ²¹ Everything that Hezekiah^[ap] began in the service of God’s Temple was done according to the Law and to the commandments as he sought his God, worked with all of his heart, and became successful.