2 Chronicles 29

1Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

2He did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.

3In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and repaired them.

4Then he brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the eastern square.

5And he said to them, “Listen to me, Levites. Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and remove the uncleanness from the holy place.”

6For our fathers acted unfaithfully and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the dwelling place of Yahweh, and turned their backs.

7They also shut the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer up burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

8So the wrath of Yahweh came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them a horror, a desolation, and an object of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

9And behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity because of this.

10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his burning anger may turn away from us.

11My sons, do not be negligent now, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.

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

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

14And from the sons of Heman: Jehuel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15They gathered their brothers, consecrated themselves, and came, according to the command of the king by the words of Yahweh, to cleanse the house of Yahweh.

16Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out to the court of the house of the LORD all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD. Then the Levites received it to carry it outside to the Kidron Valley.

17They began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of Yahweh. Then they consecrated the house of Yahweh in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

18Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table of the rows and all its utensils.”

19And all the vessels that King Ahaz cast aside during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.

20Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the officials of the city, and went up to the house of Yahweh.

21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he told the sons of Aaron, the priests, to offer them on the altar of Yahweh.

22Then they slaughtered the cattle, and the priests received the blood and splashed it against the altar. They slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood against the altar. They slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood against the altar.

23Then they brought near the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.

24The priests slaughtered them and applied their blood to the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had said that the burnt offering and the sin offering were for all Israel.

25He stationed the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the command of David and of Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet, for the command was from Yahweh through his prophets.

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

27Then Hezekiah commanded to offer up the burnt offering on the altar. And at the time the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began also, with the trumpets and by means of the instruments of David king of Israel.

28And all the assembly was bowing down, while the song was being sung and the trumpets were sounding—all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him knelt down and worshiped.

30Then Hezekiah the king and the officials told the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they praised with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

31Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now you have filled your hand for Yahweh. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Yahweh.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were willing of heart brought burnt offerings.

32And the number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy cattle, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

33And the consecrated offerings were six hundred cattle and three thousand sheep.

34Only the priests were too few, and they were not able to skin all the burnt offerings, so their brothers the Levites supported them until the work was finished and until the priests had consecrated themselves. For the Levites were more upright in heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.

35And the burnt offerings were also in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of Yahweh was established.

36And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because God had prepared for the people, for the matter had happened suddenly.