29 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah as king in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother's name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah. [ a ] 2 Hezekiah did things that the Lord said were good, as his ancestor King David had done.
3 In the first month of the year that Hezekiah became king, he opened the doors of the Lord 's temple. He repaired the doors. 4 He brought together the priests and the Levites in the yard at the east side of the temple. 5 He said to them, ‘Listen to me, you Levites. Make yourselves clean to serve the Lord . Then you can make the temple a holy place again. It is the temple of the Lord , the God of your ancestors. Take out of that holy place anything that is unclean.
6 Our ancestors did not serve the Lord faithfully. They did things that the Lord our God saw were evil. They turned away from him. They stopped worshipping him in his temple, where he lives. They completely turned against him. 7 They shut the doors at the entrance of the temple. They stopped burning oil in the lamps. They did not offer to Israel's God any incense or burnt offerings in his holy place. 8 So the Lord became angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He made them disgusting places which other people insult. You can see this with your own eyes. 9 You know that cruel enemies killed our fathers. They took away our sons, our daughters and our wives as their prisoners. That was God's punishment. 10 Now I want to make a covenant with the Lord , Israel's God. Then he will stop being angry with us.
11 My sons, the Lord has chosen you to serve him in his temple and to offer sacrifices. So do your work well.’
12 Then these Levites started to work in the temple:
From Kohath's clan: Amasai's son Mahath and Azariah's son Joel.
From Merari's clan: Abdi's son Kish and Jehallelel's son Azariah.
From Gershon's clan: Zimmah's son Joah and Joah's son Eden.
13 From Elizaphan's clan: Shimri and Jeiel.
From Asaph's clan: Zechariah and Mattaniah.
14 From Heman's clan: Jehiel and Shimei.
From Jeduthun's clan: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 Those men brought all the Levites together. They all made themselves clean to serve the Lord . Then they went into the temple to make it a holy place again, as the king had commanded them. They obeyed the Lord 's command. 16 Then the priests went into the inside room of the Lord 's temple to make it holy. They found some things in the temple that were unclean. They carried all those things out to the temple yard. Then the Levites took the unclean things out of the city to the Kidron Valley.
17 They began this work on the first day of the first month. On the 8th day of the month they reached the entrance room of the temple. They worked to make the temple a holy place for eight more days. On the 16th day of the first month they had finished the work.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and they said, ‘We have made the whole temple clean and holy. That includes the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools. It also includes the table for the special bread and all its tools. 19 When Ahaz was king, he removed many things from the temple when he turned away from the Lord . We have made all those things clean again. We have put them in front of the Lord 's altar so that the priests can use them again.’
20 King Hezekiah got up early the next morning. He brought the city's officers together. They all went up to the Lord 's temple. 21 They took with them seven bulls, seven male sheep, seven lambs and seven male goats. They offered these animals as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the holy place and for the people of Judah. The king told the priests, Aaron's descendants, to offer sacrifices on the Lord 's altar. 22 So they killed the bulls. The priests took the blood and they splashed it on the altar. Then they killed the male sheep. The priests splashed their blood on the altar too. Then they killed the lambs. The priests also splashed their blood on the altar. 23 Finally, the priests brought the male goats in front of King Hezekiah and the people who were there. The king and the people put their hands on the goats. 24 Then the priests killed the goats as a sin offering. They offered their blood on the altar as a sacrifice. Then all the people of Israel would no longer be guilty for their sins. This was because the king had said that the burnt offerings and the sin offerings would be for all Israel.
25 The king told the Levites to stand in the Lord 's temple with their cymbals, harps and lyres to make music. They stood at the places where King David, David's prophet Gad and the prophet Nathan had told the Levites to stand. This was the Lord 's command that he had given to his prophets. [ b ] 26 The Levites held the musical instruments that King David had provided. The priests held their trumpets.
