Beginning

28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not do uprightly in the sight of the LORD, like David his father.

² But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and even made molten images for Baalim.

³ Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom, and burnt his sons with fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

⁴ He also sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on hills, and under every green tree.

⁵ Therefore, the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of the Aramites. And they struck him and took some of his many prisoners and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with a great slaughter.

⁶ For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed one hundred twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.

⁷ And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son, and Azrikam, the governor of the House, and Elkanah, the second after the king.

⁸ And the children of Israel took prisoners of their brethren—two hundred thousand of the women, sons and daughters—and carried away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria.

⁹ But there was a Prophet of the LORD whose name Oded. And he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, “Behold! Because the LORD God of your fathers is angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand. And you have killed them in a rage that reaches up to Heaven!

¹⁰ “And now you intend to keep the children of Judah and Jerusalem under, as servants and handmaids to you. But are not your sins also with you before the LORD your God?

¹¹ “Now therefore, hear me and bring back the captives whom you have taken prisoners from your brethren. For the fierce wrath of the LORD is toward you.”

¹² Therefore, some of the chiefs of the children of Ephraim — Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum and Amasa the son of Hadlai — stood up against those who came from the war,

¹³ and said to them, “Do not bring the captives in here. For this shall be a sin upon us against the LORD. You intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass, though our trespass is great, as is the fierce wrath of God against Israel.”

¹⁴ So, the army left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the Congregation.

¹⁵ And the men who were named by name rose up and took the prisoners, and clothed all who were naked among them with the spoil, and arrayed them, and gave them sandals and food and drink, and anointed them, and carried all of them who were feeble upon donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the City of Palm Trees, to their brethren. So, they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ At that time, King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help.

¹⁷ For the Edomites had come again and struck Judah and carried away captives.

¹⁸ The Philistines also invaded the cities in the low country, and toward the South of Judah, and took Beth Shemesh and Aijalon and Gederoth and Sochoh (with their villages) and Timnah with its villages and Gimzo with its villages. And they dwelt there.

¹⁹ For the LORD had humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel. For he had brought vengeance upon Judah and had grievously transgressed against the LORD.

²⁰ And Tilgath-Pilneser, king of Assyria, came to him, who troubled him and did not strengthen him.

²¹ For Ahaz took a portion out of the House of the LORD and out of the king’s house and of the princes’ and gave to the king of Assyria. Still, it did not help him.

²² And in the time of his tribulation, he trespassed even more against the LORD (this is King Ahaz).

²³ For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which plagued him, and he said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them. And they will help me.” Yet they were his ruin, and all of Israel.

²⁴ And Ahaz gathered the vessels of the House of God, and broke the vessels of the House of God, and shut up the doors of the House of the LORD and made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.

²⁵ And he made high places in every city of Judah, to burn incense to other gods, and the LORD God of his fathers was provoked to anger.

²⁶ Concerning the rest of his acts and all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷ And Ahaz slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the city of Jerusalem but did not bring him to the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah, his son, reigned in his place.

29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old and reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

² And he did uprightly in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

³ He opened the Doors of the House of the LORD in the first year, and in the first month of his reign, and repaired them.

⁴ And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the east street,

⁵ and said to them, “Hear me, you Levites! Sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the House of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the Sanctuary!

⁶ “For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the Eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him, and turned away their faces from the Tabernacle of the LORD and turned their backs.”

⁷ “They have also shut the doors of the porch and quenched the lamps and have neither burnt incense nor offered Burnt Offerings to the God of Israel in the Sanctuary.

⁸ “Therefore, the wrath of the LORD has been on Judah and Jerusalem. And He has made them a scattering, a desolation, and a hissing, as you see with your eyes.

⁹ “For lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword. And our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for the same reason.

¹⁰ “Now I intend to make a Covenant with the LORD God of Israel, so that He may turn away His fierce wrath from us.

¹¹ “Now my sons, do not be deceived. For the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers, and to burn incense.”

¹² Then the Levites arose. Of the sons of the Kohathites came Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah. And of the sons of Merari came Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehallelel. And of the Gershonites came Joah, the son of Zimmah, and Eden, the son of Joah.

¹³ And of the sons of Elizaphan came Shimri and Jeiel. And of the sons of Asaph came Zechariah and Mattaniah.

¹⁴ And of the sons of Heman came Jehiel and Shimei. And of the sons of Jeduthun came Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵ And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves and came according to the commandment of the king, by the Words of the LORD, to cleanse the House of the LORD.

