Hezekiah's Good Reign in Judah

(2 Kings 18:1-12)

1Hezekiah hath reigned -- a son of twenty and five years, and twenty and nine years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Abijah daughter of Zechariah; 2and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father did.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

3He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, hath opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and strengtheneth them, 4and bringeth in the priests and the Levites, and gathereth them to the broad place to the east.

5And he saith to them, 'Hear me, O Levites, now, sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, God of your fathers, and bring out the impurity from the sanctuary, 6for our fathers have trespassed, and done that which is evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God, and forsake him, and turn round their faces from the tabernacle of Jehovah, and give the neck. 7'Also -- they have shut the doors of the porch, and quench the lamps, and perfume they have not made, and burnt-offering have not caused to ascend in the sanctuary to the God of Israel, 8and the wrath of Jehovah is on Judah and Jerusalem, and He giveth them for a trembling, for an astonishment, and for a hissing, as ye are seeing with your eyes. 9And lo, fallen have our fathers by the sword, and our sons, and our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for this. 10'Now -- with my heart -- to make a covenant before Jehovah, God of Israel, and the fierceness of His anger doth turn back from us. 11My sons, be not now at rest, for on you hath Jehovah fixed to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be to Him ministering and making perfume.'

12And the Levites rise -- Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathite; and of the sons of Merari: Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonite: Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah; 13and of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14and of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel -- 15and they gather their brethren, and sanctify themselves, and come in, according to the command of the king in the matters of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah, 16and the priests come in to the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse it, and bring out all the uncleanness that they have found in the temple of Jehovah to the court of the house of Jehovah, and the Levites receive it, to take it out to the brook Kidron without. 17And they begin on the first of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they have come to the porch of Jehovah, and they sanctify the house of Jehovah in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they have finished. 18And they come in within unto Hezekiah the king, and say, 'We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of the burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and the table of the arrangement, and all its vessels, 19and all the vessels that king Ahaz cast away in his reign -- in his trespass -- we have prepared and sanctified, and lo, they are before the altar of Jehovah.'

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20And Hezekiah the king riseth early, and gathereth the heads of the city, and goeth up to the house of Jehovah; 21and they bring in seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven young he-goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah; and he saith to sons of Aaron, the priests, to cause them to ascend on the altar of Jehovah. 22And they slaughter the oxen, and the priests receive the blood, and sprinkle on the altar; and they slaughter the rams, and sprinkle the blood on the altar; and they slaughter the lambs, and sprinkle the blood on the altar; 23and they bring nigh the he-goats of the sin-offering before the king and the assembly, and they lay their hands upon them; 24and the priests slaughter them, and make a sin-offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel, for 'For all Israel,' said the king, 'is the burnt-offering and the sin-offering.'

25And he appointeth the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, by the command of David, and of Gad, seer of the king, and of Nathan the prophet, for by the hand of Jehovah is the command, by the hand of His prophets; 26and the Levites stand with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27And Hezekiah saith to cause the burnt-offering to ascend on the altar; and at the time the burnt-offering began -- began the song of Jehovah, and the trumpets, even by the hands of the instruments of David king of Israel. 28And all the assembly are doing obeisance, and the singers singing, and the trumpeters blowing; the whole is till the completion of the burnt-offering.

29And at the completion of the offering up bowed have the king and all those found with him, and do obeisance. 30And Hezekiah the king saith, and the princes, to the Levites to give praise to Jehovah in the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, and they praise -- unto joy, and they bow, and do obeisance.

31And Hezekiah answereth and saith, 'Now ye have filled your hand to Jehovah, come nigh, and bring in sacrifices and thank-offerings to the house of Jehovah;' and the assembly bring in sacrifices and thank-offerings, and every willing-hearted one -- burnt-offerings. 32And the number of the burnt-offerings that the assembly have brought in, is seventy oxen, a hundred rams, lambs two hundred; for a burnt-offering to Jehovah are all these. 33And the sanctified things are oxen six hundred, and sheep three thousand. 34Only, the priests have become few, and have not been able to strip the whole of the burnt-offerings, and their brethren the Levites strengthen them till the completion of the work, and till the priests sanctify themselves, for the Levites are more upright of heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. 35And also, burnt-offerings are in abundance, with fat of the peace-offerings, and with oblations for the burnt-offering; and the service of the house of Jehovah is established, 36and rejoice doth Hezekiah and all the people, because of God's giving preparation to the people, for the thing hath been suddenly.