2 Chronicles 29

1 Hezekiah began to reigne, when he was fiue and twentie yeere olde, and reigned nine and twentie yeres in Ierusalem: and his mothers name was Abiiah the daughter of Zechariah.

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

2 And hee did vprightly in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Dauid his father had done.

And he did what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, in accord with all that his father David had done.

3 He opened the doores of the house of the Lord in the first yeere, and in the first moneth of his reigne, and repared them.

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

4 And he brought in the Priests and the Leuites, and gathered them into the East streete,

And he brought together the priests and Levites. And he gathered them in the wide eastern street.

5 And said vnto them, Heare me, ye Leuites: sanctifie nowe your selues, and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and cary forth the filthinesse out of the Sanctuarie.

And he said to them: “Listen to me, O Levites, and be sanctified. Cleanse the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and take away every uncleanness from the sanctuary.

6 For our fathers haue trespassed, and done euill in the eyes of the Lord our God, and haue forsaken him, and turned away their faces from the Tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their backes.

Our fathers sinned and did evil in the sight of the Lord our God, abandoning him. They turned their faces away from the tabernacle of the Lord, and they presented their backs.

7 They haue also shut the doores of ye porch, and quenched the lampes, and haue neither burnt incense, nor offred burnt offrings in the Sanctuarie vnto the God of Israel.

They closed up the doors which were in the portico, and they extinguished the lamps. And they did not burn incense, and they did not offer holocausts, in the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

8 Wherfore the wrath of the Lord hath bin on Iudah and Ierusalem: and he hath made them a scattering, a desolation, and an hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

And so the fury of the Lord was stirred up against Judah and Jerusalem, and he handed them over to turmoil, and to destruction, and to hissing, just as you discern with your own eyes.

9 For lo, our fathers are fallen by the sword, and our sonnes, and our daughters, and our wiues are in captiuitie for the same cause.

Lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword. Our sons, and our daughters and wives have been led away as captives because of this wickedness.

10 Now I purpose to make a couenant with the Lord God of Israel, that he may turne away his fierce wrath from vs.

Now therefore, it is pleasing to me that we should enter into a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel. And he will turn away the fury of his indignation from us.

11 Now my sonnes, be not deceiued: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serue him, and to be his ministers, and to burne incense.

My sons, do not choose to be negligent. The Lord has chosen you so that you would stand before him, and minister to him, and worship him, and burn incense to him.”

12 Then the Leuites arose, Mahath ye sonne of Amashai, and Ioel the sonne of Azariah of the sonnes of the Kohathites: and of the sonnes of Merari, Kish the sonne of Abdi, and Azariah the sonne of Iehalelel: and of the Gershonites, Ioah the sonne of Zimmah, and Eden the sonne of Ioah:

Therefore, the Levites rose up, Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, from the sons of Kohath; then, from the sons of Merari, Kish, the son of Abdi, and Azariah, the son of Jehallelel; and from the sons of Gershon, Joah, the son of Zimmah, and Eden, the son of Joah;

13 And of the sonnes of Elizaphan, Shimri, and Iehiel: and of the sonnes of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah:

and truly, from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; also, from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14 And of the sonnes of Heman, Iehiel, and Shimei: and of the sonnes of Ieduthun, Shemaiah and Vzziel.

indeed also, from the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; then too, from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselues and came according to the commandement of the King, and by the words of the Lord, for to clense the house of the Lord.

And they gathered together their brothers. And they were sanctified. And they entered in accord with the command of the king and the order of the Lord, so that they might expiate the house of God.

16 And the Priests went into the inner partes of the house of the Lord, to clense it, and brought out all the vncleannesse that they founde in the Temple of the Lord, into the court of the house of the Lord: and the Leuites tooke it, to cary it out vnto the brooke Kidron.

And the priests, entering the temple of the Lord so that they might sanctify it, took every uncleanness, which they had found inside, out to the vestibule of the house of the Lord; and the Levites took it away and transported it outside, to the torrent Kidron.

17 They began the first day of the first moneth to sanctifie it, and the eight day of the moneth came they to the porche of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight dayes, and in the sixeteenth day of the first moneth they made an ende.

Now they began to cleanse on the first day of the first month. And on the eighth day of the same month, they entered the portico of the temple of the Lord. And then they expiated the temple over eight days. And on the sixteenth day of the same month, they finished what they had begun.

18 Then they went in to Hezekiah ye King, and sayde, We haue clensed all the house of the Lord and the altar of burnt offring, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof:

Also, they entered to king Hezekiah, and they said to him: “We have sanctified the entire house of the Lord, and the altar of holocaust, and its vessels, indeed also the table of the presence, with all its vessels,

19 And all the vessels which King Ahaz had cast aside when he reigned, and transgressed, haue we prepared and sanctified: and beholde, they are before the altar of the Lord.

and all the equipment of the temple, which king Ahaz, during his reign, had polluted after his transgression. And behold, these have all been set forth before the altar of the Lord.”