¹⁶ And the priests went into the inner parts of the House of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the Temple of the LORD into the court of the House of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out to the brook Kidron.

¹⁷ They began to sanctify it on the first day of the first month. And on the eighth day of the month, they came to the porch of the LORD. So they sanctified the House of the LORD in eight days. And on the sixteenth day of the first month, they finished.

¹⁸ Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the House of the LORD, and the Altar of Burnt Offering, with all its vessels, and the Showbread Table, with all its vessels.

¹⁹ “And have we prepared and sanctified all the vessels which King Ahaz had cast aside when he reigned and transgressed. And behold, they are before the Altar of the LORD.”

²⁰ And Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the princes of the city and went up to the House of the LORD.

²¹ And they brought seven bullocks and seven rams and seven lambs and seven male goats for a Sin Offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the Priests (the sons of Aaron) to offer them on the Altar of the LORD.

²² So, they killed the bulls, and the Priests received the blood, and sprinkled it upon the Altar. They also killed the rams and sprinkled the blood upon the Altar. And they killed the lambs; and they sprinkled the blood upon the Altar.

²³ Then they brought the male goats for the Sin Offering before the king and the Congregation. And they laid their hands upon them.

²⁴ And the Priests killed them. And they cleansed the Altar with their blood, to reconcile all Israel. For the king had commanded the Burnt Offering and the Sin Offering for all Israel.

²⁵ He also appointed the Levites in the House of the LORD, and Gad the king’s Seer and Nathan the Prophet, with cymbals, with viols, and with harps, according to the commandment of David. For the commandment was by the Hand of the LORD and by the hands of His Prophets.

²⁶ And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

²⁷ And Hezekiah commanded to offer the Burnt Offering upon the Altar. And when the Burnt Offering began, the song of the LORD began with the trumpets, and the instruments of David, king of Israel.

²⁸ And all the congregation worshipped, singing a song. And they blew the trumpets. All this continued until the Burnt Offering was finished.

²⁹ And after they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped.

³⁰ Then Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the Seer. So, they praised with joy, and they bowed themselves and worshipped.

³¹ And Hezekiah spoke, and said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD. Come near and bring the Sacrifices and Thank Offerings into the House of the LORD.” And the Congregation brought Sacrifices and Thank Offerings. And every man who was willing in heart offered Burnt Offerings.

³² And the number of the Burnt Offerings which the Congregation brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for a Burnt Offering to the LORD.

³³ And they brought six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep for sanctification.

³⁴ But the priests were too few and were not able to skin all the Burnt Offerings. Therefore their brethren, the Levites, helped them, until they had ended the work, and until other priests were sanctified. For the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.

³⁵ And also the Burnt Offerings were many, with the fat of the Peace Offerings and the Drink Offerings for the Burnt Offering. So, the service of the House of the LORD was set in order.

³⁶ Then, Hezekiah rejoiced (and all the people) that God had made the people so ready. For the thing was done suddenly.

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the House of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.

² And the king and his princes and all the Congregation had taken counsel in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month.

³ For they could not keep it at the present time, because there were not enough sanctified priests, nor were the people gathered to Jerusalem.

⁴ And the thing pleased the king and all the Congregation.

⁵ And they decreed to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem. For they had not done it as it was written for a long time.

⁶ So, the posts went with letters by the commission of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and with the commandment of the king, saying, “You children of Israel, turn back to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; and He will return to the remnant of you who has escaped out of the hands of the kings of Assyria.

⁷ “And do not be like your fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers. Therefore, as you see, He made them desolate.

⁸ “Do not be stiff-necked now, as your fathers were, but give the hand to the LORD and come into His Sanctuary which He has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God. And the fierceness of His wrath shall turn away from you.

⁹ “For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find mercy before those who led them away captive. And they shall return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His Face from you, if you convert to Him.”

¹⁰ So, the posts went from city to city throughout the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the way to Zebulun. But they ridiculed and mocked them.

¹¹ Nevertheless, some from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun submitted themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹² And the hand of God was in Judah, so that He gave them one heart to do the commandment of the king, and of the rulers, according to the Word of the LORD.

¹³ And many people assembled in Jerusalem, to keep the Feast of the Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly.

¹⁴ And they arose and took away the Altars that were in Jerusalem. And they took away all those for incense and cast them into the brook Kidron.

¹⁵ Afterward, they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought the Burnt Offerings into the House of the LORD.

