The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Chronicles 29
1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was
twenty-five years old, and he reigned
twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter
of Zechariah.
2 He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, according to all that David his
father had done.
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first
month, he opened the doors of Yahweh’s
house and repaired them.
4 He brought in the priests and the
Levites and gathered them together into
the wide place on the east,
5 and said to them, “Listen to me, you
Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and
sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of
your fathers, and carry the filthiness out of
the holy place.
6 For our fathers were unfaithful, and
have done that which was evil in Yahweh
our God’s sight, and have forsaken him,
and have turned away their faces from
the habitation of Yahweh, and turned their
backs.
7 Also they have shut up the doors of the
porch, and put out the lamps, and have not
burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
8 Therefore Yahweh’s wrath was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered
them to be tossed back and forth, to be
an astonishment and a hissing, as you see
with your eyes.
9 For behold, our fathers have fallen by
the sword, and our sons and our daughters
and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in my heart to make a
covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel,
that his fierce anger may turn away from
us.
11 My sons, don’t be negligent now; for
Yahweh has chosen you to stand before
him, to minister to him, and that you
should be his ministers and burn incense.”
12 Then the Levites arose: Mahath, the
son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah,
of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the
sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and
Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the
Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and
Eden the son of Joah;
13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri
and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph,
Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; a
nd of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 They gathered their brothers, sanctified themselves,
and went in, according to the commandment ofthe kingbyYahweh’s
words, to cleanse Yahweh’s house.
16 The priests went into the inner part of
Yahweh’s house to cleanse it, and brought
out all the uncleanness that they found
in Yahweh’s temple into the court of Yahweh’s house.
The Levites took itfrom there
to carry it out to the brook Kidron.
17 Now they began on the first day of the
first month to sanctify, and on the eighth
day of the month they came to Yahweh’s
porch. They sanctified Yahweh’s house in
eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the
first month they finished.
18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the
king within the palace and said, “We have
cleansed all Yahweh’s house, including the
altar of burnt offering with all its vessels,
and the table of show bread with all its
vessels.
19 Moreover, we have prepared and
sanctified all the vessels which King Ahaz
threw away in his reign when he was unfaithful. Behold, they are before Yahweh’s
altar.”
20 Then Hezekiah the king arose early,
gathered the princes of the city, and went
up to Yahweh’s house.
21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams,
seven lambs, and seven male goats, for a
sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. He commanded the
priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on
Yahweh’s altar.
22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests
received the blood and sprinkled it on the
altar. They killed the rams and sprinkled
the blood on the altar. They also killed the
lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar.
23 They brought near the male goats for
the sin offering before the king and the
assembly; and they laid their hands on
them.
24 Then the priests killed them, and they
made a sin offering with their blood on the
altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for
the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for
all Israel.
25 He set the Levites in Yahweh’s house
with cymbals, with stringed instruments,
and with harps, according to the commandment of
David, of Gad the king’s seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the
commandment was from Yahweh by his prophets.
26 The Levites stood with David’s instruments, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 Hezekiah commanded them to offer
the burnt offering on the altar. When
the burnt offering began, Yahweh’s song
also began, along with the trumpets and
instruments of David king of Israel.
28 All the assembly worshiped, the
singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded.
All this continued until the burnt offering
was finished.
29 When they had finished offering, the
king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the
princes commanded the Levites to sing
praises toYahweh withthe words of David,
and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises
with gladness, and they bowed their heads
and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered, “Now you
have consecrated yourselves to Yahweh.
Come near and bring sacrifices and thank
offerings into Yahweh’s house.” The assembly brought in sacrifices and
thank offerings, and as many as were of a willing
heart brought burnt offerings.
32 The number of the burnt offerings
which the assembly brought was seventy
bulls, onehundred rams, and twohundred
lambs. All these were for a burnt offering
to Yahweh.
33 The consecrated things were six hundred head of cattle and three thousand
sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that
they could not skin all the burnt offerings. Therefore their brothers the Levites
helped them until the work was ended,
and until the priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more upright
in heart to sanctify themselves than the
priests.
35 Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings
and with the drink offerings for every
burnt offering. So the service of Yahweh’s
house was set in order.
36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced
because of that which God had prepared
for the people; for the thing was done
suddenly.