1 Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father David had done.
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of Jehovah and repaired them.
4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together in the east plaza,
5 and said to them: Hear me, you Levites. Now consecrate yourselves, consecrate the house of Jehovah the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the holy place.
6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and done evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of Jehovah, and turned their backs on Him.
7 They have also shut up the doors of the porch, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
8 Therefore the wrath of Jehovah is upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trembling and terror, to horror, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes.
9 For behold, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.
10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah the God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11 Now my sons, do not be negligent, for Jehovah has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should serve Him and burn incense.
12 Then these Levites rose up: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;
13 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, consecrated themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah.
16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah, to the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron.
17 And they began to consecrate on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of Jehovah. Then they consecrated the house of Jehovah in eight days, and by the sixteenth day of the first month they had finished.
18 And they went in to King Hezekiah and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, the altar of burnt offerings with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread in Rows with all its utensils.
19 Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had cast aside in his unfaithfulness we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah.
20 Then King Hezekiah arose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah.
21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of Jehovah.
22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar.
23 Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them.
24 And the priests killed them; and they offered their blood on the altar as a sin offering to make atonement for all Israel; for the king had commanded the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.
25 And he stationed the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with lutes, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the kings seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for thus was the commandment of Jehovah by the hand of his prophets.
26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of Jehovah also began, with the trumpets and by the hand of the instruments of David, king of Israel.
28 So all the assembly bowed down, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this until the burnt offering was finished.
29 And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed down and prostrated themselves.
30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the rulers commanded the Levites to praise Jehovah with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they praised with gladness, and they bowed down and prostrated themselves.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now that you have confirmed your hands unto Jehovah, come near, and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Jehovah. And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.
32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these for a burnt offering unto Jehovah.
33 The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they were not able to flay all the burnt offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites supported them until the work was ended and until the other priests had consecrated themselves, for the Levites were more upright in heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.
35 Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of Jehovah was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the thing came about suddenly.