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2 Chronicles 29

New Living Translation NLT

1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2 He did what was pleasing in the LORD ’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.

3 In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them.

4 He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple.

5 He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.

6 Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him.

7 They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

8 “That is why the LORD ’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes.

9 Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and our sons and daughters and wives have been captured.

10 But now I will make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us.

11 My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.”

12 Then these Levites got right to work: From the clan of Kohath: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. From the clan of Merari: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel. From the clan of Gershon: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.

13 From the family of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel. From the family of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah.

14 From the family of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei. From the family of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the LORD, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the LORD ’s instructions in their work.

16 The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the LORD to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley.

17 They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year, and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the LORD ’s Temple. Then they purified the Temple of the LORD itself, which took another eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days.

18 Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: “We have cleansed the entire Temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils.

19 We have also recovered all the items discarded by King Ahaz when he was unfaithful and closed the Temple. They are now in front of the altar of the LORD, purified and ready for use.”

20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went to the Temple of the LORD .

21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, and seven male lambs as a burnt offering, together with seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the Temple, and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice the animals on the altar of the LORD .

22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Next they killed the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. And finally, they did the same with the male lambs.

23 The male goats for the sin offering were then brought before the king and the assembly of people, who laid their hands on them.

24 The priests then killed the goats as a sin offering and sprinkled their blood on the altar to make atonement for the sins of all Israel. The king had specifically commanded that this burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 King Hezekiah then stationed the Levites at the Temple of the LORD with cymbals, lyres, and harps. He obeyed all the commands that the LORD had given to King David through Gad, the king’s seer, and the prophet Nathan.

26 The Levites then took their positions around the Temple with the instruments of David, and the priests took their positions with the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the LORD were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, the former king of Israel.

28 The entire assembly worshiped the LORD as the singers sang and the trumpets blew, until all the burnt offerings were finished.

29 Then the king and everyone with him bowed down in worship.

30 King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the psalms written by David and by Asaph the seer. So they offered joyous praise and bowed down in worship.

31 Then Hezekiah declared, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Temple of the LORD .” So the people brought their sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings, too.

32 The people brought to the LORD 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 male lambs for burnt offerings.

33 They also brought 600 cattle and 3,000 sheep and goats as sacred offerings.

34 But there were too few priests to prepare all the burnt offerings. So their relatives the Levites helped them until the work was finished and more priests had been purified, for the Levites had been more conscientious about purifying themselves than the priests had been.

35 There was an abundance of burnt offerings, along with the usual liquid offerings, and a great deal of fat from the many peace offerings. So the Temple of the LORD was restored to service.

36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old and was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.

2 In God's opinion he was a good king; he kept to the standards of his ancestor David.

3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah, having first repaired the doors of The Temple of God, threw them open to the public.

4 He assembled the priests and Levites in the court on the east side

5 and said, "Levites, listen! Consecrate yourselves and consecrate The Temple of God - give this much-defiled place a good housecleaning.

6 Our ancestors went wrong and lived badly before God - they discarded him, turned away from this house where we meet with God, and walked off.

7 They boarded up the doors, turned out the lights, and canceled all the acts of worship of the God of Israel in the holy Temple.

8 And because of that, God's anger flared up and he turned those people into a public exhibit of disaster, a moral history lesson - look and read!

9 This is why our ancestors were killed, and this is why our wives and sons and daughters were taken prisoner and made slaves.

10 "I have decided to make a covenant with the God of Israel and turn history around so that God will no longer be angry with us.

11 Children, don't drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take your place before him to serve in conducting and leading worship - this is your life work; make sure you do it and do it well."

12 The Levites stood at attention: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;

13 Shimri and Jeiel sons of Elizaphan; Zechariah and Mattaniah sons of Asaph;

14 Jehiel and Shimei of the family of Heman; Shemaiah and Uzziel of the family of Jeduthun.

15 They presented themselves and their brothers, consecrated themselves, and set to work cleaning up The Temple of God as the king had directed - as God directed!

16 The priests started from the inside and worked out; they emptied the place of the accumulation of defiling junk - pagan rubbish that had no business in that holy place - and the Levites hauled it off to the Kidron Valley.

17 They began the Temple cleaning on the first day of the first month and by the eighth day they had worked their way out to the porch - eight days it took them to clean and consecrate The Temple itself, and in eight more days they had finished with the entire Temple complex.

18 Then they reported to Hezekiah the king, "We have cleaned up the entire Temple of God, including the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Table of the Bread of the Presence with their furnishings.

19 We have also cleaned up and consecrated all the vessels which King Ahaz had gotten rid of during his misrule. Take a look; we have repaired them. They're all there in front of the Altar of God."

20 Then Hezekiah the king went to work: He got all the leaders of the city together and marched to The Temple of God.

21 They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats to sacrifice as an Absolution-Offering for the royal family, for the Sanctuary, and for Judah as a whole; he directed the Aaronite priests to sacrifice them on the Altar of God.

22 The priests butchered the bulls and then took the blood and sprinkled it on the Altar, and then the same with the rams and lambs.

23 Finally they brought the goats up; the king and congregation laid their hands upon them.

24 The priests butchered them and made an Absolution-Offering with their blood at the Altar to atone for the sin of all Israel - the king had ordered that the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Absolution-Offering be for all Israel.

25 The king ordered the Levites to take their places in The Temple of God with their musical instruments - cymbals, harps, zithers - following the original instructions of David, Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; this was God's command conveyed by his prophets.

26 The Levites formed the orchestra of David, while the priests took up the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah gave the signal to begin: The Whole-Burnt-Offering was offered on the Altar; at the same time the sacred choir began singing, backed up by the trumpets and the David orchestra

28 while the entire congregation worshiped. The singers sang and the trumpeters played all during the sacrifice of the Whole-Burnt-Offering.

29 When the offering of the sacrifice was completed, the king and everyone there knelt to the ground and worshiped.

30 Then Hezekiah the king and the leaders told the Levites to finish things off with anthems of praise to God using lyrics by David and Asaph the seer. They sang their praises with joy and reverence, kneeling in worship.

31 Hezekiah then made this response: "The dedication is complete - you're consecrated to God. Now you're ready: Come forward and bring your sacrifices and Thank-Offerings to The Temple of God."

32 a generosity expressed in seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs - all for Whole-Burnt-Offerings for God!

33 The total number of animals consecrated for sacrifice that day amounted to 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep.

34 They ran out of priests qualified to slaughter all the Whole-Burnt-Offerings so their brother Levites stepped in and helped out while other priests consecrated themselves for the work. It turned out that the Levites had been more responsible in making sure they were properly consecrated than the priests had been.

35 Besides the overflow of Whole-Burnt-Offerings there were also choice pieces for the Peace-Offerings and lavish libations that went with the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The worship in The Temple of God was on a firm footing again!

36 Hezekiah and the congregation celebrated: God had established a firm foundation for the lives of the people - and so quickly!