2 Chronicles 29-32

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 29

Reforms of Hezekiah.^{[a] 1} Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his ancestor David 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 them. ⁴ Next he brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east. ⁵ Then he said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites. Sanctify yourselves first. Then sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and remove the filth from the sanctuary. ⁶ For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. They abandoned him, turned away their faces from him, and turned their backs on him. ⁷ They also shut the doors of the vestibule and extinguished the lamps, and they ceased to burn incense or present any burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

⁸ “Therefore, the anger of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of terror, astonishment, and derision, as you can see with your own eyes. ⁹ Our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and daughters and our wives have been taken captive as a result. ¹⁰ Now I am determined to make a covenant with the God of Israel, in the hope that his fierce anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ Therefore, my sons, do not be negligent any longer, for the Lord has chosen you to sit in his presence and to serve him, to be his ministers, and to offer incense before him.”

¹² The Levites immediately set to work: from the sons of the Kohathites: Mahath, son of Amasai, and Joel, son of Azariah; from the sons of Merari: Kish, son of Abdi, and Azariah, son of Jehallel; from the Gershonites: Joah, son of Zimmah, and Eden, son of Joah; ¹³ from the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeuel; from the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ from the sons of Heman: Jehuel and Shimei; from the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. ¹⁵ They gathered their brothers together and sanctified themselves; then, in obedience to the king’s order in accordance with the Lord’s command, they proceeded to purify the house of the Lord.

¹⁶ The priests entered the inner part of the Lord’s house to cleanse it, and they brought all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the Lord and deposited them in the court of the house of the Lord, where the Levites collected them and carried them out to the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ They began the rites of sanctification on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they had arrived at the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they sanctified the Lord’s house, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they had finished.

¹⁸ Their work having been completed, they went in to King Hezekiah and said: “We have cleansed the entire house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread with all its utensils. ¹⁹ We have restored and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz had cast aside during his reign because of his infidelity. They are now in place before the altar of the Lord.”

²⁰ The Rite of Expiation. King Hezekiah rose early the next morning, assembled the officials of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. ²¹ They brought with them 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 ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord.

²² Therefore, after the city officials slaughtered the bulls, the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Then the rams were slaughtered, and, the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. After that, the lambs were slaughtered, and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar.

²³ Finally the he-goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them. ²⁴ Then the priests slaughtered them and used their blood as a sin offering at the altar in order to make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

²⁵ The king stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the ordinance prescribed by David, by Gad the king’s seer, and by Nathan the prophet. This commandment was prescribed by the Lord through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites were stationed with the instruments of David while the priests stood ready with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be presented on the altar. And at the moment when the burnt offering began, the song to the Lord began also, to the accompaniment of the trumpets and the instruments of King David of Israel. ²⁸ The entire assembly bowed in worship while the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded, all of this continuing until the burnt offering had been completed.

²⁹ When the burnt offering was finished, the king and all those who were present with him bowed down and worshiped. ³⁰ King Hezekiah and his officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord in the words of David and of the seer, Asaph. They joyfully sang their praises, after which they knelt down and prostrated themselves in worship.

³¹ Then Hezekiah issued this command: “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come forward and bring your sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.”

Therefore, the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all those who had generous hearts brought burnt offerings. ³² The number of burnt offerings that the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were designated as a burnt offering to the Lord. ³³ The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three hundred sheep.

³⁴ However, the priests were too few in number to be able to skin the burnt offerings. Therefore, their brethren the Levites were clearly more conscientious than the priests in sanctifying themselves. ³⁵ In addition to a great number of burnt offerings, there was also the fat of the fellowship offerings and the libations for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. ³⁶ Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had done for the people and how suddenly all this had been completed.

Chapter 30^[b]

Invitation to the Passover. ¹ Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manas-seh, inviting them to come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. ^2 [c]The king and his officials and the entire assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate the Passover in the second month, ³ having been unable to celebrate it at the proper time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers and the people had not yet assembled in Jerusalem.

⁴ The proposal was accepted by the king and all the assembly. ⁵ Therefore, they resolved to issue a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, that the people should come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. For the feast had not been celebrated in large numbers in the manner prescribed. ⁶ Accordingly, couriers traveled throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, as the king had commanded, saying: “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn back to you, the remnant left from the hands of the kings of Assyria. ⁷ Do not be like your ancestors and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you yourselves now see. ⁸ Do not be stiff-necked as your ancestors were, but submit yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord, your God, so that his fierce anger may turn away from you. ⁹ For when you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will be treated with compassion by their captors and return to this land. For the Lord, your God, is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰ The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and mocked them. ¹¹ Nevertheless a few people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God was also on Judah to make the people of one mind to do what the king and the officials commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.

