Beginning

28 Ahaz was of twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; he did not rightfulness in the sight of the Lord, as David, his father, did (he did not go rightfully before the Lord, like his forefather David did);

² but he went in the ways of the kings of Israel. Furthermore and he melted out images to Baalim (And furthermore he cast metal images of the Baalim).

³ He it is that burnt incense in the valley of Ben-hinnon, and purged his sons by fire (It was he who burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnon, and who burned his sons in the fire), (as) by the custom of heathen men, whom the Lord (had) killed in the coming of the sons of Israel from Egypt/in the coming of the sons of Israel to the land of promise.

⁴ Also he made sacrifice, and burnt incense in high places, and in hills, and under each tree full of boughs. (And he made sacrifices, and burned incense at the hill shrines, and on the hills, and under each tree full of boughs.)

⁵ And the Lord his God betook him in(to) the hand of the king of Syria, which smote Ahaz, and took a great prey of his empire, and brought into Damascus. Also Ahaz was betaken to the hands of the king of Israel, and he was smitten with a great wound. (And the Lord his God delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria, who struck Ahaz, and took away many captives from his empire, and brought them to Damascus. And then Ahaz was delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who struck down his army with a great slaughter.)

⁶ And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed of Judah sixscore thousand in one day, all the men warriors; for they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. (And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed one hundred and twenty thousand of the men of Judah on one day, all very strong men of war; because they had abandoned the Lord God of their fathers.)

⁷ In the same time Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the son of Jotham, the king; and he killed Azrikam, the duke of his house, and Elkanah, the second person from the king. (At the same time Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the son of Jotham, the king; and he also killed Azrikam, the leader of his household, and Elkanah, the second person from the king.)

⁸ And the sons of Israel took of their brethren two hundred thousand of women and of children and of damsels, and prey without number, and bare it into Samaria. (And the Israelites captured two hundred thousand of their kinsmen’s women and children and young women, and also took prey without number, and brought them and the spoils back to Samaria.)

⁹ In that tempest, or (time of) vengeance, a prophet of the Lord, Oded by name, was there, which went out against the host of Israel coming into Samaria, and he said to them, Lo! the Lord God of your fathers was wroth against Judah, and he hath betaken them in your hands; and ye have slain them cruelly, so that your cruelty stretcheth forth into heaven. (And in that tempest, or at that time of vengeance, a prophet of the Lord named Oded was there, and he went out to meet the army of Israel coming back to Samaria, and he said to them, Lo! the Lord God of your fathers was angry against Judah, and so he delivered them into your hands; but ye have cruelly killed them, so that your cruelty stretcheth forth unto heaven.)

¹⁰ Furthermore and ye will (to) make subject to you the sons of Judah and of Jerusalem into servants and handmaids; which thing is not needful to be done; certainly ye have sinned in this thing to the Lord your God. (And furthermore ye desire to make the sons of Judah and of Jerusalem subject to you, to make them be your servants and your sevantesses; but this should not be done, for ye have also sinned against the Lord your God.)

¹¹ But hear ye my counsel, and lead again the prisoners, which ye have brought thence of your brethren (whom ye have brought here from your kinsmen); for (the) great vengeance of the Lord nigheth to you.

¹² Therefore men of the princes of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah, the son of Johanan, Berechiah, the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah, the son of Shallum, and Amasa, the son of Hadlai, stood against them that came from the battle; (And so some leaders of the Ephraimites, Azariah, the son of Johanan, Berechiah, the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah, the son of Shallum, and Amasa, the son of Hadlai, stood against them who came from the battle;)

¹³ and said to them, Ye shall not bring in hither the prisoners, lest we do (more) sin against the Lord; why will ye lay to on your sins, and heap (more on) your old trespasses? Certainly this is great sin; the wrath of the strong vengeance of the Lord nigheth on Israel. (and said to them, Ye shall not bring in the prisoners here, lest we do more sin against the Lord; why add ye more onto our sins, and heap up more onto our old trespasses? For our sin is great; and the anger of the strong vengeance of the Lord cometh upon Israel.)

¹⁴ And the men warriors left the prey, and all things which they had taken, before the princes and all the multitude. (And so the men of war left the prisoners, and all the things which they had taken, in front of the leaders and all the multitude.)

