⁵He said, “Levites, listen to me! Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Set apart the temple of the Lord. He’s the God of your people. Remove anything that is ‘unclean’ from the temple. ⁶Our people weren’t faithful. They did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They deserted him. They turned their faces away from the place where he lives. They turned their backs on him. ⁷They also shut the doors of the temple porch. They put the lamps out. They didn’t burn incense at the temple. They didn’t sacrifice burnt offerings to the God of Israel there.

⁸“So the Lord has become angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them look so bad that everyone is shocked when they see them. They laugh at them. You can see it with your own eyes. ⁹That’s why our people have been killed with swords. That’s why our sons and daughters and wives have become prisoners.

¹⁰“So I’m planning to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel. Then he’ll turn his burning anger away from us.

¹¹“My sons, don’t fail to obey the Lord. He has chosen you to stand in front of him and work for him. He wants you to serve him and burn incense to him.”

¹²Here are the Levites who went to work.

Mahath and Joel were from the family line of Kohath.

Mahath was the son of Amasai. Joel was the son of Azariah.

Kish and Azariah were from the family line of Merari.

Kish was the son of Abdi. Azariah was the son of Jehallelel.

Joah and Eden were from the family line of Gershon.

Joah was the son of Zimmah. Eden was the son of Joah.

¹³Shimri and Jeiel were from

the family line of Elizaphan.

Zechariah and Mattaniah were from

the family line of Asaph.

¹⁴Jehiel and Shimei were from

the family line of Heman.

Shemaiah and Uzziel were from

the family line of Jeduthun.

¹⁵All of those Levites gathered the other Levites together. They set themselves apart to the Lord. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple. That’s what the king had ordered them to do. They did what the Lord told them to.

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