2 Chronicles 29:1-31

Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz in Judah

1 ¹Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five * years old; and he reigned twenty-nine * years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2 ²He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

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

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

Reforms Begun

5 Then he said to them, "Listen to me, O Levites. ⁴Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out from the holy place.

6 "For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him and ⁵turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and have turned their backs.

7 "They have also ⁶shut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

8 "Therefore ⁷the wrath of the LORD was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of ⁸hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

9 "For behold, ⁹our 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 my heart ¹⁰to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.

11 "My sons, do not be negligent now, for ¹¹the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense."

12 Then the Levites arose: ¹²Mahath, the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of ¹³the Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;

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

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

15 They assembled their brothers, ¹⁴consecrated themselves, and went in ¹⁵to cleanse the house of the LORD, according to the commandment of the king ¹⁶by the words of the LORD.

16 So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the LORD they brought out to the court of the house of the LORD. Then the Levites received it to carry out to ¹⁷the Kidron valley.

17 Now they began the consecration ¹⁸on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the LORD. Then they consecrated the house of the LORD in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth * day of the first month.

18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed the whole house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all of its utensils.

19 "Moreover, ¹⁹all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD."

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then King Hezekiah arose early and assembled the princes of the city and went up to the house of the LORD.

21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven male goats ²⁰for a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs also and ²¹sprinkled the blood on the altar.

23 Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and ²²they laid their hands on them.

24 The priests slaughtered them and purged the altar with their blood ²³to atone for all Israel, for the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

25 ²⁴He then stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with harps and with lyres, ²⁵according to the command of David and of ²⁶Gad the king's seer, and of ²⁷Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the LORD through His prophets.

26 The Levites stood with ²⁸the musical instruments of David, and ²⁹the priests with the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, ³⁰the song to the LORD also began with the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel.

28 While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29 Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, ³¹the king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped.

30 Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and Asaph the seer. ³²So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, "³³Now that you have consecrated * yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD." And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and ³⁴all those who were willing brought burnt offerings.

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2 Chronicles 29:1-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 29

This chapter begins with the good reign of Hezekiah, who upon his accession to the throne opened the doors of the temple, 2Ch 29:1-3, summoned the priests and Levites, and exhorted them to purge the temple, and restore the worship of it, 2Ch 29:4-11, who accordingly set about the work immediately, and cleansed the temple, and, when they had done, reported it to the king, 2Ch 29:12-19 upon which he, with the princes, went into the temple and offered sacrifices, 2Ch 29:20-24 and ordered singers to sing at the offering of burnt offerings, 2Ch 29:25-30 when he and his people offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in great abundance, 2Ch 29:31-36.

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Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 34

1. 2 Kings 18:1-3
2. 2 Chronicles 28:1; 2 Chronicles 34:2
3. 2 Chronicles 28:24; 2 Chronicles 29:7
4. 2 Chronicles 29:15, 34; 2 Chronicles 35:6
5. Ezekiel 8:16
6. 2 Chronicles 28:24
7. 2 Chronicles 24:20
8. Jeremiah 25:9, 18
9. 2 Chr 28:5-8, 17
10. 2 Chronicles 23:16
11. Numbers 3:6; Numbers 8:6
12. 2 Chronicles 31:13
13. Numbers 3:19, 20
14. 2 Chronicles 29:5
15. 1 Chronicles 23:28
16. 2 Chronicles 30:12
17. 2 Chronicles 15:16
18. 2 Chronicles 29:3
19. 2 Chronicles 28:24
20. Leviticus 4:3-14
21. Leviticus 4:18
22. Leviticus 4:15
23. Leviticus 4:26
24. 1 Chronicles 25:6
25. 2 Chronicles 8:14
26. 2 Samuel 24:11
27. 2 Samuel 7:2
28. 1 Chronicles 23:5
29. 2 Chronicles 5:12
30. 2 Chronicles 23:18
31. 2 Chronicles 20:18
32. Psalms 100:1; Psalms 106:12
33. 2 Chronicles 13:9
34. Exodus 35:5, 22

Footnotes 8

[a]. Lit "given"
[b]. Or "Jeuel"
[c]. Or "Jehuel," 1 Chr 15:18, 20
[d]. Or "wadi"
[e]. Lit "to consecrate"
[f]. Lit "and according to the authority of the instruments"
[g]. Lit "filled your hands"
[h]. Lit "willing of heart"