¹⁵ And the men stood there, which we remembered before, and they took the prisoners, and they clothed of the spoils all that were naked; and when they had clothed them, and shod them, and refreshed them with meat, and with drink, and anointed them for (their) travail, and gave cure, either medicine, to them; which ever of them were feeble, and might not go, they putted on horses, and they brought them to Jericho, the city of palms, to their brethren; and they turned again into Samaria. (And the men stood there, whom we named before, and they took the prisoners, and they clothed all who were naked with the spoils; and when they had clothed them, and shod them, and refreshed them with food, and with drink, and anointed them for their travail, and gave a cure, or medicine, to them; whomever of them were feeble, or were weak, and could not walk, they put on horses, and they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, back to their kinsmen; and then they returned to Samaria.)

¹⁶ In that time (At that time), king Ahaz sent to the king of Assyrians, and asked help of him.

¹⁷ And Idumeans came (For the Edomites had returned), and killed many men of Judah, and took great prey.

¹⁸ Also [the] Philistines were spread abroad by (the) cities of the fields, and at the south of Judah; and they took Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho, and Timnah, and Gimzo, with their villages; and they dwelled in those (and they lived there).

¹⁹ For the Lord made low Judah for Ahaz, the king of Judah^[a]; for he had made him naked of help, and (he had) despised the Lord. (For the Lord had humbled Judah because of Ahaz, the king of Judah; for he had made Judah naked, or void, of any help, and he had defied the Lord.)

²⁰ And the Lord brought against him Tilgathpilneser, king of Assyrians, that tormented him (who tormented him), and wasted him, while no man against-stood (him).

²¹ Therefore Ahaz, after that he had spoiled the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, and (those) of the princes, gave gifts to the king of Assyrians, and nevertheless it profited nothing to him. (And so Ahaz, after that he had spoiled the House of the Lord, and the house of the king, and those of the leaders, gave gifts to the king of Assyria, but nevertheless it profited nothing to him.)

²² Furthermore also in the time of his anguish he increased despite against God; that king Ahaz, himself, (And furthermore in the time of his anguish he increased his defiance against God; for King Ahaz, himself,)

²³ offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, his smiters, or destroyers, and he said, The gods of the kings of Syria help them, which gods I shall please by sacrifices, and they shall help me; when, on the contrary, they were (the cause of) falling to him, and to all Israel. (offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, his destroyers, and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I shall please these gods, and then they shall also help me; when, on the contrary, they were the cause of his downfall, and that of all Israel.)

²⁴ Therefore after that Ahaz had taken away, and broken all the vessels of the house of God, he closed the gates of God’s temple, and he made altars to himself in all the corners of Jerusalem (and he made altars for himself in all the corners of Jerusalem).

²⁵ And in all the cities of Judah he builded altars to burn incense (to other gods), and he stirred the Lord God of his fathers to wrathfulness.

²⁶ Soothly the residue of his words and of all his works, the former and the last, be written in the book of [the] kings of Judah and of Israel. (And the rest of the first and the last deeds of Ahaz, be written in The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel.)

²⁷ And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of Jerusalem; for they received not him into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel (for they would not lay him in the tombs of the kings of Israel); and Hezekiah, his son, reigned for him.

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

² And Hezekiah did that, that was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, by all things that David, his father, had done. (And Hezekiah did what was pleasing before the Lord, by all the things that his forefather David had done.)

³ In that year, and in the first month of his realm, he opened the gates of the house of the Lord, and restored, or repaired, those gates;

⁴ and he brought (in) the priests, and deacons (and the Levites), and he gathered them together into the east street,

⁵ and said to them, Sons of Levi, hear ye me, and be ye hallowed; cleanse ye the house of the Lord God of your fathers; and do ye away all uncleanness from the saintuary. (and said to them, Sons of Levi/Levites, listen ye to me, and be ye consecrated, or purified, now; and cleanse ye the House of the Lord God of your fathers; and do ye away all uncleanness from the sanctuary.)

⁶ Our fathers have sinned, and done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and forsook him; they turned away their faces from the tabernacle of the Lord our God, and gave their back (and they turned their backs on him).

