Beginning

King Ahaz of Judah^(A)

28 Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 26 years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do what Yahweh considered right, as his ancestor David had done. ² He followed the example of the kings of Israel and even made metal idols for worshiping other gods—the Baals. ³ He burned sacrifices in the valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his son by burning him alive, one of the disgusting things done by the nations that Yahweh had forced out of the Israelites’ way. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense as an offering at the illegal worship sites, which were on hills and under every large tree.

⁵ So Yahweh his Elohim handed him over to the king of Aram, who defeated him, captured many prisoners, and brought them to Damascus. He also handed him over to the king of Israel, who decisively defeated him. ⁶ In one day Pekah, son of Remaliah, killed 120,000 soldiers in Judah because they had abandoned Yahweh Elohim of their ancestors. ⁷ Zichri, a fighting man from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, who was the king’s son, Azrikam, who was in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, who was the king’s second-in-command. ⁸ The Israelites captured 200,000 women, boys, and girls from their relatives the Judeans. They also took a lot of goods from Judah and brought them to Samaria.

⁹ A prophet of Yahweh named Oded was there. He went to meet the army coming home to Samaria. He said to them, “Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors handed Judah over to you in his anger. You killed them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. ¹⁰ Now you intend to enslave the men and women of Judah and Jerusalem. But aren’t you also guilty of sinning against Yahweh your Elohim? ¹¹ Listen to me. Return these prisoners you have captured from your relatives, because Yahweh is very angry with you.”

¹² Then Azariah, son of Jehohan, Berechiah, son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah, son of Shallum, and Amasa, son of Hadlai (some leaders of Ephraim) opposed those coming home from the army. ¹³ They said to the army, “Don’t bring the prisoners here. You’ll make us responsible for this sin against Yahweh. Do you intend to add to all our sins? Yahweh is very angry with Israel because we have already sinned.”

¹⁴ So the army left the prisoners and the loot in front of the leaders and the whole assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men who were mentioned by name took charge of the prisoners and gave clothes from the loot to all the prisoners who were naked. They provided clothes for them, gave them sandals, gave them something to eat and drink, and let them bathe. They put everyone who was exhausted on donkeys and brought them to Jericho (the City of Palms) near their own people. Then they returned to Samaria.

¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the kings of Assyria. ¹⁷ The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and captured prisoners. ¹⁸ The Philistines had raided the foothills and the Negev in Judah. They captured and began living in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its villages, Timnah and its villages, and Gimzo and its villages. ¹⁹ Yahweh humbled Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel. Ahaz had spread sin throughout Judah and was unfaithful to Yahweh.

²⁰ King Tillegath Pilneser of Assyria attacked Ahaz. Instead of strengthening Ahaz, Tillegath Pilneser made trouble for him. ²¹ Ahaz took some of the things from Yahweh’s temple, the royal palace, and the princes, and he gave them to the king of Assyria. But that didn’t help him. ²² When he had this trouble, King Ahaz became more unfaithful to Yahweh. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, the gods who had defeated him. He thought, “The gods of the kings of Aram are helping them. I’ll sacrifice to them so that they will help me.” But they ruined him and all Israel.

²⁴ Ahaz collected the utensils in Elohim’s temple, cut them up, and closed the doors to Yahweh’s temple. He made altars for himself on every corner in Jerusalem. ²⁵ And in each city of Judah, he made places of worship to sacrifice to other gods. So he made Yahweh Elohim of his ancestors angry.

²⁶ Everything else about him—everything from beginning to end—is written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the city of Jerusalem because they didn’t put him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah succeeded him as king.

King Hezekiah Rededicates the Temple^(B)

29 Hezekiah began to rule as king when he was 25 years old. He ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. ² He did what Yahweh considered right, as his ancestor David had done.

³ In the first month of his first year as king, he opened the doors of Yahweh’s temple and repaired them. ⁴ He brought the priests and Levites together in the square on the east side of the temple.

⁵ He said to them, “Listen to me, Levites. Perform the ceremonies to make the temple of Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors holy. Remove anything that has been corrupted from the holy place. ⁶ Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what Yahweh our Elohim considered evil. They deserted him. They turned away from Yahweh’s tent^[a] and turned their backs on him. ⁷ They also shut the doors of the temple’s entrance hall, extinguished the lamps, and didn’t burn incense or sacrifice burnt offerings in the holy place to the Elohim of Israel. ⁸ So Yahweh was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He made them something that shocks and terrifies people and that people ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes. ⁹ Our fathers were killed in battle, and our sons, daughters, and wives are prisoners because of this. ¹⁰ Now I intend to make a pledge to Yahweh Elohim of Israel so that he may turn his burning anger away from us. ¹¹ Don’t be negligent, my sons. Yahweh has chosen you to stand in front of him, serve him, be his servants, and burn sacrifices.”

