2 Chronicles 31

1 And at the completion of all this, all [those of] Israel who are found present have gone out to the cities of Judah, and break the standing-pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and break down the high places and the altars, out of all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, even to completion, and all the sons of Israel return, each to his possession, to their cities.

When all this had finished, the Israelites who were there went to the towns of Judah and smashed the pagan pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and destroyed the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had completely demolished all of them. After that they all went home to their respective towns.

2 And Hezekiah appoints the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, by their divisions, each according to his service, of the priests and of the Levites, for burnt-offering and for peace-offerings, to minister and to give thanks, and to give praise in the gates of the camps of YHWH.

Then Hezekiah reallocated the divisions of the priests and Levites, each according to their service: presenting burnt offerings and friendship offerings, serving, giving thanks, and singing praises at the entrances of the Lord's Temple.

3 And a portion of the king, from his substance, [is] for burnt-offerings, for burnt-offerings of the morning and of the evening, and the burnt-offerings of Sabbaths, and of new moons, and of appointed times, as it is written in the Law of YHWH.

The king contributed personally towards the morning and evening burnt offerings, and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, new moons, and special feasts, as required by the Law of the Lord.

4 And he commands to the people, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to give the portion of the priests and of the Levites, so that they are strengthened in the Law of YHWH;

He also ordered the people living in Jerusalem to provide for the priests and Levites so that they could dedicate themselves to studying and teaching the Law of the Lord.

5 and at the spreading forth of the thing, the sons of Israel have multiplied the first-fruit of grain, new wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field, and they have brought in the tithe of the whole in abundance.

As soon as the message went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of the grain, new wine, olive oil, and honey, and of all the crops. They brought plenty, a tithe of everything.

6 And the sons of Israel and Judah, those dwelling in cities of Judah, have also brought in a tithe of herd and flock, and a tithe of the holy things that are sanctified to their God YHWH, and they set [them in] heaps of heaps.

The people of Israel now living in Judah, and the people of Judah brought a tithe of their herds and flocks. They also brought a tithe of what had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and piled them up.

7 In the third month they have begun to lay the foundation of the heaps, and in the seventh month they have finished.

They started doing this in the third month, and they finished in the seventh month.

8 And Hezekiah and the heads come in and see the heaps, and bless YHWH and His people Israel,

When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw what had been collected, they thanked the Lord and his people Israel.

9 and Hezekiah inquires at the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps,

Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about what had been collected.

10 and Azariah the head priest, of the house of Zadok, speaks to him and says, “From the beginning of the bringing of the raised-offering to the house of YHWH, [there is enough] to eat, and to be satisfied, and to leave abundantly, for YHWH has blessed His people, and that left [is] this store.”

Azariah, the chief priest of the family of Zadok, answered, “Ever since the people began to bring their contributions into the Lord's Temple, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare. Because the Lord has blessed his people there is so much left over.”

11 And Hezekiah commands to prepare chambers in the house of YHWH, and they prepare,

Hezekiah ordered the construction of storehouses in the Lord's Temple. Once they were ready,

12 and they bring in the raised-offering, and the tithe, and the holy things faithfully; and over them is a leader, Conaniah the Levite, and his brother Shimei [is] second;

the people faithfully brought in their offerings, tithes, and dedicated gifts. Conaniah the Levite was the one who was responsible for them, and his brother Shimei was second in command.

13 and Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, [are] inspectors under the hand of Conaniah and his brother Shimei, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah leader of the house of God.

They were in charge of the following officers: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers who assisted Conaniah and Shimei his brother. They were appointed by King Hezekiah and Azariah, the chief officer of God's Temple.

14 And Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper at the east, [is] over the willing-offerings of God, to give the raised-offering of YHWH, and the most holy things.

Kore, son of Imnah, the Levite, the gatekeeper of the East Gate, was responsible for receiving the freewill offerings given to God. He also distributed the offerings given to the Lord, together with the consecrated gifts.

15 And by his hand [are] Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shechaniah, in cities of the priests, faithfully to give to their brothers in divisions, as the great so the small,

Under him were his assistants Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah. They faithfully made the allocations to their fellow Levites in their towns, according to the priestly divisions, sharing equally with the old and young.

16 apart from their genealogy, to males from a son of three years and upward, to everyone who has gone into the house of YHWH, by the matter of a day in its day, for their service in their charges, according to their divisions;

They also gave allowances to the males listed in the genealogy who were three years of age or older, to all who would enter the Lord's Temple to perform their daily duties of serving according to the responsibilities of their divisions.

17 and the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and of the Levites, from a son of twenty years and upward, in their charges, in their divisions;

They also gave allowances to the priests listed by family in the genealogy, and to the Levites twenty years of age or older, according to the responsibilities of their divisions.

18 and to the genealogy among all their infants, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters to all the congregation, for in their faithfulness they sanctify themselves in holiness.

The genealogy included all the babies, wives, sons, and daughters of the whole community, for they were faithful in making sure they dedicated themselves as holy.

19 And for sons of Aaron, the priests, in the fields of the outskirt of their cities, in each and every city, [are] men who have been defined by name, to give portions to every male among the priests, and to everyone who reckoned himself by genealogy among the Levites.

In the case of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, those who lived on the farmlands around their towns, men were appointed by name in all the towns to distribute an allocation to every male among the priests and to every Levite as listed in the genealogies.

20 And Hezekiah does thus in all Judah, and does that which is good, and that which is right, and that which is true, before his God YHWH;

This is what Hezekiah did throughout the whole of Judah. He did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God.

21 and in every work that he has begun for the service of the house of God, and for the Law, and for the command, to seek for his God with all his heart, he has worked and prospered.

In everything he did in working for God's Temple and in following God's laws and commandments, Hezekiah was sincere in his commitment to God. So he was successful in all he did.