⁷ They closed the doors that were in the porch (They closed the doors of the vestibule), and quenched the lanterns; and they burnt not incense, and they offered not burnt sacrifices in the saintuary of (the) God of Israel.

⁸ Therefore the strong vengeance of the Lord was raised upon Judah and Jerusalem; and he gave them into stirring/into moving, or unstableness, and into perishing, and into hissing, either scorning, as ye see with your eyes.

⁹ Lo! our fathers have fallen down by swords; our sons, and our daughters, and our wives be led (away as) prisoners for this great trespass.

¹⁰ Now therefore it pleaseth me, that we make a bond of peace with the Lord God of Israel, and that he turn from us the strong vengeance of his wrath. (And so now it pleaseth me, that we make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he turn away the strong vengeance of his anger from us.)

¹¹ My sons, do not ye herein be reckless; the Lord hath chosen you, that ye stand before him, and serve him, that ye praise him, and burn incense to him.

¹² Therefore the deacons rose up (And so the Levites rose up), Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, of the sons of Kohath; and of the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehalelel; and of the sons of Gershon, Joah, the son of Zimmah, and Eden, the son of Joah;

¹³ and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah;

¹⁴ also of the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shimei; but also of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel. (and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel, and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel.)

¹⁵ And they gathered together their brethren, and they were hallowed (And they gathered their kinsmen together, and they were consecrated, or were purified); and (then) they entered by the commandment of the king, and by [the] commandment of the Lord, for to cleanse the house of the Lord.

¹⁶ Also [the] priests entered into the temple of the Lord, for to hallow it, and they bare out all the uncleanness, that they found therein in(to) the porch, either large place, of the house of the Lord; which uncleanness the deacons took, and they bare it out to the strand of Kidron withoutforth. (And the priests entered into the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the unclean things, that they found there, into the courtyard of the House of the Lord; and then the Levites took away these unclean things, and they carried them to the Kidron Stream/to the Kidron Gorge.)

¹⁷ Soothly they began to cleanse in the first day of the first month, and in the eighth day of the same month they entered into the porch of the house of the Lord, and they cleansed the temple eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the same month they [ful]filled that, that they had begun. (And they began to cleanse it on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the same month they reached the vestibule of the House of the Lord, and then they cleansed the Temple for eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the same month, they finished what they had begun.)

¹⁸ And they entered to Hezekiah, the king, and said to him, We have hallowed, or cleansed, all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt sacrifice thereof, and the vessels thereof, also and the board of setting forth with all his vessels, (And they came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, We have cleansed all the House of the Lord, and also the table for the loaves of proposition, or the loaves of setting forth, with all its vessels,)

¹⁹ and all the purtenance of the temple, that king Ahaz had defouled in his realm (that King Ahaz had defiled during his reign), after that he brake the law; and lo! all things be set forth before the altar of the Lord.

²⁰ And Hezekiah, the king, rose up in the morrowtide, and he gathered together all the princes of the city, and he went up into the house of the Lord; (And King Hezekiah rose up in the morning, and he gathered together all the leaders of the city, and he went to the House of the Lord;)

²¹ and they offered together seven bulls, and seven rams, seven lambs, and seven bucks of goats, for [the] sin, for the realm, for the saintuary, and for Judah (and they offered seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven goat bucks as a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah). And he said to [the] priests, the sons of Aaron, that they should offer sacrifices on the altar of the Lord.

²² Therefore they killed (the) bulls, and the priests took the blood, and poured it upon the altar; also they killed (the) rams, and they poured the blood of those upon the altar; and they (also) offered (the) lambs, and they poured the blood upon the altar.

²³ And they brought [the] bucks of goats for (the) sin (offering) before the king and all the multitude, and they setted their hands on those (and they put their hands on them);

²⁴ and the priests offered them, and they sprinkled the blood of them before the altar, for the cleansing of all Israel. For the king commanded, that burnt sacrifice should be made for all Israel, and for (the) sin thereof. (and the priests offered them, and they sprinkled their blood on the altar, for the cleansing of all Israel. For the king commanded, that the burnt sacrifice, and the sin offering, should be made for all Israel.)