27 Then Hezekiah told the priests to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When they began to offer the sacrifice, the singers started to sing to praise the Lord . The trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel also started to make music. 28 All the people there were worshipping the Lord . At the same time the singers were singing and the priests were making music with their trumpets. They all continued to do that until the priests finished making the burnt offering.
29 When the priests finished offering the sacrifices, the king and everyone with him bent down low to worship God. 30 King Hezekiah and his officers told the Levites to sing songs to praise the Lord . They told them to sing the songs that King David and the prophet Asaph had written. So the Levites praised God in that way. They were very happy and they bent down low to worship God.
31 Then Hezekiah said, ‘Now you have made yourselves clean to serve the Lord . So come to the Lord 's temple and bring sacrifices and offerings to thank the Lord .’ So all the people brought their sacrifices and their offerings to thank the Lord . Everyone who wanted to offer burnt offerings brought animals for that too.
32 For their burnt offerings, the people brought 70 bulls, 100 male sheep and 200 lambs to offer to the Lord . 33 They also brought 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep to offer to the Lord . 34 But there were not enough priests to prepare all the animals for the sacrifices. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them until they had finished the work. By that time more priests had made themselves clean to serve the Lord . (The Levites had been more careful than the priests to make themselves clean for the Lord .) 35 The people brought a lot of animals for burnt offerings. There was also the fat from the friendship offerings. And there were drink offerings too. The priests offered all those with the burnt offerings.
That is how they started to worship the Lord again in his temple. 36 Hezekiah and all the people were happy because God had helped them. They had been able to do the work on the temple very quickly.
29 Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old. He ruled 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah. Abijah was Zechariah’s daughter. 2 Hezekiah did what the Lord wanted him to do. He did what was right just as David his ancestor had done.
3 Hezekiah repaired the doors of the Lord ’s Temple and made them strong. He opened the Temple again. He did this in the first month of the first year after he became king. 4-5 Hezekiah called the priests and Levites together in one assembly. He had a meeting with them in the courtyard on the east side of the Temple. Hezekiah said to them, “Listen to me, Levites! Make yourselves ready for holy service. Make the Temple of the Lord God ready for holy service. He is the God your ancestors obeyed. Take away the things from the Temple that don’t belong in there. These things make the Temple unclean. 6 Our ancestors were not faithful and did what the Lord says is evil. They stopped following him. They no longer paid any attention to the Lord ’s house [ a ] and turned their backs on him. 7 They shut the doors of the porch of the Temple and let the fire go out in the lamps. They stopped burning incense and offering burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 So the Lord became very angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He punished them so badly that it shocks and scares people to hear about it. But then they just laugh and shout their own insults against Judah. You know this is true. You have seen it happen. 9 That is why our ancestors were killed in battle. Our sons, daughters, and wives were made prisoners. 10 So now I, Hezekiah, have decided to make an agreement with the Lord , the God of Israel. Then he will not be angry with us anymore. 11 So my sons, [ b ] don’t be lazy or waste any more time. The Lord chose you to serve him in the Temple and to burn incense.”
12-14 This is a list of the Levites who started to work:
From the Kohath family there were Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah.
From the Merari family there were Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel.
From the Gershon family there were Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joab.
From Elizaphan’s descendants there were Shimri and Jeiel.
From Asaph’s descendants there were Zechariah and Mattaniah.
From Heman’s descendants there were Jehiel and Shimei.
From Jeduthun’s descendants there were Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 Then these Levites gathered their brothers together and made themselves ready for holy service in the Temple. They obeyed the king’s command that came from the Lord . They went into the Lord ’s Temple to clean it. 16 The priests went into the inside part of the Lord ’s Temple to clean it. They took out all the unclean things they found there. They brought the unclean things out to the courtyard of the Lord ’s Temple. Then the Levites took these things out to the Kidron Valley. 17 On the first day of the first month, the Levites began to make the Temple ready for holy service. By the eighth day, they had finished cleaning all the area up to the porch of the Lord ’s Temple. For eight more days they cleaned the Lord ’s Temple itself to make it ready for holy use. They finished on the 16th day of the first month.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and said to him, “King Hezekiah, we cleaned all the Lord ’s Temple and the altar for burning offerings and all the things in the Temple. We cleaned the table for the rows of bread with all the things used for that table. 19 During the time that Ahaz was king, he rebelled against God. He threw away many of the things that were in the Temple. But we repaired all those things and made them ready for their special use. They are now in front of the Lord ’s altar.”
