2 Chronicles 31
1 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.
Now, when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went forth unto the cities of Judah, and brake in pieces the pillars—and cut down the Sacred Stems—and threw down the high places and the altars, out of all Judah and Benjamin—and throughout Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had made an end, —then all the sons of Israel returned every man to his own possession, unto their own cities.
2 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.
And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests, and the Levites, over their courses, every man according to the requirements of his service, both priests and Levites, for ascending-sacrifice and for peace-offerings, —to be in attendance and to give thanks and to offer praise, in the gates of the camps of Yahweh;
3 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].
also the portion of the king out of his own substance, for the ascending-sacrifices, —[even] for the ascending-sacrifices of the morning and of the evening, and the ascending-sacrifices for the sabbaths, and for the new moons and for the appointed feasts, —as written in the law of Yahweh.
4 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.
And he bade the people who were dwelling in Jerusalem give the portion of the priests and the Levites, —to the end they might persevere in the law of Yahweh.
5 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.
And, as soon as the thing spread abroad, the sons of Israel caused to abound the firstfruit of corn, new wine, and oil, and honey, and all the increase of the field, -yea, the tithe of all—in abundance, brought they in.
6 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.
And, as for the sons of Israel and Judah who were dwelling in the cities of Judah, even they, a tithe of oxen, and sheep, and a tithe of hallowed things, which had been hallowed unto Yahweh their God, did bring in and pile up—heaps, heaps.
7 They started to do that in May and finished doing it in September.
In the third month, began they the heaps, at the foundation, —and, in the seventh, they finished.
8 When Hezekiah and his officials saw the heaps, they praised Yahweh and [requested God to] bless the people.
And Hezekiah and the rulers came, and saw the heaps, —and blessed Yahweh, and his people Israel.
9 But Hezekiah asked the priests and other descendants of Levi, “Why are these heaps of things here?”
Then applied Hezekiah unto the priests and the Levites, concerning the heaps.
10 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]!”
And Azariah, the chief priest of the house of Zadok, spake unto him, —and said—From the time of beginning to bring in, the heave-offering, into the house of Yahweh—to eat and to be full, there hath still been left, even to this abundance. For, Yahweh, hath blessed his people, and, that which is left, is this great plenty.
11 Then Hezekiah ordered that they should prepare storerooms in the temple. So they did that.
Then Hezekiah gave word to prepare chambers, in the house of Yahweh, and they prepared them;
12 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.
and brought in the heave-offering and the tithe and the hallowed things, faithfully, —and, over them, as chief ruler, was Cononiah the Levite, and Shimei his brother, next;
13 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.
and Jehiel and Azaziah and Nahath and Asahel and Jerimoth and Jozabad, and Eliel and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, —overseers under the direction of Cononiah and Shemei his brother, by the appointment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the chief ruler of the house of God.
14 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.
And, Kore, son of Imnah the Levite, the door-keeper on the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, —to give the heave-offering of Yahweh, and the most holy things.
15 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.
And, under his direction, were Eden and Miniamin and Jeshua and Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in trust to give unto their brethren by courses, as the great so the small;
16 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.
besides registering them by males, from three years old and upward, unto every one that entered into the house of Yahweh, in the need of a day upon its day, —by their service, in their watches, according to their courses:
17 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.
both the registering of the priests, by their ancestral houses, and the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, —in their watches, in their courses;
18 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.
even to the registering of all their little ones, their wives and their sons and their daughters, unto all the convocation, —for, in their trust, they hallowed themselves in holiness;
19 [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.
also unto the sons of Aaron the priests in the fields of the pasture land of their cities, in every several city, men who were expressed by name, —to give portions to every male among the priests, and to all registered among the Levites.
20 That is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He always faithfully did things that Yahweh his God considered to be right and good.
And Hezekiah did thus, throughout all Judah, —and he did that which was good and right and faithful, before Yahweh his God.
21 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.
And, in all the work which he began in the service of the house of God—and in the law—and in the commandment, to seek unto his God, with all his heart, he wrought, and prospered.