²⁵ Also he ordained deacons in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps (And he ordained Levites in the House of the Lord, with cymbals, and lutes, and harps), by the ordinance of David the king, and of Gad, the prophet, and of Nathan, the prophet; for it was the commandment of the Lord by the hand of his prophets.

²⁶ And the deacons stood, and held the organs of David; and priests held [the] trumps. (And the Levites stood ready with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.)

²⁷ And Hezekiah commanded, that they should offer burnt sacrifices upon the altar; and when burnt sacrifices were offered, they began to sing praisings to the Lord, and to sound with trumps, and with diverse organs, which David, king of Israel, had made ready to sound with. (And Hezekiah commanded, that they should offer burnt sacrifices upon the altar; and when the burnt sacrifices were offered, they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound with the trumpets, and the other instruments, which David, the king of Israel, had made to sound with.)

²⁸ Forsooth when all the company worshipped/And when all the company worshipped the Lord, [the] singers and they that held trumps were in their office, till the burnt sacrifice was filled (the singers sang, and those who had the trumpets blew them, until the burnt sacrifice was finished).

²⁹ And when the offering was ended, the king was bowed down, and all that were with him (the king bowed down, and all who were with him), and they worshipped God.

³⁰ And Hezekiah and the princes commanded to the deacons, that they should praise the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph, the prophet; which praised him with great gladness, and kneeled, and worshipped. (And Hezekiah and his leaders commanded to the Levites, that they should praise the Lord with the words of David, and with those of the prophet Asaph; and so they praised him with great gladness, and kneeled, and worshipped.)

³¹ Soothly Hezekiah added also these things, (and said,) Ye have filled your hands with blessings to the Lord; nigh ye, and offer sacrifices and praisings in the house of the Lord. Therefore all the multitude offered with devout soul sacrifices, and praisings, and burnt sacrifices. (And Hezekiah added these things, and said, Ye have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; now come ye, and offer sacrifices and praises in the House of the Lord. And so with devout soul, all the multitude offered sacrifices, and praises, and burnt sacrifices.)

³² And this was the number of burnt sacrifices, which the multitude offered; seventy bulls, and an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs.

³³ Also they hallowed to the Lord six hundred oxen, and three thousand sheep.

³⁴ And the priests were few, and they might not suffice for to draw, or flay off, the skins of [the] burnt sacrifices; wherefore and the deacons their brethren helped them, till the work was [ful]filled, and the priests were hallowed; for the deacons be hallowed by lighter custom than the priests. (And the priests were too few, to be able to draw away, or to flay off, all the skins of the burnt sacrifices; and so their kinsmen the Levites helped them, until the work was finished, and the other priests had consecrated themselves; for more of the Levites had kept themselves purified than had the priests.)

³⁵ Therefore there were full many burnt sacrifices, and inner fatness of peaceable sacrifices, and the moist sacrifices of burnt sacrifices, and thereby the worship of the house of the Lord was (ful)filled. (And so there were a great many burnt sacrifices, as well as the inner fatness of the peace offerings, and the wine sacrifices for all the burnt sacrifices, and by this the service of the House of the Lord was restored.)

³⁶ And Hezekiah was glad, and all the people, for the service of the Lord was fulfilled; for it pleased (them all), that this was done suddenly. (And Hezekiah and all the people were glad, that the service of the House of the Lord had begun again, or was restored; and it pleased them all, that it had all been done so quickly.)

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and to Judah, and he wrote epistles to Ephraim and to Manasseh, that they should come into the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and make pask to the Lord God of Israel. (And Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and to Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and to Manasseh, that they should come to the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, and keep the Passover of the Lord God of Israel.)

² Therefore when counsel was taken of the king, and of [the] princes, and of all the company of Jerusalem, they deemed, or purposed, to make pask in the second month. (And so when the king, and the leaders, and all the company of Jerusalem, had taken counsel together, they decided to keep the Passover in the second month.)

³ For they deemed not to be able to do this in his time, that is, the first month (For they deemed that they could not do it at that time, that is, in the first month); for the priests which might suffice thereto were not yet hallowed, and the people was not yet gathered into Jerusalem.

⁴ And the word pleased the king, and all the multitude. (And this decision pleased the king, and all the multitude.)

