1Hezekiah began to reign, when he was five and twenty years old, and reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.
2And he did uprightly in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
3He opened the doors of the house of the Lord in the first year, and in the first month of his reign, and repaired them.
4And he brought in the Priests and the Levites, and gathered them into the East street,
5And 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 Sanctuary.
6For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and turned away their faces from the Tabernacle of the Lord, and turned their backs.
7They have also shut the doors of the porch, and quenched the lamps, and have neither burnt incense, nor offered burnt offerings in the Sanctuary unto the God of Israel.
8Wherefore the wrath of the Lord hath been on Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath made them a scattering, a desolation, and an hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9For lo, our fathers are fallen by the sword, and our sons, and our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for the same cause.
10Now I purpose to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that he may turn away his fierce wrath from us.
11Now my sons, be not deceived: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and to be his ministers, and to burn incense.
12Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel: and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the 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 gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves and came according to the commandment of the king, and by the words of the Lord, for to cleanse the house of the Lord.
16And the Priests went into the inner parts 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 unto the brook Kidron.
17They began the first day of the first month to sanctify it, and the eight 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.
18Then they went in to Hezekiah 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:
19And all the vessels which King Ahaz had cast aside when he reigned, and transgressed, have we prepared and sanctified: and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.
20And Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.
21And 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.
22So they slew the bullocks, and the Priests received the blood, and sprinkled it upon the altar: they slew also the rams, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar, and they slew the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
23Then they brought the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the Congregation, and they laid their hands upon them.
24And the Priests slew them, and with the blood of them they cleansed the altar to reconcile all Israel: for the king had commanded for all Israel the burnt offering, and the sin offering.
25He appointed also the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with viols, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and Gad the King’s Seer, and Nathan the Prophet: for the commandment was by the hand of the Lord, and by the hand of his Prophets.
26And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar: and when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began with the trumpets, and the instruments of David king of Israel.
28And all the congregation worshipped, singing a song, and they blew the trumpets: all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him, bowed themselves, and worshipped.
30Then Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the Seer. So they praised with joy, and they bowed themselves, and worshipped.
31And Hezekiah spake, and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to the Lord: come near and bring the sacrifices and offerings of praise into the house of the Lord. And the Congregation brought sacrifices and offerings of praises, and every man that was willing in heart offered burnt offerings.
32And the number of the burnt offerings, which the Congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord:
33And for sanctification six hundred bullocks, and three thousand sheep.
34But the Priests were too few, and were not able to flay all the burnt offerings: therefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till they had ended the work, and until other Priests were sanctified: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the Priests.
35And also the burnt offerings were many, with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offerings for the burnt offering: so the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.
36Then Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had made the people so ready: for the thing was done suddenly.