2 Chronicles 34:12

12 The which workmen did faithfully all things. And the sovereigns of workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, which hasted the work; all were deacons, knowing how to sing with organs. (And the workmen faithfully did their work. And the rulers, or the overseers, of the workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the Kohathites, who hastened the work; all of them were Levites, who knew how to play instruments.)

2 Chronicles 34:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 34:12

And the men did that work faithfully
The labouring men, as also their inspectors, see ( 2 Kings 22:7 )

and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the
sons of Merari;
the third son of Levi:

and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites;
who had their name from Kohath, the second son of Levi:

to set it forward;
to urge and animate the men to their work, to keep them constant to it, and see that they did it well:

and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music;
these, when they were not employed in singing in the temple, attended this service, to look after the workmen at the repairs of it; and perhaps they might play, as some think, on their instruments of music, while the men were at work, that they might go on in it the more pleasantly and cheerfully.

2 Chronicles 34:12 In-Context

10 they gave it in(to) the hands of them that were sovereigns of the workmen in the house of the Lord, that they should restore the temple, and repair all the feeble things thereof. (they gave it to those who were the rulers, or the overseers, of the workmen in the House of the Lord, so that they could restore the Temple, and repair all its weakened, or its broken, parts.)

11 And they gave that money to the craftsmen and masons, for to buy stones hewed out of the quarries, and wood to the joinings of the building(s), and to the coupling(s) of [the] houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed. (And they gave that money to the craftsmen and the masons, to buy stones cut out of the quarries, and timber for the joints of the buildings, and for the couplings of the houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed.)

12 The which workmen did faithfully all things. And the sovereigns of workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, which hasted the work; all were deacons, knowing how to sing with organs. (And the workmen faithfully did their work. And the rulers, or the overseers, of the workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the Kohathites, who hastened the work; all of them were Levites, who knew how to play instruments.)

13 And over them that bare burdens to diverse uses were scribes, and masters of deacons, and porters. (And they were over those who carried burdens, and did diverse types of work; and other Levites were writers, or secretaries, and clerks, and guards, or doorkeepers.)

14 And when they bare out the money, that was brought into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah, the priest, found a book of the law of the Lord by the hand of Moses. (And when they took out the money, that was brought into the Temple of the Lord, the High Priest Hilkiah found The Book of the Law of the Lord, written by Moses.)