⁵ And they deemed to send messengers into all Israel, from Beersheba unto Dan, that they should come, and make (the) pask to the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem; for (so) many men had not done it, as it is before-written in the law (for so many had not kept it before, as it was described in the Law).

⁶ And couriers went forth with epistles, by [the] commandment of the king and of his princes, into all Israel and Judah, and preached by that, that the king had commanded, (and said,) Sons of Israel, turn ye again to the Lord God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel; and he shall turn again to the remnant of men, that escaped the hands of the king(s) of Assyrians. (And couriers went forth with the letters, by the command of the king and of his leaders, into all Israel and Judah, and preached what the king had commanded, and said, Israelites, return ye to the Lord God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; and he shall return to the remnant of people, who escaped from the hands, or from the power, of the kings of Assyria.)

⁷ Do not ye be made as your fathers and your brethren, which went away from the Lord God of their fathers; and he gave them into perishing, as ye see. (Do not ye be made like your fathers and your kinsmen, who went away from the Lord God of their fathers; and he gave them into perishing, as ye see.)

⁸ Do not ye make hard your nolls, as your fathers did (Do not ye be stiff-necked, or stubborn, like your fathers); give ye your hands to the Lord in promising that ye shall serve him faithfully, and come ye to his saintuary, which he hath hallowed (into) without end; serve ye the Lord God of your fathers, and the wrath of his strong vengeance shall turn away from you.

⁹ For if ye turn again to the Lord, your brethren and your sons shall have mercy before their lords that led them prisoners; and they shall turn again into this land (For if ye return to the Lord, your kinsmen and your children shall have mercy before their lords who led them away as prisoners; and they shall return to this land). For the Lord our God is pious, either benign, and merciful; and he will not turn away his face from you, if ye turn again to him.

¹⁰ Therefore the couriers went swiftly from city into city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh unto Zebulun, while they scorned and bemocked them (but the people of those territories scorned and mocked them).

¹¹ Nevertheless some men of Asher, and of Manasseh, and of Zebulun, assented to the counsel, and came into Jerusalem.

¹² Forsooth the hand of the Lord was made in Judah, that he gave to them one heart, and that they did the word of the Lord, by the commandment of the king and of the princes. (But the hand of the Lord was made in Judah, so that he gave them one heart, and that they did the word of the Lord, by the command of the king and his leaders.)

¹³ And many peoples were gathered into Jerusalem, for to make the solemnity of therf loaves in the second month. (And many people gathered in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month.)

¹⁴ And they rose, and destroyed the altars, that were in Jerusalem; and they destroying all things in which incense was burnt to idols, casted forth into the strand of Kidron. (And they rose up, and destroyed the altars, that were in Jerusalem; and to destroy all the things in which incense was burned to idols, they threw them forth into the Kidron Stream/into the Kidron Gorge.)

¹⁵ And they offered pask in the fourteenth day of the second month; also the priests and the deacons were hallowed at the last, and (then they) offered burnt sacrifices in the house of the Lord. (And they offered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, for they were not ritually clean, and so at last they consecrated themselves, and then they offered the burnt sacrifices in the House of the Lord.)

¹⁶ And they stood in their order, by the ordinance and law of Moses, the man of God. Soothly the priests took of the hands of deacons the blood to be shed out (And the priests took the blood to be shed out from the hands of the Levites),

¹⁷ for much (of the) company was not hallowed; and therefore the deacons offered pask for them, that might not be hallowed to the Lord. (for many of the people were not yet purified, and so the Levites sacrificed, or killed, the Passover lambs for those who had not yet been consecrated to the Lord.)

¹⁸ Also a great part of the people of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, and of Issachar, and of Zebulun, that was not hallowed, ate (the) pask not by that that is written. And Hezekiah prayed for them, and said, The good Lord shall do mercy to all men, (And a great part of the people of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, and of Issachar, and of Zebulun, who were not purified, ate the Passover not by what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, and said, The good Lord shall do mercy to all,)

¹⁹ which seek in all their heart the Lord God of their fathers (who seek in all their hearts the Lord God of their fathers); and it shall not be areckoned to them into sin, that they be not hallowed by (the) offering of gifts.

