2 Chronicles 29

1 Now Ezechias began to reign, when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Abia, the daughter of Zacharias.

And, Hezekiah, began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and, twenty-nine years, reigned he in Jerusalem, —and, the name of his mother, was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah.

2 And he did that which was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

And he did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, —according to all that, David his father, had done.

3 In the first year and month of his reign he opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.

He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Yahweh, and repaired them.

4 And he brought the priests and the Levites, and assembled them in the east street.

And he brought in the priests, and the Levites, —and gathered them together in the broadway on the east;

5 And he said to them: Hear me, ye Levites, and be sanctified, purify the house of the Lord the God of your fathers, and take away all filth out of the sanctuary.

and said unto them, Hear me, O Levites! Now, hallow yourselves, and hallow the house of Yahweh, God of your fathers, and take forth the impure thing out of the holy place.

6 Our fathers have sinned and done evil in the sight of the Lord God, forsaking him: they have turned away their faces from the tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their backs.

For our fathers have acted unfaithfully and done the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him, -and have turned round their faces from the habitation of Yahweh, and have offered their backs.

7 They have shut up the doors that were in tile porch, and put out the lamps. and have not burnt incense, nor offered holocausts in the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

Moreover they have shut up the doors of the porch, and have quenched the lamps, and, incense, have they not burned, -and, ascending-sacrifice, have they not caused to go up in the holy place, unto the God of Israel.

8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord hath been stirred up against Juda and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, and to destruction, and to be hissed at, as you see with your eyes.

Thus hath it come to pass, that, the wrath of Yahweh, hath been upon Judah and Jerusalem, —and he hath delivered them up as a terror and as an astonishment and as hissing, even as, ye, can see with your own eyes.

9 Behold, our fathers are fallen by the sword, our sons, and our daughters, and wives are led away captives for this wickedness.

And lo! our fathers have fallen by the sword, and, our sons and our daughters and our wives, are in captivity for this.

10 Now therefore I have a mind that we make a covenant with the Lord the God of Israel, and he will turn away the wrath of his indignation from us.

Now, is it near my heart, to solemnise a covenant unto Yahweh, God of Israel, —that he may turn from him the glow of his anger.

11 My sons, be not negligent: the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, and to minister to him, and to worship him, and to burn incense to him.

My sons! now, do not be faulty, —for, of you, hath Yahweh made choice, to stand before him, and to wait upon him, and to be his attendants and burners of incense.

12 Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azarias, of the sons of Caath: and of the sons of Merari, Cis the son of Abdi, and Azarias the son of Jalaleel. And of the sons of Gerson, Joah the son of Zemma, and Eden the son of Joah.

Then arose the Levites—Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites, and, of the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehallelel, —and, of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah;

13 And of the sons of Elisaphan, Samri, and Jahiel. Also of the sons of Asaph, Zacharias, and Mathanias.

and, of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel, —and, of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah;

14 And of the sons of Heman, Jahiel, and Semei: and of the sons of Idithun, Semeias, and Oziel.

and, of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei, —and, of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah, and Uzziel;

15 And they gathered together their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in according to the commandment of the king, and the precept of the Lord, to purify the house of God.

and they gathered together their brethren, who hallowed themselves, and came in according to the command of the king, in the things of Yahweh, —to purify the house of Yahweh.

16 And the priests went into the temple of the Lord to sanctify it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found within to the entrance of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took it away, and carried it out abroad to the torrent Cedron.

So the priests entered into the inner part of the house of Yahweh, to make purification, and they brought out every unclean thing which they found in the temple of Yahweh, into the court of the house of Yahweh, —where the Levites received it, to carry it forth to the Kidron ravine outside.

17 And they began to cleanse on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the same month they came into the porch of the temple of the Lord, and they purified the temple in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the same month they finished what they had begun.

And they began, on the first of the first month, to hallow, —and, on the eighth day of the month, they came to the porch of Yahweh, so they hallowed the house of Yahweh in eight days, —and, on the sixteenth day of the first month, they finished.

18 And they went is to king Ezechias, and said to him: We have sanctified all the house of the Lord, and the altar of holocaust, and the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition with all its vessels,

Then came they in unto Hezekiah the king, and said, We have purified all the house of Yahweh, —the altar of ascending-sacrifice, and all the utensils thereof, and the table for setting in array, and all the utensils thereof.

19 And all the furniture of the temple, which king Achaz in his reign had defiled, after his transgression; and behold they are all set forth before the altar of the Lord.

And, all the utensils which King Ahaz in his reign rejected when he acted unfaithfully, have we made ready and hallowed, —and, there they are, before the altar of Yahweh.

20 And king Ezechias rising early, assembled all the rulers of the city, and went up into the house of the Lord:

So Hezekiah the king rose up early, and gathered together the rulers of the city, —and went up to the house of Yahweh.

