Historical

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30 And Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah. He even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. ² The king counseled with his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem to have the Passover in the second month. ³ For they were not able to have it at the appropriate time of the first month because a sufficient amount of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people assembled yet in Jerusalem. ⁴ And this matter was pleasing in the eyes of the king and all the assembly. ⁵ So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for the multitude of people did not do as it was written.

⁶ So couriers ran throughout all Israel and Judah with a letter from the hand of the king and his officials as a command from the king:

“Sons of Israel, return to the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel that He might turn to the remnant who has escaped from the king of Assyria. ⁷ Do not act like your fathers and brothers who were faithless before the Lord God of their fathers, and He appointed them for horror, as you observe. ⁸ So now do not harden your necks as your fathers, but give yourselves to the Lord and come to the sanctuary that He has consecrated permanently. Serve the Lord your God so that His burning anger might turn away from you all. ⁹ Because if you return to the Lord, your brothers and children will find compassion before those who have taken them captive, in order to return you to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn His face from you if you all return to Him.”

¹⁰ So the couriers ran from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and up to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and mocked them. ¹¹ However some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and journeyed to Jerusalem. ¹² And even in Judah the hand of God was on them to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and officials by the word of the Lord.

¹³ And many people assembled in Jerusalem to have the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. There was a very large assembly. ¹⁴ They went out and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought in burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ They stood at their places according to the Law of Moses, the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood they received from the hands of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who had consecrated themselves, so the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for those who were not clean in order to consecrate the people to the Lord. ¹⁸ For a multitude of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—had not purified themselves. For they ate of the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed over them saying, “The Lord is good, and may He pardon ¹⁹ everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, but is not pure according the rules of the holy sanctuary.” ²⁰ So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ Then the sons of Israel present in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day, singing with loud instruments to the Lord.

²² Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the Lord. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly counseled to have the feast for another seven days, so they had seven more days of gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah lifted up for the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep. And the officials offered up for the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And a multitude of priests consecrated themselves. ²⁵ So all the assembly of Judah and the priests and Levites and all the assembly who came from Israel rejoiced, even the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those who resided in Judah. ²⁶ And there was a great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had not been anything like this. ²⁷ Then the priests and Levites went out and blessed the people, and their voices were heard. And their prayers came up to His holy habitation in the heavens.

31 And when this celebration was finished, all of Israel that was present went out to the cities of Judah and smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles and tore down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until everything was destroyed. Then all Israel returned to their cities, each man to his own possession.

Temple Contributions^(A)

² And Hezekiah set up the divisions of the priests and Levites according to their divisions, each man as he worked among the priests and Levites for burnt and fellowship offerings, to serve, give thanks, and offer praise at the gates of the camp of the Lord. ³ And the portion of the king that came from his own possessions was for burnt offerings, those given in the morning and evening, and those given for Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, as written in the Law of the Lord. ⁴ And he ordered those people living in Jerusalem to give a portion for the priests and Levites, in order for them to devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. ⁵ And when the command spread, the sons of Israel gave generously the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundance a tenth portion of everything. ⁶ And the sons of Israel and Judah and all who dwelled in the cities of Judah also brought in a tenth portion of cattle and sheep, and a tenth portion of the consecrated items that were to the Lord their God, and brought them in and set them in great piles. ⁷ In the third month they began to assign the piles of contribution, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the officials saw the contribution piles, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel.

⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and Levites regarding the contribution piles. ¹⁰ Azariah the head priest from the house of Zadok said, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, there has been plenty of food and a large amount left over. For the Lord has blessed His people, and this great abundance is left over.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah ordered them to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord, and they did this. ¹² They reliably brought in the contributions, tenth portions, and consecrated items. The leader over them was Konaniah the Levite, and Shimei his brother was second to him. ¹³ And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were supervisors under Konaniah and Shimei his brother by the appointment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the leader of the house of God.

¹⁴ And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite was gatekeeper for the East Gate and over the voluntary offerings to God, to designate the contributions of the Lord and most holy offerings. ¹⁵ Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shekaniah reliably assisted him in the cities of the priests to distribute the portions to their brothers by division, both great and small.

