2 Chronicles 31

1 And when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke in pieces the statues, and cut down the groves, and pulled down the high-places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Menasseh, until they had made an end of them all. Then returned all the children of Israel every man to his possession, to their own cities.

After the festival ended, the Israelis who were there went to all the towns in Judah and smashed the stones/pillars [for worshiping idols], and cut down the poles [for worshiping the goddess] Asherah. They destroyed the shrines on the hilltops and the altars [of Baal] throughout the areas where the tribes of Judah and Benjamin lived, and also in the areas of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. After destroying all of them, they returned to their own towns.

2 And Hezekiah stationed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, of the priests and the Levites, for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camps of the Lord.

Hezekiah divided the priests and [other] descendants of Levi into groups. He appointed some of the groups to offer sacrifices that would be completely burned [on the altar] and offerings to maintain fellowship [with Yahweh]. He appointed some groups to do other work at the temple: some to lead the people in their worship, some to thank Yahweh, and some to sing songs to praise to Yahweh at the gates of the temple.

3 The king also gave a portion from his own property for the burnt-offerings, [namely, ] for the morning and evening burnt-offerings, and the burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new-moons, and for the appointed feasts, as it is written in the law of the Lord.

The king contributed some of his own funds to buy animals that would be sacrificed in the morning and in the evening of each day, and on the Sabbath days, to celebrate the new moons, and during the other feasts, according to what was written in the laws [that Yahweh gave to Moses].

4 Moreover he said to the people, to those who dwelt in Jerusalem, to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, in order that they might hold firmly to the law of the Lord.

Hezekiah told the people living in Jerusalem to give to the priests and the other descendants of Levi the portions [of meat] that should be given to them, in order that they could devote all their time to obeying the laws of Yahweh.

5 And when the matter was spread abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first-fruits of corn, of the new wine, and of oil, and of honey, and of all the products of the field: and the tithe of all things did they bring [likewise] in abundance.

As soon as he told that to the people, they generously gave the first part of their harvest of grain, and the first part of the new wine [that they produced], and [olive] oil and honey, and of the crops that grew in their fields. They brought [to the temple] a tenth of all their crops.

6 And as for the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were hallowed unto the Lord their God, and gave [them] by heaps.

The men of Israel and Judah who were living in various towns in Judah also brought a tenth of their cattle and sheep and goats, and a tenth of other things that they had dedicated to Yahweh their God, and they piled all those things in heaps.

7 In the third month did they begin to lay the foundation of the heaps, and in the seventh month did they finish them.

They started to do that in May and finished doing it in September.

8 And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord, and his people Israel.

When Hezekiah and his officials saw the heaps, they praised Yahweh and [requested God to] bless the people.

9 Then made Hezekiah inquiry of the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.

But Hezekiah asked the priests and other descendants of Levi, “Why are these heaps of things here?”

10 Then spoke to him 'Azaryahu the chief priest of the house of Zadok, and said, Since it was begun to bring the heave-offerings into the house of the Lord, there hath been enough to eat, and to leave in great abundance; for the Lord hath blessed his people: and that which is left is this great mass.

Then Azariah the [Supreme] Priest, a descendant of Zadok, replied, “Since the time that the people started to bring their offerings to the temple, we have had even more food than we need. This has happened because Yahweh has greatly blessed our fellow Israelis, with the result that all this is left over [after we priests and other descendants of Levi took all that we need]!”

11 Then ordered Hezekiah to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord: and they prepared them.

Then Hezekiah ordered that they should prepare storerooms in the temple. So they did that.

12 And they brought in the heave-offerings, and the tithes, and the sanctified things, in faithfulness: and over them were appointed the ruler Conanyahu the Levite, and Shim'i his brother the second in rank.

Then they brought into the storerooms all the tithes and offerings and the things dedicated to Yahweh [which the people had brought]. One of the descendants of Levi whose name was Conaniah was in charge of those things, and his [younger] brother Shimei was his assistant.

13 And Jechiel, and 'Azazyahu, and Nachath, and 'Assahel, and Jerimoth. and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Yissmachyahu, and Machath, and Benayahu, were overseers under the supervision of Conanyahu and Shim'i his brother, by the appointment of king Hezekiah, and 'Azazyahu the ruler of the house of God.

Those two men supervised Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah while they did the work. They were appointed by King Hezekiah; Azariah was in charge of [everything that was done in] the temple.

14 And Kore the son of Yimnah the Levite, the gatekeeper at the east side. was over the freewill-offerings of God, to give [to him] the heave-offerings of the Lord, and the most holy things.

Kore the son of Imnah, another descendant of Levi, who guarded the east gate of the temple, was in charge of the offerings to God that were made voluntarily. He distributed to the priests and [other] descendants of Levi the offerings and other things that were dedicated to Yahweh.

15 And under his supervision were 'Eden, and Minyamin, and Jeshua', and Shema-yahu, Amaryahu, and Shechanyahu, in the cities of the priests, in faithfulness, to give to their brethren after the divisions, equally to the great as to the small;

Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in the towns where the priests lived. They distributed those things to the groups of their fellow priests; they distributed them to everyone, from the youngest to the oldest.

16 Besides [these] to those recorded by their genealogies of males, from three years old and upward, of all that entered into the house of the Lord, the daily portion on its day, for their service in their charges according to their divisions.

They also distributed things to the males who were at least 30 years old, those whose names were written on the scrolls where lists of family names were written. They were males who [were allowed to] enter the temple to perform their tasks/work each day, the tasks that each group had been assigned to do.

17 And likewise to the priests recorded by their genealogies after their family divisions, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their divisions;

The names of the priests were on the scrolls where their clans’ names were written. They also distributed things to groups of [other] descendants of Levi, those who were at least 20 years old.

18 And to those recorded by their genealogies of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, of all the assembly; for in their faithfulness they devoted themselves in the sanctuary.

They included all their little children and wives and other sons and daughters whose names were on the scrolls where their clans’ names were written, because they also faithfully had dedicated themselves to Yahweh.

19 Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the open districts of their cities, in each and every city, there were men, expressed by name, who had to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were recorded by their genealogies among the Levites.

[Hezekiah] also appointed other men to distribute portions of those offerings to the priests and other descendants of Levi who were living in the pasturelands around the towns in Judah. But they gave things only to those who were descendants of Aaron [the first Supreme Priest], whose names were on the scrolls containing the names of their clans.

20 And the like did Hezekiah in all Judah, and he did what is good and right and true before the Lord his God.

That is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He always faithfully did things that Yahweh his God considered to be right and good.

21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he acted with all his heart, and prospered.

In everything that he did for the worship in the temple, and as he obeyed God’s laws and commands, he tried to find out what his God wanted, and he worked energetically. So he was successful.