¹³ The Passover Celebrated. A huge crowd gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴ They began their work by removing the altars that were in Jerusalem. Then they removed all the altars of incense and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵ On the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. Meanwhile, the priests and the Levites were ashamed; after they consecrated themselves, they brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then they took their accustomed places according to the law of Moses, the man of God, while the priests sprinkled the blood that they had received from the Levites.

¹⁷ Since many people in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lambs for them to the Lord.^{[d] 18} For a large number of people, mainly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, but even so they ate the Passover contrary to what was prescribed.

However, Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the good Lord grant pardon ¹⁹ to all those who are determined to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they have not been purified as holiness requires.” ²⁰ The Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹ With great rejoicing the Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, while the Levites and the priests day after day praised the Lord with all their strength. ²² Hezekiah then spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves to be well skilled in the service of the Lord. During the seven days of the festival the people consumed their assigned portion of food, sacrificing offerings of well-being and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

²³ Then the entire assembly agreed to continue the festival for another seven days, and they did so with joyous celebration. ²⁴ Hezekiah, the king of Judah, contributed to the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials gave to the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, while the priests sanctified themselves in great numbers. ²⁵ The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and the Levites and the resident aliens who had come from Israel, as well as the resident aliens who dwelt in Judah. ²⁶ There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of King David of Israel, nothing of this magnitude had been seen in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voices were heard by God when their prayer reached his holy dwelling in heaven.

Chapter 31

Reform of Worship. ¹ When the festivities had come to a close, all of the Israelites who were present went forth to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the sacred poles, and demolished the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their various towns and their individual properties.

² Hezekiah reestablished the priests and the Levites into various divisions, assigning to each priest and Levite his own specific duty, whether in regard to holocausts or peace offerings, to minister or to give thanks, or to sing praises within the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.

³ The king provided from his own wealth a portion from his possessions for holocausts during the morning and evening as well as on Sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, as prescribed in the law of the Lord. ⁴ He also commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to provide the portion due to the priests and the Levites so that they might devote themselves completely to the law of the Lord.

⁵ As soon as the command of the king had been promulgated, the Israelites provided an abundance of the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and all the other produce of the fields; they brought in an abundant tithe of everything. ⁶ The Israelites and Judeans who lived in the towns of Judah also brought in a tithe of their cattle and sheep and a tithe of sacred gifts that had been consecrated to the Lord, their God, laying them in heaps. ⁷ They began to accumulate the heaps in the third month, and they completed that task in the seventh month.

⁸ When Hezekiah and his officials came and beheld the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about those heaps. ¹⁰ The chief priest Azariah, who was of the house of Zadok, replied: “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and much more in addition. For the Lord has so greatly blessed his people that a great amount is still left over.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah issued orders to prepare storerooms in the house of the Lord. When that task was completed, ¹² the people faithfully brought in their contributions, their tithes, and their consecrated gifts. The chief officer in charge of the donations was Conaniah the Levite, with his brother Shimei as second in command. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were appointed as supervisors under Conaniah and his brother, Shimei, by the order of King Hezekiah and Azariah, the chief officer of the house of God.

¹⁴ Kore, the son of Imnah the Levite, and the keeper of the east gate, was in charge of the free-will offerings to God, with the responsibility to apportion the contributions made to God and the most sacred offerings. ¹⁵ Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in the priestly cities and distributed the portions to their kindred, old and young alike, by divisions.^[e]

¹⁶ In addition, they distributed shares to the males thirty years old and above who would enter the house of the Lord to take their part daily in the service, according to their divisions as their office required. ¹⁷ The priests were enrolled according to their ancestral houses; the Levites who were twenty years old and above were registered according to their offices.

¹⁸ The priests were enrolled with all their dependents—their little children, their wives, their sons and their daughters, the entire multitude—since in virtue of their permanent standing they had to be faithful in consecrating themselves. ¹⁹ As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests, who lived on the pasture lands belonging to their towns, designated the men to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone who was registered in the genealogies of the Levites.

