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Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twentyyearsold, and he reignednine and twentyyears in Jerusalem. And his mother'sname was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
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And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites,sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORDGod of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
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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.
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Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burnedincense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
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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.
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My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to standbefore him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
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Then the Levitesarose, 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:
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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.
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And the priestswent 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 Levitestook it, to carry it outabroad into the brookKidron.
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Now they began on the first day of the firstmonth to sanctify, and on the eighthday of the monthcame they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eightdays; and in the sixteenthday of the firstmonth they made an end.
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Then they wentin 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 shewbreadtable, with all the vessels thereof.
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Moreover all the vessels, which kingAhaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.
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And they broughtsevenbullocks, and sevenrams, and sevenlambs, and sevenhegoats, 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.
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So they killed the bullocks, and the priestsreceived 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.
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And the priestskilled them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the kingcommanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
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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'sseer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandmentof the LORDby his prophets.
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And Hezekiahcommanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offeringbegan, the song of the LORDbegan also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained byDavidking of Israel.
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Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princescommanded 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.
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Then Hezekiahanswered and said, Now ye have consecrated* yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bringsacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought insacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a freeheart burnt offerings.
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And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregationbrought, was threescore and tenbullocks, an hundredrams, and two hundredlambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.
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And the consecrated things were sixhundredoxen and threethousandsheep.
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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.
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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.