20 King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went up to the Temple of the Lord early the next morning. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven young male goats. These animals were for a sin offering for the kingdom of Judah, for the Holy Place to make it clean, and for the people of Judah. King Hezekiah commanded the priests who were descendants of Aaron to offer these animals on the Lord ’s altar. 22 So the priests killed the bulls and kept the blood. Then they sprinkled the bulls’ blood on the altar. Then they killed the rams and sprinkled the rams’ blood on the altar. Then they killed the lambs and sprinkled the lambs’ blood on the altar. 23-24 Then the priests brought the male goats in front of the king, and the people gathered together. The goats were the sin offering. The priests put their hands on the goats and killed the goats. They made a sin offering with the goats’ blood on the altar. They did this so that God would forgive the sins of the Israelites. The king said that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all the Israelites.
25 King Hezekiah put the Levites in the Lord ’s Temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres as David, Gad, the king’s seer, and the prophet Nathan had commanded. This command came from the Lord through his prophets. 26 So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments of music, and the priests stood ready with their trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, singing to the Lord also began. The trumpets were blown, and the instruments of David king of Israel were played. 28 All the assembly bowed down, the musicians sang, and the trumpet players blew their trumpets until the burnt offering was finished.
29 After the sacrifices were finished, King Hezekiah and all the people with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to give praise to the Lord . They sang songs that David and Asaph the seer had written. They praised God and became happy. They all bowed and worshiped God. 31 Hezekiah said, “Now you people of Judah have given yourselves to the Lord . Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the Lord ’s Temple.” Then the people brought sacrifices and thank offerings. Anyone who wanted to, also brought burnt offerings. 32 This is how many burnt offerings the assembly brought to the Temple: 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord . 33 There were also 600 bulls and 3000 sheep and goats that were sacrificed as holy offerings. 34 But there were not enough priests to skin and cut up all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and until other priests could make themselves ready for holy service. The Levites had been more serious than the priests about making themselves ready to serve. 35 There were many burnt offerings, and the fat of fellowship offerings, and drink offerings. So the service in the Lord ’s Temple began again. 36 Hezekiah and the people were very happy about the things God prepared for his people. And they were happy he did it so quickly!
29 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord , according to all that David his father had done.
3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord , and repaired them.
4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord , and turned their backs.
7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
8 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye 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 this.
10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; 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 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; 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 part 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 abroad into the brook Kidron.
17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the Lord : so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
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 the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.
19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the Lord .
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers 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 he 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 bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
23 And they brought forth the he 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 made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the Lord by 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 also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord , come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord . And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.
32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord .
33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
29 ( A ) Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 ( B ) He did what was right in the sight of the Lord , in accordance with everything that his father David had done.
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ( C ) opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the public square on the east.
5 Then he said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites. ( D ) Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the Lord , the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out of the holy place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him and ( E ) turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord , and have [ a ] turned their backs. 7 They have also ( F ) shut the doors of the porch and extinguished the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore ( G ) the wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of ( H ) hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, ( I ) our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this. 10 Now it is in my heart ( J ) to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that His burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for ( K ) the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”
12 Then the Levites arose: ( L ) Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of ( M ) the Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and [ b ] Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and from the sons of Heman, [ c ] Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They assembled their brothers, ( N ) consecrated themselves, and went in ( O ) to cleanse the house of the Lord , according to the commandment of the king ( P ) by the words of the Lord . 16 So the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it , and they brought every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord out to the courtyard of the house of the Lord . Then the Levites received it to carry out to ( Q ) the Kidron [ d ] Valley. 17 Now they began [ e ] the consecration ( R ) on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the Lord . Then they consecrated the house of the Lord in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. 18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole house of the Lord , the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all of its utensils. 19 Moreover, ( S ) all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord .”