²⁰ Hezekiah did this throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful in the eyes of the Lord, his God. ²¹ Every-thing that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in obedience to the law and the commandments to seek his God, he did with all his heart, and he prospered.

Chapter 32

Invasion of Sennacherib. ¹ After Hezekiah had proved his fidelity by his deeds and his acts of faithfulness, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah and laid siege to the fortified towns, intending to take them by storm.

² When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib was determined to attack Jerusalem, ³ he suggested to his officers and warriors that they block up the springs of water that were outside the city, and they supported his plan. ⁴ Then a large number of people were summoned to block up all the springs, as well as the stream that flowed through that land, saying: “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find an abundance of water?”

⁵ Hezekiah next concentrated on strengthening his defenses. He repaired every breach in the city wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it. Then he built another wall outside that first wall. He also strengthened the Millo of the City of David and gathered large numbers of weapons and shields.

⁶ Next Hezekiah appointed military commanders over the people, and after gathering them together in his presence in the square at the gate of the city, he spoke these words of encouragement: ⁷ “Be strong and brave. Do not have any fear or be discouraged when confronted with the king of Assyria and the vast horde that serves him. Remember that there is one with us who is greater than anyone who is with him. ⁸ He has only human strength, but we have the Lord, our God, with us to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were greatly encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

Sennacherib’s Threat. ⁹ After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria was besieging Lachish with all his forces, he sent his representatives to Jerusalem to deliver this message to King Hezekiah of Judah and to all the Judeans who were in Jerusalem: ¹⁰ “King Sennacherib of Assyria has this to say: What gives you the confidence to remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege? ¹¹ Hezekiah is misleading you, condemning you to die of famine and thirst, when he says: ‘The Lord, our God, will save us from the clutches of the king of Assyria.’ ¹² Was it not the same Hezekiah who removed the Lord’s shrines and altars and issued this command to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You shall worship before only one altar, and on that altar alone you shall offer sacrifices’? ¹³ Are you not aware what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of those nations able to save their lands from my power? ¹⁴ Of all the gods of these nations which my ancestors totally destroyed, was there even one who was able to save his people from my hand? How then will your God be able to deliver you from my power?

¹⁵ “Do not permit Hezekiah to deceive you or mislead you in this way, and do not believe him. How can you place your trust in him, since no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my ancestors? How much less will your God be able to save you from my clutches!”

¹⁶ Sennacherib’s officials offered further negative comments against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ In addition, Sennacherib wrote letters filled with contemptuous remarks about the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: “Just as the gods of other nations could not rescue their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not be able to save his people from my power.”

¹⁸ Then the forces of Sennacherib shouted loudly in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were stationed on the wall, trying to strike them with terror and fear, and thus hoping to be able to conquer the city. ¹⁹ They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as if he were in no way superior to any of the gods of the other peoples of the earth, simply the work of human hands.

²⁰ The Defeat of Sennacherib. Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. ²¹ Therefore, the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. As a result, Sennacherib returned in disgrace to his own land. When he entered the temple of his god, some of his sons slew him with the sword.

²² Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hands of Sennacherib and from the hands of all their enemies, affording them rest on every side. ²³ Many people brought gifts to the Lord in Jerusalem and costly gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that time onward he was held in high esteem by all nations.

²⁴ Hezekiah’s Other Deeds. In those days Hezekiah fell seriously ill. Then he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered him by granting him a sign. ²⁵ However, Hezekiah was a proud man, and he failed to respond with gratitude for the kindness that the Lord had shown him. As a result, the wrath of the Lord fell upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ But then Hezekiah humbled himself because of the pride of heart that he had exhibited, as did also the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not fall upon them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.

²⁷ Hezekiah possessed great wealth and honor. He built for himself treasuries for his silver and gold, for his precious stones, for spices and shields and for all kinds of other costly things, ²⁸ storehouses for the harvests of grain, new wine and oil, and stalls for all kinds of cattle and flocks of sheep. ²⁹ He also built cities for himself, and he acquired flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions.

³⁰ This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed their course down to the west side of the City of David. In every respect he prospered in all his works, ³¹ although when envoys were sent by the king of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign^[f] that had occurred in the land, God left him to himself in order to test him and to discover what was in his heart.

³² The rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his pious works are recorded in the vision of the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ Hezekiah slept with his ancestors, and he was buried at the ascent to the tombs of the descendants of David. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh succeeded him as king.