20 And Hezekiah the King rose early, and gathered the princes of the citie, and went vp to the house of the Lord.

And rising up at first light, king Hezekiah joined as one all the leaders of the city, and they ascended to the house of the Lord.

21 And they brought seuen bullockes, and seuen rammes, and seuen lambes, and seuen hee goates, for a sinne offring for the kingdome, and for the sanctuarie, and for Iudah. And he commanded the Priests the sonnes of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord.

And together they offered seven bulls and seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats, for sin, for the kingdom, for the Sanctuary, for Judah. And he spoke to the priests, the sons of Aaron, so that they would offer these upon the altar of the Lord.

22 So they slewe the bullockes, and the Priests receiued the blood, and sprinkled it vpon the altar: they slew also the rammes and sprinkled the blood vpon the altar, and they slew the lambes, and they sprinkled the blood vpon the altar.

And so they slaughtered the bulls. And the priests took up the blood, and they poured it upon the altar. Then they also slaughtered the rams, and they poured their blood upon the altar. And they immolated the lambs, and they poured the blood upon the altar.

23 Then they brought the hee goates for the sinne offring before the King and the Congregation, and they layde their hands vpon them.

They brought the he-goats for sin before the king and the entire multitude. And they laid their hands upon them.

24 And the Priests slewe them, and with the blood of them they clensed the altar to reconcile all Israel: for the King had commanded for all Israel the burnt offring and the sinne offring.

And the priests immolated them, and they sprinkled their blood before the altar, for the expiation of all Israel. For certainly the king had instructed that the holocaust and the sin offering should be made on behalf of all Israel.

25 He appointed also the Leuites in the house of the Lord with cymbales, with violes, and with harpes, according to the commandement of Dauid, and Gad the Kings Seer, and Nathan the Prophet: for the commandement was by the hande of the Lord, and by the hande of his Prophets.

Also, he situated the Levites in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, according to the disposition of king David, and of the seer Gad, and of the prophet Nathan. For indeed, this was the precept of the Lord, by the hand of his prophets.

26 And the Leuites stood with the instruments of Dauid, and the Priests with the trumpets.

And the Levites stood, holding the musical instruments of David, and the priests held the trumpets.

27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offring vpon the altar: and when the burnt offring began, the song of the Lord beganne with the trumpets, and the instruments of Dauid King of Israel.

And Hezekiah ordered that they should offer holocausts upon the altar. And when the holocausts were being offered, they began to sing praises to the Lord, and to sound the trumpets, and to play various musical instruments, which David, the king of Israel, had prepared.

28 And al the Congregation worshipped, singing a song, and they blew the trumpets: all this continued vntill the burnt offring was finished.

Then the entire crowd was adoring, and the singers and those who were holding the trumpeters were exercising their office, until the holocaust was completed.

29 And when they had made an ende of offring, the King and all that were present with him, bowed themselues, and worshipped.

And when the oblation was finished, the king, and all who were with him, bowed down and adored.

30 Then Hezekiah the King and the princes commanded the Leuites to prayse the Lord with the wordes of Dauid, and of Asaph the Seer. so they praysed with ioy, and they bowed themselues, and worshipped.

And Hezekiah and the rulers instructed the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph, the seer. And they praised him with great joy, and kneeling down, they adored.

31 And Hezekiah spake, and sayde, Now ye haue consecrate your selues to the Lord: come neere and bring the sacrifices and offerings of prayse into the house of the Lord. And the Congregation brought sacrifices; and offrings of prayses, and euery man that was willing in heart, offred burnt offrings.

And now Hezekiah also added: “You have filled your hands for the Lord. Draw near, and offer victims and praises in the house of the Lord.” Therefore, the entire multitude offered victims and praises and holocausts, with devout intention.

32 And the nomber of the burnt offrings, which the Congregation brought, was seuentie bullockes, an hundreth rammes, and two hundreth lambes: all these were for a burnt offring to the Lord:

Now the number of the holocausts that the multitude offered was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, two hundred lambs.

33 And for sanctification sixe hundreth bullockes, and three thousand sheepe.

And they sanctified to the Lord six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

34 But the Priests were too few, and were not able to flay all the burnt offrings: therefore their brethren the Leuites did helpe them, til they had ended the worke, and vntill other Priests were sanctified: for the Leuites were more vpright in heart to sanctifie themselues, then the Priests.

Truly, the priests were few; neither were they sufficient to remove the pelts from the holocausts. Therefore, the Levites, their brothers, also assisted them, until the work was completed, and the priests, who were of higher rank, were sanctified. For indeed, the Levites are sanctified with an easier ritual than the priests.

35 And also the burnt offerings were many with the fat of the peace offrings and the drinke offrings for the burnt offring. so the seruice of the house of the Lord was set in order.

Thus, there were very numerous holocausts, with the fat of the peace offerings and the libations of the holocausts. And the service of the house of the Lord was completed.

36 Then Hezekiah reioyced and all the people, that God had made the people so ready: for the thing was done suddenly.

And Hezekiah and all the people were joyful because the ministry of the Lord was accomplished. For certainly, it had pleased them to do this suddenly.