20 Then King Hezekiah got up early and assembled the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord . 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ( T ) as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord . 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs as well, and ( U ) sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and ( V ) they laid their hands on them. 24 The priests slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood ( W ) to atone for all Israel, because the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
25 ( X ) He then stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, ( Y ) according to the command of David and of ( Z ) Gad, the king’s seer, and of ( AA ) Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with ( AB ) the musical instruments of David, and ( AC ) the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, ( AD ) the song to the Lord also began with the trumpets, [ f ] accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel. 28 While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, ( AE ) the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer. ( AF ) So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, “ ( AG ) Now that you have [ g ] consecrated yourselves to the Lord , come forward and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the house of the Lord .” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and ( AH ) everyone who was [ h ] willing brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all of these were for a burnt offering to the Lord . 33 The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; ( AI ) therefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished and the other priests had consecrated themselves. For ( AJ ) the Levites were more [ i ] conscientious to consecrate themselves than the priests. 35 There were also [ j ] ( AK ) many burnt offerings with ( AL ) the fat of the peace offerings and ( AM ) the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the Lord was established again . 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.
29 Hezekiah ( B ) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord , just as his father David ( C ) had done.
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired ( D ) them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5 and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate ( E ) yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord , the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 6 Our parents ( F ) were unfaithful; ( G ) they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord ’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense ( H ) or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror ( I ) and scorn, ( J ) as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. ( K ) 10 Now I intend to make a covenant ( L ) with the Lord , the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger ( M ) will turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, ( N ) to minister ( O ) before him and to burn incense.”
12 Then these Levites ( P ) set to work:
from the Kohathites,
Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites,
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the Gershonites,
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden ( Q ) son of Joah;
13 from the descendants of Elizaphan, ( R )
Shimri and Jeiel;
from the descendants of Asaph, ( S )
Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 from the descendants of Heman,
Jehiel and Shimei;
from the descendants of Jeduthun,
Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify ( T ) the temple of the Lord , as the king had ordered, following the word of the Lord . 16 The priests went into the sanctuary of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord ’s temple everything unclean that they found in the temple of the Lord . The Levites took it and carried it out to the Kidron Valley. ( U ) 17 They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the portico of the Lord . For eight more days they consecrated the temple of the Lord itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord , the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. 19 We have prepared and consecrated all the articles ( V ) that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord ’s altar.”
20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord . 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats ( W ) as a sin offering [ a ] ( X ) for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord . 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and splashed their blood ( Y ) against the altar. 23 The goats ( Z ) for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands ( AA ) on them. 24 The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone ( AB ) for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel. ( AC )
25 He stationed the Levites in the temple of the Lord with cymbals, harps and lyres in the way prescribed by David ( AD ) and Gad ( AE ) the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet; this was commanded by the Lord through his prophets. 26 So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments, ( AF ) and the priests with their trumpets. ( AG )
27 Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the Lord began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments ( AH ) of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the musicians played and the trumpets sounded. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering ( AI ) was completed.
29 When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. ( AJ ) 30 King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah said, “You have now dedicated yourselves to the Lord . Come and bring sacrifices ( AK ) and thank offerings to the temple of the Lord .” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing ( AL ) brought burnt offerings.
32 The number of burnt offerings ( AM ) the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs—all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord . 33 The animals consecrated as sacrifices amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats. 34 The priests, however, were too few to skin all the burnt offerings; ( AN ) so their relatives the Levites helped them until the task was finished and until other priests had been consecrated, ( AO ) for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests had been. 35 There were burnt offerings in abundance, together with the fat ( AP ) of the fellowship offerings ( AQ ) and the drink offerings ( AR ) that accompanied the burnt offerings.
So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly. ( AS )
