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2 Chronicles 29
International Standard Version
2 Chronicles 29
International Standard Version
Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz(A)
29 Hezekiah began his reign at the age of 25. He reigned for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah, Zechariah’s daughter. 2 He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, following all of the examples set by his ancestor David.
Hezekiah’s Temple Restoration Project(B)
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign he repaired and reopened the doors of the Lord’s Temple. 4 Then he brought in the priests and descendants of Levi, gathered them into the square in the eastern part of the Temple,[a] 5 and told them,
“Pay attention to me, you descendants of Levi! Consecrate yourselves and the Temple of the Lord God of your ancestors by taking out from the Holy Place whatever is unclean. 6 Our ancestors have been unfaithful. They practiced what the Lord considers to be evil, abandoned him, turned their faces away from the place where the Lord resides, and turned their backs to him. 7 They shut the doors to the vestibule[b] of the Temple,[c] extinguished its lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel in the Holy Place. 8 That’s why the Lord was angry with Judah and Jerusalem and made them an object of terror, horror, and derision, as you’ve seen with your own eyes. 9 Now look! Our ancestors have been killed with swords and our sons, daughters, and wives are being held captive because of all of this. 10 I’m intending to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel so his burning anger may turn away from us. 11 Please don’t be careless, you descendants of Aaron,[d] because the Lord has chosen you to minister in his presence, to serve him, to be his ministers, and to burn incense.”
12 Here are the names of the descendants of Levi who made themselves available to God: Amasai’s son Mahath and Azariah’s son Joel from the descendants of Kohath; Abdi’s son Kish and Jehallelel’s son Azariah from the descendants of Merari; Zimmah’s son Joah and Joah’s son Eden from the descendants of Gershon; 13 Elizaphan’s sons Shimri and Jeiel; Asaph’s sons Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 Heman’s sons Jehiel and Shimei; and Jeduthun’s sons Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They also brought together their brothers, consecrated themselves, and proceeded to cleanse the Lord’s Temple, just as the king had ordered in accordance with what the Lord had told him. 16 The priests entered the inner courts of the Lord’s Temple to cleanse it, and they brought out everything unclean that they found there to the outer court of the Lord’s Temple. Then the descendants of Levi carried everything from there out to the Kidron Valley. 17 They began their consecration duties on the first day of the first month and finished at the Lord’s outer vestibule[e] on the eighth day of the month. Another eight days was used to consecrate the Lord’s Temple, so they completed the work on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 After this, they went to King Hezekiah and told him, “We have cleansed all of the Lord’s Temple, including the altar for burnt offerings, all of its utensils, the table of showbread, and all of its utensils. 19 In addition, we have prepared and rededicated all of the utensils that King Ahaz threw away during his unfaithful reign, and now they’re back in service at the Lord’s altar.”
Temple Worship is Restored
20 Early the next morning, King Hezekiah got up and assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord’s Temple, 21 where they brought seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering on behalf of the kingdom, the Holy Place, and Judah. He ordered that the priests, as descendants of Aaron, place the offerings[f] on the Lord’s altar. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar, and they also slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 They brought the male goats for the sin offering to the king within the assembled gathering, laid their hands on them, 24 and then the priests slaughtered them and purged the altar with their blood as a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king ordered that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.
25 Hezekiah[g] stationed descendants of Levi in the Lord’s Temple to play cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the seer,[h] and Nathan the prophet[i] had directed, because the command to do so was from the Lord through those prophets. 26 The descendants of Levi played instruments that had been crafted by David and the priests sounded trumpets.
27 Hezekiah gave a command to offer burnt offerings on the altar, and when the burnt offerings began, a song to the Lord also began with trumpets sounding and with the instruments that King David of Israel had crafted. 28 Everybody in the assembly worshipped, the singers sang, and the trumpets sounded. They continued doing this until the burnt offering sacrifice was completed. 29 When the sacrifices had been offered, the king and everyone else who was present with him bowed down and worshipped. 30 King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the descendants of Levi to sing praises to the Lord based on psalms that had been written by David and Asaph the seer.[j] So they all joyfully sang praises, bowed low, and worshipped.
31 After this, Hezekiah announced, “Now that you’ve consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near and bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and everyone who was willing to do so brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of burnt offerings brought by the assembly was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All of these were burnt offerings to the Lord. 33 The consecrated offerings numbered 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 Because there weren’t enough priests, they were unable to prepare all the burnt offerings until other priests came forward after having consecrated themselves, so their descendant of Levi relatives assisted them until the services were complete. (The descendants of Levi had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than had been the priests.) 35 Furthermore, there were also many burnt offerings, fat from peace offerings, and drink offerings. And that’s how the service of the Lord’s Temple was restored. 36 Hezekiah and all of the people were ecstatic with joy because of what God had done for the people, since everything had come about so suddenly.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:4 The Heb. lacks part of the temple
- 2 Chronicles 29:7 Or the outer courtyard
- 2 Chronicles 29:7 The Heb. lacks of the temple
- 2 Chronicles 29:11 The Heb. lacks of Aaron
- 2 Chronicles 29:17 Or courtyard
- 2 Chronicles 29:21 The Heb. lacks the offerings
- 2 Chronicles 29:25 Lit. He
- 2 Chronicles 29:25 Cf. 2Sam 24:11
- 2 Chronicles 29:25 Cf. 2Sam 7:2
- 2 Chronicles 29:30 I.e. portions of the book of Psalms; cf. Prov25:1
2 Chronicles 29
New International Version
2 Chronicles 29
New International Version
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple(A)
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)
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 29:21 Or purification offering; also in verses 23 and 24
2 Chronicles 29
King James Version
2 Chronicles 29
King James Version
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.
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