2 Chronicles 29:5–15

⁵and 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. ⁶For 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. ^7eThey 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. ⁸Therefore 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. ⁹For 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. ¹¹My 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.”

¹²Then 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; ¹³of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

¹⁵And 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.