^29:5He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors!⁴ Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean! ^29:6For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of⁵ the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned⁶ away from the Lord’s dwelling place and rejected him.⁷^29:7They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. ^29:8The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn,⁸ as you can see with your own eyes. ^29:9Look, our fathers died violently⁹ and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off¹⁰ because of this. ^29:10Now I intend¹¹ to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger.¹²^29:11My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices.”¹³

^29:12The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders:¹⁴

From the Kohathites: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;

from the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;

from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;

^29:13from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel;

from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;

^29:14from the descendants of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei;

from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.

^29:15They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word¹⁵ of the Lord.

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Footnotes

4 Heb “fathers.”
5 Heb “in the eyes of.”
6 Heb “turned their faces.”
7 Heb “and turned the back.”
8 Heb “and he made them [an object] of dread and devastation and hissing.”
9 Heb “fell by the sword.”
10 Heb “are in captivity.”
11 Heb “now it is with my heart.”
12 Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from us.” The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding statement of intention.
13 Heb “to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and sacrificers.”
14 Heb “and the Levites arose.”
15 Heb “words” (plural).