²⁰ And the Lord heard him, and was pleased to the people. (And the Lord heard him, and healed the people/and forgave the people.)

²¹ And the sons of Israel, that were found in Jerusalem, made the solemnity of therf loaves seven days in great gladness, and they praised the Lord by each day; and the deacons and [the] priests praised the Lord by organs, which accorded to their office. (And the Israelites, who were found in Jerusalem, kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great gladness, and they praised the Lord each day; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord with mighty instruments.)

²² And Hezekiah spake to the heart of all the deacons, that had good understanding of the Lord; and they ate by (the) seven days of the solemnity, offering sacrifices of peaceable things, and praising the Lord God of their fathers. (And Hezekiah spoke to the hearts of all the Levites, who had a good understanding of the Lord; and they ate throughout the seven days of the Feast, offering the peace offerings, and praising the Lord God of their fathers.)

²³ And it pleased all the multitude to hallow also other seven days; which thing also they did with great joy. (And it pleased all the multitude to also dedicate another seven days; and so they did that with great joy.)

²⁴ Forsooth Hezekiah, king of Judah, gave to the multitude a thousand bulls, and seven thousand of sheep; and the princes gave to the people a thousand bulls, and ten thousand sheep (and the leaders gave the people a thousand bulls, and ten thousand sheep). Therefore a full great multitude of priests was hallowed^[b];

²⁵ and all the company of Judah was filled with gladness, as well of priests and deacons, as of all the multitude that came from Israel, and of [the] converts of the land of Israel, and of [the] dwellers in Judah. (and all the congregation of Judah was filled with gladness, that is, the priests and the Levites, and all the multitude who came from Israel, and the converts in the land of Israel, and the inhabitants of Judah.)

²⁶ And great solemnity was made in Jerusalem (And there was great joy in Jerusalem), what manner was not in that city from the days of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.

²⁷ And [the] priests and deacons rose up, and blessed the people; and the voice of them was heard, and their prayer came into the holy dwelling place of heaven. (And the priests and the Levites rose up, and blessed the people; and their voices were heard, and their prayers came unto the holy dwelling place of heaven.)

31 And when these things were done rightfully, all Israel went out, that was found in the cities of Judah; and they brake [the] simulacra, and cutted down (the) [maumet] woods, and wasted [the] high places, and destroyed [the] altars, not only of all Judah and Benjamin, but also of Ephraim and Manasseh, till that they had destroyed those altars/their idols utterly. And then all the sons of Israel turned again into their possessions and cities. (And when all these things were finished, all Israel went out, who were found in the cities of Judah; and they broke up the idols, and cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and wasted the hill shrines, and destroyed the altars, not only of all Judah and Benjamin, but also of Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed those altars/their idols. And then all the Israelites returned to their possessions, or their own property, in their cities.)

² And Hezekiah ordained companies of priests and deacons by their partings, each man in his own office, that is, as well of priests as of deacons, to burnt sacrifices and peaceable sacrifices, that they should minister, and acknowledge, and sing in the gates of the castles of the Lord. (And Hezekiah ordained companies of the priests and the Levites, by their divisions, and each man according to his duty, that is, the priests as well as the Levites, for the offering of the burnt sacrifices and the peace offerings, to serve, or to give thanks, or to sing in the Temple of the Lord.)

³ And the part of the king’s sacrifice was, that of his own substance, or chattel, burnt sacrifice should be offered evermore in the morrowtide and in the eventide, also in sabbaths, and calends, and in other solemnities, as it is written in the law of Moses. (And the king’s portion of the sacrifice, out of his own substance, or chattel, provided the burnt sacrifice that was offered every morning and every evening, and also on the sabbaths, and the calends, and the other Feasts, as it is written in the Law of Moses.)

⁴ Also he commanded to the people of them that dwelled in Jerusalem, to give parts to the priests and deacons, that they might give attention to the law of the Lord. (And he commanded to the people who lived in Jerusalem, to give portions to the priests and the Levites, so that they would be able to devote their full attention to the Law of the Lord.)

⁵ And when this was known in the ears of the multitude, the sons of Israel offered full many first fruits of wheat, of wine, of oil, and of honey; and of all things which the earth bringeth forth, they offered tithes. (And when this was heard by the multitude, the Israelites offered a great many first fruits of wheat, of wine, of oil, and of honey; and they offered tithes of all the things which the earth brought forth.)