¹⁶ And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the Law of Moses, the man of God. And the priests sprinkled the blood from the hands of the Levites.

¹⁷ Because there were many in the Congregation who were not sanctified, the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passover for all who were not clean, to sanctify it to the LORD.

¹⁸ For a multitude of the people — a multitude of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun — had not cleansed themselves, yet ate the Passover, not as it was written. Therefore, Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “The good LORD be merciful toward

¹⁹ “whomever prepares his whole heart to seek the LORD God, the God of his fathers, though he is not according to the purification of the Sanctuary.”

²⁰ And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ And the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of the Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. And the Levites and the priests praised the LORD, day by day, singing with loud instruments to the LORD.

²² And Hezekiah spoke encouragement to all the Levites who had good knowledge of the LORD. And they ate of that Feast for seven days, and offered Peace Offerings and praised the LORD God of their fathers.

²³ And the whole assembly took counsel to keep it for another seven days. So, they kept it for seven days with joy.

²⁴ For Hezekiah, king of Judah, had given a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to the Congregation. And the princes had given a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep to the Congregation. And many priests were sanctified.

²⁵ And all the Congregation of Judah rejoiced with the priests and the Levites, and all the Congregation who came out of Israel, and the strangers who came out of the land of Israel, and who dwelt in Judah.

²⁶ So, there was great joy in Jerusalem. For since the time of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, there was not anything like it in Jerusalem.

²⁷ Then, the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people. And their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to Heaven, to His holy habitation.

31 And when all these things were finished, all Israel went out and broke the images that were found in the cities of Judah, and cut down the groves, and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had finished. Afterward, all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possessions, into their own cities.

² And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites by their turns, every man according to his office, priests and Levites for the Burnt Offering and Peace Offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the Tents of the LORD.

³ And the king appointed a portion of his own substance for the Burnt Offerings — for the Burnt Offerings in the morning and in the evening, and the Burnt Offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the solemn Feasts — as it is written in the Law of the LORD.

⁴ He also commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give a part to the priests and Levites, so that they might be encouraged in the Law of the LORD.

⁵ And when the commandment had spread, the children of Israel brought an abundance of firstfruits: grain, wine, oil, and honey. And they brought an abundance of all the increase of the field and the tithes of all things.

⁶ And the children of Israel and Judah who dwelt in the cities of Judah also brought the tithes of bulls and sheep and the holy tithes which were consecrated to the LORD their God and laid them on many heaps.

⁷ In the third month, they began to lay the foundation of the heaps and finished them in the seventh month.

⁸ And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel.

⁹ And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

¹⁰ And Azariah, the High Priest, of the House of Zadok, answered him, and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the House of the LORD, we have eaten and have been satisfied. And there is an abundance left. For the LORD has blessed His people and this abundance that is left.”

¹¹ And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the House of the LORD. And they prepared them,

¹² and carried in the firstfruits and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully. And over them was Conaniah the Levite (the chief) and Shimei, his brother (the second)

¹³ and Jehiel and Azaziah and Nahath and Asahel, and Jerimoth and Jozabad and Eliel and Ismachiah and Mahath and Benaiah. These were overseers, by the appointment of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and of Azariah, the chief of the House of God.

¹⁴ And Kore, the son of Imnah the Levite, gatekeeper toward the east, was over the things that were willingly offered to God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the holy things that were consecrated.

¹⁵ And at his hand in the cities of the priests were Eden and Miniamin and Jeshua and Shemaiah, Amariah and Shechaniah, to distribute their daily portion with fidelity to their brethren by divisions, both to the great and small,

¹⁶ regardless of their generation, males from three years old and above, all who entered into the House of the LORD, to their office, in their charge, according to their divisions.

¹⁷ They distributed with fidelity both to the generation of the priests after the House of their fathers and to the Levites, from twenty years old and above, according to their charge, in their divisions,

¹⁸ and to the generation of all their children, their wives and their sons and their daughters, throughout all the Congregation. For by their fidelity, they are partakers of the holy things.

¹⁹ Also, of the sons of Aaron, the priests in the fields and suburbs of their cities, in every city, there were men who were appointed, by names, to give portions to all the males of the priests and to all the generations of the Levites.

²⁰ And thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah. And he did well and uprightly and truly before the LORD his God.

²¹ And all the works that he began for the service of the House of God — both in the Law and in the Commandments, to seek his God — he did with all his heart and prospered.