King Hezekiah of Judah
(2 Kings 18.1-3)1 Hezekiah became king of Judah at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 Following the example of his ancestor King David, he did what was pleasing to the Lord.
The Purification of the Temple
3 In the first month of the year after Hezekiah became king, he reopened the gates of the Temple and had them repaired. 4 He assembled a group of priests and Levites in the east courtyard of the Temple 5 and spoke to them there. He said, “You Levites are to consecrate yourselves and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove from the Temple everything that defiles it. 6 Our ancestors were unfaithful to the Lord our God and did what was displeasing to him. They abandoned him and turned their backs on the place where he dwells. 7 They closed the doors of the Temple, let the lamps go out, and failed to burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the Temple of the God of Israel. 8 Because of this the Lord has been angry with Judah and Jerusalem, and what he has done to them has shocked and frightened everyone. You know this very well. 9 Our fathers were killed in battle, and our wives and children have been taken away as prisoners.
10 “I have now decided to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that he will no longer be angry with us. 11 My sons, do not lose any time. You are the ones that the Lord has chosen to burn incense to him and to lead the people in worshiping him.”
12-14 The following Levites were there:
From the clan of Kohath, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of AzariahFrom the clan of Merari, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of JehallelelFrom the clan of Gershon, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of JoahFrom the clan of Elizaphan, Shimri and JeuelFrom the clan of Asaph, Zechariah and MattaniahFrom the clan of Heman, Jehuel and ShimeiFrom the clan of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel15 These men assembled their fellow Levites, and they all made themselves ritually clean. Then, as the king had commanded them to do, they began to make the Temple ritually clean, according to the Law of the Lord. 16 The priests went inside the Temple to purify it, and they carried out into the Temple courtyard everything that was ritually unclean. From there the Levites took it all outside the city to Kidron Valley.
17 The work was begun on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day they had finished it all, including the entrance room to the Temple. Then they worked for the next eight days, until the sixteenth of the month, preparing the Temple for worship.
The Temple Is Rededicated
18 The Levites made the following report to King Hezekiah: “We have completed the ritual purification of the whole Temple, including the altar for burnt offerings, the table for the sacred bread, and all their equipment. 19 We have also brought back all the equipment which King Ahaz took away during those years he was unfaithful to God, and we have rededicated it. It is all in front of the Lord's altar.”
20 Without delay King Hezekiah assembled the leading men of the city, and together they went to the Temple. 21 As an offering to take away the sins of the royal family and of the people of Judah and to purify the Temple, they took seven bulls, seven sheep, seven lambs, and seven goats. The king told the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to offer the animals as sacrifices on the altar. 22 The priests killed the bulls first, then the sheep, and then the lambs, and sprinkled the blood of each sacrifice on the altar. 23 Finally they took the goats to the king and to the other worshipers, who laid their hands on them. 24 Then the priests killed the goats and poured their blood on the altar as a sacrifice to take away the sin of all the people, for the king had commanded that burnt offerings and sin offerings be made for all Israel.
25 The king followed the instructions that the Lord had given to King David through Gad, the king's prophet, and through the prophet Nathan; he stationed Levites in the Temple, with harps and cymbals, 26 instruments like those that King David had used. The priests also stood there with trumpets. 27 Hezekiah gave the order for the burnt offering to be presented; and as the offering began, the people sang praise to the Lord, and the musicians began to play the trumpets and all the other instruments. 28 Everyone who was there joined in worship, and the singing and the rest of the music continued until all the sacrifices had been burned. 29 Then King Hezekiah and all the people knelt down and worshiped God. 30 The king and the leaders of the nation told the Levites to sing to the Lord the songs of praise that were written by David and by Asaph the prophet. So everyone sang with great joy as they knelt and worshiped God.
31 Hezekiah said to the people, “Now that you are ritually clean, bring sacrifices as offerings of thanksgiving to the Lord.” They obeyed, and some of them also voluntarily brought animals to be sacrificed as burnt offerings. 32 They brought 70 bulls, 100 sheep, and 200 lambs as burnt offerings for the Lord; 33 they also brought 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep as sacrifices for the people to eat. 34 Since there were not enough priests to kill all these animals, the Levites helped them until the work was finished. By then more priests had made themselves ritually clean. (The Levites were more faithful in keeping ritually clean than the priests were.) 35 In addition to offering the sacrifices that were burned whole, the priests were responsible for burning the fat that was offered from the sacrifices which the people ate, and for pouring out the wine that was presented with the burnt offerings.
And so worship in the Temple was begun again. 36 King Hezekiah and the people were happy, because God had helped them to do all this so quickly.
