Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

29 Hezekiah abecame king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was 1Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he bopened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now 2sanctify yourselves, csanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6 For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have dturned their faces away from the 3dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. 7 eThey have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the fwrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has ggiven them up to trouble, to desolation, and to hjeering, as you see with your ieyes. 9 For indeed, because of this jour fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.

10 “Now it is in my heart to make ka covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has lchosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”

12 Then these Levites arose: mMahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the nKohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 And they gathered their brethren, osanctified 4themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, pto cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook qKidron.

17 Now they began to 5sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. 19 Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had rcast aside in his transgression we have prepared and 6sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a ssin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and tsprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their uhands on them. 24 And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering vto make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.

25 wAnd he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, xaccording to the commandment of David, of yGad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; zfor thus was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments aof David, and the priests with bthe trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, cthe song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had finished offering, dthe king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. 30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and ethank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a fwilling heart brought burnt offerings. 32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore gtheir brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had 7sanctified themselves, hfor the Levites were imore diligent in jsanctifying themselves than the priests. 35 Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with kthe fat of the peace offerings and with lthe drink offerings for every burnt offering.

So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.

Hezekiah Keeps the Passover

30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. 2 For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second amonth. 3 For they could not keep it bat 1the regular time, cbecause a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. 4 And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. 5 So they 2resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.

6 Then the drunners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: “Children of Israel, ereturn to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of fthe kings of gAssyria. 7 And do not be hlike your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He igave them up to jdesolation, as you see. 8 Now do not be kstiff-necked, 3as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, lthat the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with mcompassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is ngracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you oreturn to Him.”

10 So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but pthey laughed at them and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless qsome from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 Also rthe hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, sat the word of the Lord.

13 Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of tUnleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They arose and took away the ualtars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook vKidron. 15 Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites 4were washamed, and 5sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. 16 They stood in their xplace 6according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not 7sanctified themselves; ytherefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. 18 For a multitude of the people, zmany from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, ayet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone 19 who bprepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” 20 And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

21 So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept cthe Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the