¹⁶ Besides those males registered from three years old and above, they distributed to all who entered into the house of the Lord his daily portion, for their services according to their duties and their divisions. ¹⁷ The registration of the priests was according to the house of their fathers and the Levites from twenty years and above, according to their duties and their divisions. ¹⁸ They were registered with all their little children, wives, sons, and daughters for the entire assembly for they consecrated themselves in faithfulness.

¹⁹ Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of common land of their cities, there were men in each city who were designated by name to allocate portions to every male among the priests and to everyone who was registered by genealogy among the Levites.

²⁰ Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and just and faithful before the Lord his God. ²¹ And in every deed that he undertook in the service of the house of God and with the law and commandment to seek out his God, he did this with all his heart, and he found success.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(B)

32 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came to Judah and encamped against the fortified cities thinking that he would break through them for himself. ² When Hezekiah observed that Sennacherib had come and that he turned to war against Jerusalem, ³ he consulted with his officials and military men to stop up the waters of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped in this. ⁴ So, many people assembled and worked to stop up all the springs and the stream flowing through the area. They reasoned, “Why should the king of Assyria come and find a great amount of water?” ⁵ He then worked hard to build up all the walls that were broken down and to raise up towers. Then he built another wall outside that one and strengthened the Millo in the City of David. And he made weapons and shields in abundance.

⁶ And he designated commanders for fighting over the people, and he gathered them to himself at the open square of the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them saying, ⁷ “Be strong and brave. Do not fear or have terror before the king of Assyria or before all this army that is with him because there are more who are with us than with him. ⁸ With this king is a strong arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God who will help us and fight our battles.” So the people leaned on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

⁹ After all this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem—while he was at Lachish with all his military force that was with him—to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all Judah that was in Jerusalem stating,

¹⁰ “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: By what do you all trust that you remain in a besieged Jerusalem? ¹¹ Is not Hezekiah leading you all astray to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he tells you, ‘The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria’? ¹² Has not Hezekiah himself taken down this god’s high places and altars by ordering Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You all will bow down at one altar and on it burn sacrifices’?

¹³ “Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of these lands surely able to rescue their lands from my hand? ¹⁴ Who from among all the gods of these nations that my fathers utterly destroyed was able to rescue his people from my hand? For will your god be able to rescue you all from my hand? ¹⁵ Now do not let Hezekiah trick or lead you all astray in this. And do not believe him, for no god from any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?”

¹⁶ And his servants continued to speak against the Lord God and Hezekiah his servant. ¹⁷ He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, speaking against Him, “As the gods of the nations of other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.” ¹⁸ And they proclaimed it also in a loud voice in the Judean language against the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall to frighten and terrify them in order to capture the city. ¹⁹ They spoke about the God of Jerusalem like the gods of the other peoples of the earth, which are only objects made by men’s hands.

The Death of Sennacherib

²⁰ So Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet son of Amoz prayed concerning this. And they called out to heaven. ²¹ So the Lord sent an angel and destroyed the mighty army, leaders, and officials in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king returned in shame to his own land. When he entered the temple of his god, some of his sons fell on him there with the sword.

²² So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and gave them rest on every side. ²³ Many brought tribute to the Lord in Jerusalem and choice gifts to Hezekiah king of Judah so that he was lifted up before the eyes of all the nations from then on.

Hezekiah’s Pride

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became ill even to the point of death, so he prayed to the Lord. He spoke to the king and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did not make recompense for what was given to him because his heart was proud. So divine anger was on him, Judah, and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Then Hezekiah humbled himself from his arrogant heart, both he and those who lived in Jerusalem, and the anger of the Lord did not come over them in the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ And Hezekiah had a vast amount of riches and honor, and he made treasures for himself from silver, gold, costly stones, spices, shields, and all types of precious items. ²⁸ He made storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all types of livestock and flocks. ²⁹ He also built cities for himself and acquired numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given to him a vast amount of possessions.

³⁰ And Hezekiah shut up the upper outlet of the waters of the Gihon and directed them downward to the western side of the City of David. And Hezekiah found success in all his works. ³¹ But the envoys came from the officials of Babylon who were sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been given in the land. God left him alone in order to test Hezekiah, to know what was in his heart.

The Death of Hezekiah^(C)

³² And the remainder of the acts of Hezekiah and his kind acts, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David. And all those from Judah and those living in Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.