Chapter 29

Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz in Judah

1 aHezekiah 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 aHe 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 aopened 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. aConsecrate 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 aturned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have 1turned their backs.

7 “They have also ashut 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 athe wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of bhissing, as you see with your own eyes.

9 “For behold, aour 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 ato 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 athe 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: aMahath, the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of bthe 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 1Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14 and from the sons of Heman, 1Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 They assembled their brothers, aconsecrated themselves, and went in bto cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king cby 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 athe Kidron 1valley.

17 Now they began 1the consecration aon 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, aall 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 afor 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 asprinkled the blood on the altar.

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

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

25 aHe then stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with harps and with lyres, baccording to the command of David and of cGad the king’s seer, and of dNathan the prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His prophets.

26 The Levites stood with athe musical instruments of David, and bthe priests with the trumpets.

27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, athe song to the Lord also began with the trumpets, 1accompanied 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, athe 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. aSo they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, “aNow that you have 1consecrated 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 ball those who were 2willing brought burnt offerings.

32 The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.

33 The consecrated things were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep.

34 But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; atherefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was completed and until the other priests had consecrated themselves. For bthe Levites were more 1conscientious to consecrate themselves than the priests.

35 There were also 1amany burnt offerings with bthe fat of the peace offerings and with cthe libations for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was established again.

36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

Chapter 30

All Israel Invited to the Passover

1 Now Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to 1celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel.

2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had decided ato celebrate the Passover in the second month,

3 since they could not celebrate it aat that time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem.

4 Thus the thing was right in the sight of the king and 1all the assembly.

5 So they established a decree to circulate a 1proclamation throughout all Israel afrom Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem. For they had not celebrated it in great numbers as it was 2prescribed.

6 aThe 1couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes, even according to the command of the king, saying, “O sons of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped and are left from bthe 2hand of the kings of Assyria.

7 “aDo not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were unfaithful to the Lord God of their fathers, so that bHe made them a horror, as you see.

8 “Now do not astiffen your neck like your fathers, but 1yield to the Lord and enter His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, bthat His burning anger may turn away from you.

9 “For aif you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before those who led them captive and will return to this land. bFor the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

10 So the 1couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but athey laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

11 Nevertheless asome men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

12 The ahand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

Passover Reinstituted

13 Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread ain the second month, a very large assembly.

14 They arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem; they also aremoved all the incense altars and bcast them into the brook Kidron.

15 Then athey slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth of the second month. And bthe priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves, and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the Lord.

16 aThey stood at their stations after their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites.

17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves; therefore, athe Levites were over the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, in order to consecrate them to the Lord.

18 For a multitude of the people, aeven many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, byet they ate the Passover cotherwise than 1prescribed. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon

19 aeveryone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

20 So the Lord heard Hezekiah and ahealed the people.

21 The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem acelebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day after