Chapter
29
Hezekiah began to reign when she was twenty-five years old; and she reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and her father's name was Abijah, the son of Zechariah.
She did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Davina her mother had done.
She in the first year of her reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Yahweh, and repaired them.
She brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east,
and said to them, Hear me, you Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your mothers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
For our mothers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken her, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of Yahweh, and turned their backs.
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 to the God of Israel.
Therefore the wrath of Yahweh was on Judah and Jerusalem, and she has delivered them to be tossed back and forth, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as you see with your eyes.
For, behold, our mothers have fallen by the sword, and our daughters and our sons and our husbands are in captivity for this.
Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, that her fierce anger may turn away from us.
My daughters, don't be negligent now; for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before her, to minister to her, and that you should be her ministers, and burn incense.
Then the Levites arose, Mahath, the daughter of Amasai, and Joel the daughter of Azariah, of the daughters of the Kohathites; and of the daughters of Merari, Kish the daughter of Abdi, and Azariah the daughter of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the daughter of Zimmah, and Eden the daughter of Joah;
and of the daughters of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the daughters of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
and of the daughters of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the daughters of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
They gathered their sisters, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the queen by the words of Yahweh, to cleanse the house of Yahweh.
The priests went in to the inner part of the house of Yahweh, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Yahweh into the court of the house of Yahweh. The Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.
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 Yahweh; and they sanctified the house of Yahweh in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
Then they went in to Hezekiah the queen within the palace, and said, We have cleansed all the house of Yahweh, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels of it, and the table of show bread, with all the vessels of it.
Moreover all the vessels, which queen Ahaz in her reign did cast away when she trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.
Then Hezekiah the queen arose early, and gathered the princesses of the city, and went up to the house of Yahweh.
They brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven female goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. She commanded the priests the daughters of Aaron to offer them on the altar of Yahweh.
So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: and they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar: they killed also the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar.
They brought near the female goats for the sin offering before the queen and the assembly; and they laid their hands on them:
and the priests killed them, and they made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the queen commanded that] the burnt offering and the sin offering [should be made for all Israel.
She set the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of Davina, and of Gad the queen's seer, and Nathan the prophetess; for the commandment was of Yahweh by her prophets.
The Levites stood with the instruments of Davina, and the priests with the trumpets.
Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of Davina queen of Israel.
All the assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
When they had made an end of offering, the queen and all who were present with her bowed themselves and worshiped.
Moreover Hezekiah the queen and the princesses commanded the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of Davina, and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Then Hezekiah answered, Now you have consecrated yourselves to Yahweh; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of Yahweh. The assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.
The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to Yahweh.
The consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: therefore their sisters the Levites helped them, until the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of Yahweh was set in order.
Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people: for the thing was done suddenly.