¹² So the Levites started to work.

¹⁵ These men gathered their relatives and performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy. Then they obeyed the king’s order from Yahweh’s word and entered the temple to make it clean.^{[b] 16} The priests entered Yahweh’s temple to make it clean. They carried into the courtyard every unclean thing that they found in Yahweh’s temple. Then the Levites took the unclean items outside the city to the Kidron Brook. ¹⁷ They started on the first day of the first month. On the eighth day they went into Yahweh’s entrance hall, and for eight days they performed the ceremonies to make Yahweh’s temple holy. They finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.

¹⁸ Then they went to King Hezekiah. They said to him, “We have made all of Yahweh’s temple clean. This includes the altar for burnt offerings, all its utensils, the table for the rows of bread and all its utensils, ¹⁹ and all the utensils King Ahaz refused to use during his reign when he was unfaithful. We have restored them and made them holy. They are in front of Yahweh’s altar.”

²⁰ Early in the morning Hezekiah gathered the leaders of the city and went to Yahweh’s temple. ²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as an offering for sin for the kingdom, the holy place, and Judah. Hezekiah told the priests, Aaron’s descendants, to sacrifice the animals on Yahweh’s altar.

²² So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. After that, they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. ²³ Then they brought the male goats for the offering for sin in front of the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them. ²⁴ The priests slaughtered the goats and made their blood an offering for sin at the altar to make peace with the Lord for Israel. The king had said that the burnt offerings and offerings for sin should be for all Israel.

²⁵ He had the Levites stand in Yahweh’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres as David, the king’s seer^[c] Gad, and the prophet Nathan had ordered. This command came from Yahweh through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with David’s instruments, and the priests had the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah ordered the sacrificing of burnt offerings on the altar. When the burnt offerings started, the songs to Yahweh started. These songs were accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of King David of Israel. ²⁸ The whole assembly bowed down with their faces touching the ground, singers began to sing, and the trumpets blew until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ When the burnt offerings were finished, the king and everyone who was with him kneeled and bowed down. ³⁰ Then King Hezekiah and the leaders told the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and the seer Asaph. They joyfully sang praises, bowed down, and worshiped.

³¹ Hezekiah said, “You have dedicated your lives to Yahweh. Come, bring sacrifices and thank offerings to Yahweh’s temple.”

The assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and everyone who was willing brought burnt offerings. ³² The burnt offerings brought by the assembly totaled 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All of these were burnt offerings to Yahweh. ³³ The animals dedicated as holy sacrifices were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. ³⁴ But the priests needed more help to skin all the burnt offerings. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them until the work was completed and the priests could make themselves holy. The Levites were more diligent in making themselves holy than the priests were. ³⁵ There were many burnt offerings in addition to the fat of the fellowship offerings and wine offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So the worship in Yahweh’s temple was reestablished. ³⁶ Hezekiah and all the people were overjoyed because of what Elohim had done for the people. Everything had happened so quickly.

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30 Hezekiah sent a message to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. He invited them to come to Yahweh’s temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of Yahweh Elohim of Israel.

² The king, his officials, and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month. ³ They couldn’t celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy and the people hadn’t gathered in Jerusalem. ⁴ The king and the whole assembly considered their plan to be the right thing to do. ⁵ So they decided to send an announcement throughout Israel from Beersheba to Dan. They summoned everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of Yahweh Elohim of Israel. These people had not celebrated it in large numbers as the written instructions said they should.

⁶ Messengers took letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. The king’s order said, “Israelites, return to Yahweh Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Then he will return to the few of you who escaped from the power of the kings of Assyria. ⁷ Don’t be like your ancestors and your relatives who were unfaithful to Yahweh Elohim of their ancestors. He made them something that shocks people, as you have seen. ⁸ Don’t be impossible to deal with like your ancestors. Reach out for Yahweh. Come to his holy place that he made holy forever. Serve Yahweh your Elohim, and he will turn his burning anger away from you. ⁹ When you return to Yahweh, your relatives and children will find compassion from those who captured them. They will return to this land. Yahweh your Elohim is merciful and compassionate. He will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰ So the messengers went from city to city in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun. But the people ridiculed them. ¹¹ However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² Also, Elohim guided the people of Judah so that they united to carry out the command which the king and the leaders gave from Yahweh’s word.

¹³ Many people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. They formed a large assembly.

¹⁴ Then the people got rid of the idols’ altars in Jerusalem. They got rid of all the altars for incense by dumping them in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy. Then they brought burnt offerings to Yahweh’s temple. ¹⁶ They stood in their regular places as instructed by Moses’ Teachings. (Moses was a man of Elohim.) The priests sprinkled the blood they received from the Levites. ¹⁷ Many people in the assembly had not made themselves holy. So the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all who weren’t clean^[d] and couldn’t make their lambs holy for Yahweh.