⁶ But also the sons of Israel and of Judah, that dwelled in the cities of Judah, offered tithes of oxen, and of sheep, and the tithes of holy things, which they avowed to their Lord God, and they brought all things, and made full many heaps. (And the Israelites and the people of Judah, who lived in the cities of Judah, offered their tithes of oxen, and of sheep, and of the holy things which they vowed to the Lord their God, and they brought all these things to the Temple, and made a large number of heaps.)

⁷ In the third month they began to lay the foundaments of the heaps, and in the seventh month they filled, or ended (or completed), those heaps.

⁸ And when Hezekiah and his princes had entered (And when Hezekiah and his officials came), they saw the heaps, and they blessed the Lord, and the people of Israel.

⁹ And Hezekiah asked the priests and deacons why the heaps lay so.

¹⁰ And Azariah, the first, or chief, priest of the generation of Zadok (And the High Priest Azariah, a descendant of Zadok), answered to him and said, Since the first fruits began to be offered in the house of the Lord, we have eaten of those fruits, and been fulfilled, and full many things be left; for the Lord hath blessed his people; and this plenty, which thou seest, is of the remnants.

¹¹ Therefore Hezekiah commanded, that they should make ready barns in the house of the Lord; and when they had done this thing, (And so Hezekiah commanded, that they should prepare storerooms in the House of the Lord; and when they had done this thing,)

¹² they brought in faithfully both the first fruits, and (the) tithes, and whatever things they had avowed. And Conaniah, the deacon, was [the] sovereign of those things (And Conaniah, the Levite, was the ruler, or the overseer, of those things); and Shimei, his brother was the second, next (to) him;

¹³ after whom Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were sovereigns under the hands, or powers, of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and of Azariah, the bishop of the house of the Lord (by the command of King Hezekiah, and of Azariah, the High Priest of the House of the Lord), to whom all things pertained.

¹⁴ But Kore, the son of Imnah, deacon, and porter of the east gate, was sovereign of those things that were offered by free will to the Lord, and of the first fruits, and of [the] things hallowed into the holy things of the number of holy things; (And Kore, the son of Imnah, the Levite, and the guard, or the doorkeeper, at the East Gate, was in charge of the things that were offered by free will to the Lord, and of the first fruits, and of the things dedicated for the holiest of holy things;)

¹⁵ and under his care, (or his charge,) were Eden, and Miniamin, Jeshua, and Shemaiah, and Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of (the) priests, that they should part faithfully to their brethren the parts, to the less and to the greater (who should faithfully distribute the portions to their kinsmen, to the greater and the lesser alike),

¹⁶ besides males from three years and above, these things to all that entered into the temple of the Lord, and whatever thing by each day was hired in the service and observances, by their partings. (yea, to males three years of age and older, these things were distributed to all who entered into the Temple of the Lord each day, for their part in the service and observances, by their divisions.)

¹⁷ To (the) priests by their families, and to deacons from twenty years and above (and to the Levites from twenty years of age and older), by their orders and companies,

¹⁸ and to all the multitude, that is, both to the wives, and the free children of them of ever either kind, meats, (or foods,) were given faithfully of these things that were hallowed. (and to all their multitude, that is, to their wives, and their sons and their daughters, for they were required to perform their sacred duties at any time.)

¹⁹ But also men of the sons of Aaron were ordained, by the fields and by suburbs of all the cities, which men should deal parts to all the male kind of priests, and deacons. (And men of the sons of Aaron were ordained, who were in the fields of the suburbs of all their cities, to distribute portions to all the priests, and the Levites.)

²⁰ Therefore Hezekiah did all these things, which we have said, in all Judah, and he wrought that, that was rightful and good and true before the Lord his God,

²¹ in all the religion of the service of the house of the Lord, by the law and by the ceremonies; and he would seek his Lord God in all his heart, and he did so, and had prosperity. (in all the work of the service of the House of the Lord, and by the Law and the commandments/and by the Law and the statutes; for he sought the Lord his God with all his heart, yea, he did so, and he prospered.)