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 sight of Yahweh, just as his ancestor David had done.

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

4He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them in the square on the east side.

5He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors. Carry the filth out of the holy place.

6For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh our God. They forsook him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of Yahweh and turned their backs on him.

7They also shut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

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

9That is why our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.

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

11My sons, do not be negligent now, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burn incense to him.”

12Then the Levites got up: 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 son of Joah;

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

14from the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15They gathered their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in as the king had commanded, following the words of Yahweh, to cleanse the house of Yahweh.

16The priests went into the inner part of the house of Yahweh to cleanse it, and they brought out into the courtyard of the house of Yahweh everything unclean that they found in the temple of Yahweh. The Levites took it and carried it outside to the Kidron Valley.

17They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of Yahweh. Then they consecrated the house of Yahweh for 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 the whole house of Yahweh, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for the rows of bread with all its utensils.

19All the articles that King Ahaz discarded during his reign, when he was unfaithful, we have prepared and consecrated. They are now in front of the altar of Yahweh.”

20Early the next morning King Hezekiah 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. He told the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Yahweh.

22So they slaughtered the bulls, 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 the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.

24The priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

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

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

27Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song to Yahweh began too, with the trumpets and accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel.

28The whole assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this went on until the burnt offering was finished.

29When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him knelt down and worshiped.

30King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with joy, and they bowed down and worshiped.

31Then Hezekiah said, “Now you have consecrated yourselves to Yahweh. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Yahweh.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were willing in heart brought burnt offerings.

32The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to Yahweh.

33The consecrated offerings were six hundred cattle and three thousand sheep and goats.

34But the priests were too few and could not skin all the burnt offerings, so their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and until the priests had consecrated themselves, for the Levites had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than the priests.

35Besides, there were burnt offerings in great number, along with the fat of the fellowship offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of Yahweh was restored.

36Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had provided for the people, for it had come about so suddenly.