²Hezekiah put the priests and Levites in groups based on their duties. The priests sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. The Levites served the Lord by giving thanks and singing praises at the gates of his house.

³The king gave some of his own possessions to the temple. He gave them for the morning and evening burnt offerings. He gave them for the burnt offerings for every Sabbath day. He gave them for the burnt offerings for every New Moon feast. And he gave them for the burnt offerings for every yearly appointed feast. He did it in keeping with what is written in the Law of the Lord.

⁴Hezekiah gave an order to the people who were living in Jerusalem. He commanded them to give to the priests and Levites the share they owed them. Then the priests and Levites could give their full attention to the Law of the Lord.

⁵The order went out. Right away the people of Israel began to give freely. They gave the first share of the harvest of their grain, fresh wine, olive oil and honey. They also gave the first share of everything else their fields produced. They brought a large amount. It was a tenth of everything.

⁶The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah brought a tenth of their herds and flocks. They also brought a tenth of the holy things they had set apart to the Lord their God. They put them in piles. ⁷They began doing it in the third month. They finished in the seventh month. ⁸Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the piles. When they did, they praised the Lord. And they blessed his people Israel.

⁹Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. ¹⁰The chief priest Azariah answered him. He said, “The people have been bringing their gifts to the Lord’s temple. Ever since they began to bring them, we’ve had enough to eat. We have even had plenty to spare. That’s because the Lord has blessed his people. So we have a large amount left over.” Azariah was from the family line of Zadok.

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