1 Hezekiah began to reigne, when he was fiue and twentie yeere olde, and reigned nine and twentie yeres in Ierusalem: and his mothers name was Abiiah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And hee did vprightly in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Dauid his father had done. 3 He opened the doores of the house of the Lord in the first yeere, and in the first moneth of his reigne, and repared them. 4 And he brought in the Priests and the Leuites, and gathered them into the East streete, 5 And said vnto them, Heare me, ye Leuites: sanctifie nowe your selues, and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and cary forth the filthinesse out of the Sanctuarie. 6 For our fathers haue trespassed, and done euill in the eyes of the Lord our God, and haue forsaken him, and turned away their faces from the Tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their backes. 7 They haue also shut the doores of ye porch, and quenched the lampes, and haue neither burnt incense, nor offred burnt offrings in the Sanctuarie vnto the God of Israel. 8 Wherfore the wrath of the Lord hath bin on Iudah and Ierusalem: and he hath made them a scattering, a desolation, and an hissing, as ye see with your eyes. 9 For lo, our fathers are fallen by the sword, and our sonnes, and our daughters, and our wiues are in captiuitie for the same cause. 10 Now I purpose to make a couenant with the Lord God of Israel, that he may turne away his fierce wrath from vs. 11 Now my sonnes, be not deceiued: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serue him, and to be his ministers, and to burne incense. 12 Then the Leuites arose, Mahath ye sonne of Amashai, and Ioel the sonne of Azariah of the sonnes of the Kohathites: and of the sonnes of Merari, Kish the sonne of Abdi, and Azariah the sonne of Iehalelel: and of the Gershonites, Ioah the sonne of Zimmah, and Eden the sonne of Ioah: 13 And of the sonnes of Elizaphan, Shimri, and Iehiel: and of the sonnes of Asaph, Zechariah, and Mattaniah: 14 And of the sonnes of Heman, Iehiel, and Shimei: and of the sonnes of Ieduthun, Shemaiah and Vzziel. 15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselues and came according to the commandement of the King, and by the words of the Lord, for to clense the house of the Lord. 16 And the Priests went into the inner partes of the house of the Lord, to clense it, and brought out all the vncleannesse that they founde in the Temple of the Lord, into the court of the house of the Lord: and the Leuites tooke it, to cary it out vnto the brooke Kidron. 17 They began the first day of the first moneth to sanctifie it, and the eight day of the moneth came they to the porche of the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight dayes, and in the sixeteenth day of the first moneth they made an ende. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah ye King, and sayde, We haue clensed all the house of the Lord and the altar of burnt offring, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof: 19 And all the vessels which King Ahaz had cast aside when he reigned, and transgressed, haue we prepared and sanctified: and beholde, they are before the altar of the Lord. 20 And Hezekiah the King rose early, and gathered the princes of the citie, and went vp to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seuen bullockes, and seuen rammes, and seuen lambes, and seuen hee goates, for a sinne offring for the kingdome, and for the sanctuarie, and for Iudah. And he commanded the Priests the sonnes of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slewe the bullockes, and the Priests receiued the blood, and sprinkled it vpon the altar: they slew also the rammes and sprinkled the blood vpon the altar, and they slew the lambes, and they sprinkled the blood vpon the altar. 23 Then they brought the hee goates for the sinne offring before the King and the Congregation, and they layde their hands vpon them. 24 And the Priests slewe them, and with the blood of them they clensed the altar to reconcile all Israel: for the King had commanded for all Israel the burnt offring and the sinne offring. 25 He appointed also the Leuites in the house of the Lord with cymbales, with violes, and with harpes, according to the commandement of Dauid, and Gad the Kings Seer, and Nathan the Prophet: for the commandement was by the hande of the Lord, and by the hande of his Prophets. 26 And the Leuites stood with the instruments of Dauid, and the Priests with the trumpets. 27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offring vpon the altar: and when the burnt offring began, the song of the Lord beganne with the trumpets, and the instruments of Dauid King of Israel. 28 And al the Congregation worshipped, singing a song, and they blew the trumpets: all this continued vntill the burnt offring was finished. 29 And when they had made an ende of offring, the King and all that were present with him, bowed themselues, and worshipped. 30 Then Hezekiah the King and the princes commanded the Leuites to prayse the Lord with the wordes of Dauid, and of Asaph the Seer. so they praysed with ioy, and they bowed themselues, and worshipped. 31 And Hezekiah spake, and sayde, Now ye haue consecrate your selues to the Lord: come neere and bring the sacrifices and offerings of prayse into the house of the Lord. And the Congregation brought sacrifices; and offrings of prayses, and euery man that was willing in heart, offred burnt offrings. 32 And the nomber of the burnt offrings, which the Congregation brought, was seuentie bullockes, an hundreth rammes, and two hundreth lambes: all these were for a burnt offring to the Lord: 33 And for sanctification sixe hundreth bullockes, and three thousand sheepe. 34 But the Priests were too few, and were not able to flay all the burnt offrings: therefore their brethren the Leuites did helpe them, til they had ended the worke, and vntill other Priests were sanctified: for the Leuites were more vpright in heart to sanctifie themselues, then the Priests. 35 And also the burnt offerings were many with the fat of the peace offrings and the drinke offrings for the burnt offring. so the seruice of the house of the Lord was set in order. 36 Then Hezekiah reioyced and all the people, that God had made the people so ready: for the thing was done suddenly.