¹⁸ Many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean. So they ate the Passover, but not in the way the written instructions said they should. Hezekiah prayed for them: “May the good Yahweh forgive ¹⁹ those who have their hearts set on dedicating their lives to serving Elohim. May Yahweh Elohim of their ancestors do this for those who are not clean as required for the holy place.” ²⁰ Yahweh listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ So the Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. Each day the Levites and priests praised Yahweh in song. They played Yahweh’s instruments loudly. ²² Hezekiah spoke encouraging words to all the Levites who had the skills to serve Yahweh. They ate the festival meals for seven days, sacrificed fellowship offerings, and confessed their sins to Yahweh Elohim of their ancestors.

²³ Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the festival for seven more days. So they joyfully celebrated for seven more days. ²⁴ King Hezekiah of Judah provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep as sacrifices for the assembly. The leaders provided 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep for the assembly. So a large number of priests were able to perform the ceremonies to make themselves holy.

²⁵ The whole assembly from Judah, the priests, the Levites, the whole assembly from Israel, the foreigners who came from Israel, and those who lived in Judah rejoiced. ²⁶ The city of Jerusalem was filled with joy. Nothing like this had happened in Jerusalem since the days of King Solomon of Israel.

²⁷ Then the Levitical priests blessed the people. Their voices were heard, and their prayers went to Elohim’s holy place in heaven.

Hezekiah Reforms Judah’s Worship

31 When this was over, all the Israelites who were there went to the cities in Judah. They crushed the sacred stones, cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and tore down the illegal places of worship and the altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. The Israelites destroyed all of these things. Then all the Israelites returned to their own cities. Each person went to his own property.

² Hezekiah assigned the priests and the Levites to divisions. Each priest or Levite was put in a division based on the service he performed: sacrificing burnt offerings, sacrificing fellowship offerings, serving, giving thanks, or praising within the gates of Yahweh’s camp.

³ He set aside part of the king’s property for burnt offerings, the morning and evening offerings, burnt offerings on the weekly worship days, the New Moon Festivals, and the annual festivals, as it is written in Yahweh’s Teachings. ⁴ He told the people living in Jerusalem to give the priests and Levites the portions they were due so that they could devote themselves to Yahweh’s Teachings. ⁵ As soon as the word spread, the Israelites brought plenty of offerings from the first of their produce: grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, honey, and every crop from the fields. They brought large quantities, a tenth of everything. ⁶ The people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah brought a tenth of their cattle and sheep and a tenth of the holy things they had dedicated to Yahweh their Elohim. They piled these holy things in heaps. ⁷ In the third month they started piling them up, and in the seventh month they finished. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the leaders saw the heaps, they praised Yahweh and his people Israel.

⁹ Hezekiah asked the priests and the Levites about the heaps. ¹⁰ The chief priest Azariah from Zadok’s family said, “Since the people started to bring the offerings to Yahweh’s temple, we have had all we wanted to eat and plenty to spare. Yahweh has blessed his people, and there’s a lot left over.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah told them to prepare storerooms in Yahweh’s temple. After they had prepared them, ¹² they faithfully brought in the contributions, the offerings of one-tenth of the crops, and the gifts dedicated to God. The Levite Conaniah was in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was his assistant. ¹³ King Hezekiah and Azariah, who was in charge of Elohim’s temple, appointed Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah to serve under Conaniah and his brother Shimei. ¹⁴ Kore, son of Imnah the Levite, was the gatekeeper at East Gate and had to take care of the freewill offerings made to Elohim. His responsibility was to distribute the offerings made to Yahweh and the holy gifts dedicated to God. ¹⁵ Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah served under him in the cities belonging to the priests. They were to distribute the offerings faithfully to all their relatives, young and old, by their divisions. ¹⁶ They were appointed to distribute them to males who were at least three years old. The way they were enrolled in the genealogical records did not matter. The six men who served under Kore were to distribute the offerings to everyone who went to Yahweh’s temple to perform the daily service that each division was responsible for. ¹⁷ They were to distribute offerings to the priests who were enrolled by families and to the Levites who were at least 20 years old. Distribution was based on the way they served in their divisions. ¹⁸ The priests and Levites were enrolled with their wives, sons, daughters, and other people who depended on them—the whole community. The priests and Levites had to be faithful in keeping themselves holy for the holy work. ¹⁹ Men were appointed to give a portion of the offerings to all the males in the priestly families and to everyone listed in the genealogies of the Levites. These men were Aaron’s descendants, priests who lived in the pasturelands of every Levite city.

²⁰ This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and right and true to Yahweh his Elohim. ²¹ Hezekiah incorporated Moses’ Teachings and commands into worship and dedicated his life to serving Elohim. Whatever he did for the worship in Elohim’s temple, he did wholeheartedly, and he succeeded.