2 Chronicles 29
The Reign of
Hezekiah |
2 Kgs. 18.1-3 |
1 |
Hezeki'ah began to reign when he
was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty
years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abi'jah, the
daughter of Zechari'ah.
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2 |
And he did that which was right in
the sight of the LORD, according to all that
David his father had done.
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Hezekiah Restores the
Temple Worship |
3 |
He in the first year of his reign, in
the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.
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4 |
And he brought in the priests and the
Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
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5 |
and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites;
sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the
filthiness out of the holy place.
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6 |
For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned
away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.
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7 |
Also they have shut up the doors of the
porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor
offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of
Israel.
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8 |
Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath
delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye
see with your eyes.
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9 |
For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the
sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in
captivity for this.
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10 |
Now it is in mine heart to make a
covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his
fierce wrath may turn away from us.
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11 |
My sons, be not now negligent: for the
LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to
serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn
incense.
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12 |
Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son
of Ama'sai, and Joel the son of Azari'ah, of the sons of the
Ko'hathites: and of the sons of Mera'ri; Kish the son of Abdi, and
Azari'ah the son of Jehal'elel: and of the Ger'shonites; Jo'ah the
son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Jo'ah:
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13 |
and of the sons of Eliza'phan; Shimri,
and Je-i'el: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechari'ah, and
Mattani'ah:
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14 |
and of the sons of Heman; Jehi'el, and
Shim'e-i: and of the sons of Jedu'thun; Shemai'ah, and
Uz'zi-el.
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15 |
And they gathered their brethren, and
sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the
king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the
house of the LORD.
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16 |
And the priests went into the inner part
of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of
the LORD into the court of the house of the
LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.
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17 |
Now they began on the first day of
the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came
they to the porch of the LORD: so they
sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days;
and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an
end.
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18 |
Then they went in to Hezeki'ah the king,
and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the
vessels thereof, and the showbread table, with all the vessels
thereof.
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19 |
Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz
in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared
and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the
LORD.
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20 |
Then Hezeki'ah the king rose early, and
gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the
LORD.
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21 |
And they brought seven bullocks, and
seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering
for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he
commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the
altar of the LORD.
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22 |
So they killed the bullocks, and the
priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar:
likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood
upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the
blood upon the altar.
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23 |
And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation;
and they laid their hands upon them:
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24 |
and the priests killed them, and they
made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an
atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the
burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all
Israel.
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25 |
And he set the Levites in the house of
the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and
with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the
king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the
commandment of the LORD by his
prophets.
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26 |
And the Levites stood with the
instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
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27 |
And Hezeki'ah commanded to offer the
burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began,
the song of the LORD began also with the
trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of
Israel.
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28 |
And all the congregation worshipped, and
the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this
continued until the burnt offering was finished.
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29 |
And when they had made an end of
offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed
themselves, and worshipped.
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30 |
Moreover Hezeki'ah the king and the
princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer.
And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and
worshipped.
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31 |
Then Hezeki'ah answered and said, Now
ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD,
come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of
the LORD. And the congregation brought in
sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart,
burnt offerings.
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32 |
And the number of the burnt offerings,
which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, a
hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.
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33 |
And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
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34 |
But the priests were too few, so that
they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their
brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and
until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the
Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves
than the priests.
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35 |
And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink
offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the
house of the LORD was set in order.
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36 |
And Hezeki'ah rejoiced, and all the
people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
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