21 And they offered together seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats for sin, for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, for Juda: and he spoke to the priests the sons of Aaron, to offer them upon the altar of the Lord.

And they brought in seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven young sheep, and seven he-goats for bearing sin, for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah, —and he bade the sons of Aaron, the priests, cause them to ascend upon the altar of Yahweh.

22 Therefore they killed the bullocks, and the priests took the blood, and poured it upon the altar; they killed also the rams, and their blood they poured also upon the altar, and they killed the lambs, and poured the blood upon the altar.

So they slaughtered the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and dashed it against the altar, —and they slaughtered the rams, and dashed the blood against the altar, and slaughtered the young sheep, and dashed the blood against the altar.

23 And they brought the he goats for sin before the king, and the whole multitude, and they laid their hand upon them:

And they brought near the he-goats for bearing sin, before the king, and the convocation, —and they leaned their hands upon them;

24 And the priests immolated them, and sprinkled their blood before the altar for an expiation of all Israel: for the king had commanded that the holocaust and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

and the priests slaughtered them, and sin-cleansed, with their blood, the altar, to put a propitiatory-covering over all Israel, -because, for all Israel, did the king appoint the ascending-sacrifice and the offering for bearing sin.

25 And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps according to the regulation of David the king, and of Gad the seer, and of Nathan the prophet: for it was the commandment of the Lord by the hand of his prophets.

And he caused the Levites to stand in the house of Yahweh, with cymbals and with harps and with lyres, by the commandment of David, and of Gad the seer of the king, and of Nathan the prophet, —for, by the hand of Yahweh, came the commandment by the hand of his prophets.

26 And the Levites stood, with the instruments of David, and the priests with trumpets.

So the Levites took their stand, with the instruments of David, and the priests, with the trumpets.

27 And Ezechias commanded that they should offer holocausts upon the altar: and when the holocausts were offered, they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound with trumpets, and divers instruments which David the king of Israel had prepared.

And Hezekiah gave word, to cause the ascending-sacrifice to go up on the altar, —and, when the ascending-sacrifice began, the singing unto Yahweh began, and the trumpets, even under the direction of the instruments of David, king of Israel.

28 And all the multitude adored, and the singers, and the trumpeters, were in their office till the holocaust was finished.

And, all the convocation, were bowing themselves in prostration, and, the song, was resounding and the trumpets were blowing, -the whole, until the completing of the ascending-sacrifice.

29 And when the oblation was ended, the king, and all that were with him bowed down and adored.

And, when the offering was complete, the king knelt down and all who were present with him, and bowed themselves in prostration.

30 And Ezechias and the princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, and Asaph the seer: and they praised him with great joy, and bowing the knee adored.

And Hezekiah the king and the rulers gave word to the Levites, to offer praise unto Yahweh, in the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, —so they offered praise right joyfully, and bent their heads and bowed themselves in prostration.

31 And Ezechias added, and said: You have filled your hands to the Lord, come and offer victims, and praises in the house of the Lord. And all the multitude offered victims, and praises, and holocausts with a devout mind.

Then responded Hezekiah and said—Now, have ye consecrated yourselves unto Yahweh. Draw near, and bring in sacrifices and thank-offerings unto the house of Yahweh, -So the convocation brought sacrifices and thank-offerings, and, everyone of a willing heart, [brought] ascending-sacrifices.

32 And the number of the holocausts which the multitude offered, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs.

And it came to pass that, the number of ascending-sacrifices which the convocation brought, was—seventy bullocks, and a hundred rams, and two hundred young sheep, —as an ascending-sacrifice unto Yahweh, all these.

33 And they consecrated to the Lord six hundred oxen, and three thousand sheep.

But, the hallowed beasts, were six hundred bullocks, and three thousand sheep.

34 But the priests were few, and were not enough to flay the holocausts: wherefore the Levites their brethren helped them, till the work was ended, and priests were sanctified, for the Levites are sanctified with an easier rite than the priests.

Only, the priests, were too few, and were unable to flay all the ascending-sacrifices, —so their brethren the Levites strengthened them, until the work was complete and until the priests had hallowed themselves, for, the Levites, were more upright in heart to hallow themselves, than the priests.

35 So there were many holocausts, and the fat of peace offerings, and the libations of holocausts: and the service of the house of the Lord was completed.

Moreover also, the ascending-sacrifices, were in abundance, with the fat portions of the peace-offerings, and with the drink-offerings to every ascending-sacrifice, -thus was established the service of the house of Yahweh.

36 And Ezechias, and all the people rejoiced because the ministry of the Lord was accomplished. For the resolution of doing this thing was taken suddenly.

And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because God had established it for the people, —for, suddenly, had the thing come about.