1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.
4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
5 And 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 holy place.
6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.
7 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 unto the God of Israel.
8 Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
12 Then 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 Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah:
13 And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:
14 And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.
16 And the priests went into the inner part 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 abroad into the brook Kidron.
17 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 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.
18 Then 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 shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.
19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD.
20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.
21 And 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.
22 So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
23 And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:
24 And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.
32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.
33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
1 Hezekiah H3169 began to reign H4427 when he was five H2568 and twenty H6242 years H8141 old, H1121 and he reigned H4427 nine H8672 and twenty H6242 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 And his mother's H517 name H8034 was Abijah, H29 the daughter H1323 of Zechariah. H2148
2 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 according to all that David H1732 his father H1 had done. H6213
3 He in the first H7223 year H8141 of his reign, H4427 in the first H7223 month, H2320 opened H6605 the doors H1817 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and repaired H2388 them.
4 And he brought in H935 the priests H3548 and the Levites, H3881 and gathered them together H622 into the east H4217 street, H7339
5 And said H559 unto them, Hear H8085 me, ye Levites, H3881 sanctify H6942 now yourselves, and sanctify H6942 the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 God H430 of your fathers, H1 and carry forth H3318 the filthiness H5079 out of the holy H6944 place.
6 For our fathers H1 have trespassed, H4603 and done H6213 that which was evil H7451 in the eyes H5869 of the LORD H3068 our God, H430 and have forsaken H5800 him, and have turned away H5437 their faces H6440 from the habitation H4908 of the LORD, H3068 and turned H5414 their backs. H6203
7 Also they have shut up H5462 the doors H1817 of the porch, H197 and put out H3518 the lamps, H5216 and have not burned H6999 incense H7004 nor offered H5927 burnt offerings H5930 in the holy H6944 place unto the God H430 of Israel. H3478
8 Wherefore the wrath H7110 of the LORD H3068 was upon Judah H3063 and Jerusalem, H3389 and he hath delivered H5414 them to trouble, H2189 H2113 to astonishment, H8047 and to hissing, H8322 as ye see H7200 with your eyes. H5869
9 For, lo, our fathers H1 have fallen H5307 by the sword, H2719 and our sons H1121 and our daughters H1323 and our wives H802 are in captivity H7628 for this.
10 Now it is in mine heart H3824 to make H3772 a covenant H1285 with the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel, H3478 that his fierce H2740 wrath H639 may turn away H7725 from us.
11 My sons, H1121 be not now negligent: H7952 for the LORD H3068 hath chosen H977 you to stand H5975 before H6440 him, to serve H8334 him, and that ye should minister H8334 unto him, and burn incense. H6999
12 Then the Levites H3881 arose, H6965 Mahath H4287 the son H1121 of Amasai, H6022 and Joel H3100 the son H1121 of Azariah, H5838 of the sons H1121 of the Kohathites: H6956 and of the sons H1121 of Merari, H4847 Kish H7027 the son H1121 of Abdi, H5660 and Azariah H5838 the son H1121 of Jehalelel: H3094 and of the Gershonites; H1649 Joah H3098 the son H1121 of Zimmah, H2155 and Eden H5731 the son H1121 of Joah: H3098
13 And of the sons H1121 of Elizaphan; H469 Shimri, H8113 and Jeiel: H3273 and of the sons H1121 of Asaph; H623 Zechariah, H2148 and Mattaniah: H4983
14 And of the sons H1121 of Heman; H1968 Jehiel, H3171 and Shimei: H8096 and of the sons H1121 of Jeduthun; H3038 Shemaiah, H8098 and Uzziel. H5816
15 And they gathered H622 their brethren, H251 and sanctified H6942 themselves, and came, H935 according to the commandment H4687 of the king, H4428 by the words H1697 of the LORD, H3068 to cleanse H2891 the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
16 And the priests H3548 went H935 into the inner part H6441 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 to cleanse H2891 it, and brought out H3318 all the uncleanness H2932 that they found H4672 in the temple H1964 of the LORD H3068 into the court H2691 of the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068 And the Levites H3881 took H6901 it, to carry it out H3318 abroad H2351 into the brook H5158 Kidron. H6939
17 Now they began H2490 on the first H259 day of the first H7223 month H2320 to sanctify, H6942 and on the eighth H8083 day H3117 of the month H2320 came H935 they to the porch H197 of the LORD: H3068 so they sanctified H6942 the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 in eight H8083 days; H3117 and in the sixteenth H8337 H6240 day of the first H7223 month H2320 they made an end. H3615
18 Then they went H935 in H6441 to Hezekiah H2396 the king, H4428 and said, H559 We have cleansed H2891 all the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and the altar H4196 of burnt offering, H5930 with all the vessels H3627 thereof, and the shewbread H4635 table, H7979 with all the vessels H3627 thereof.
19 Moreover all the vessels, H3627 which king H4428 Ahaz H271 in his reign H4438 did cast away H2186 in his transgression, H4604 have we prepared H3559 and sanctified, H6942 and, behold, they are before H6440 the altar H4196 of the LORD. H3068
20 Then Hezekiah H3169 the king H4428 rose early, H7925 and gathered H622 the rulers H8269 of the city, H5892 and went up H5927 to the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
21 And they brought H935 seven H7651 bullocks, H6499 and seven H7651 rams, H352 and seven H7651 lambs, H3532 and seven H7651 he H6842 goats, H5795 for a sin offering H2403 for the kingdom, H4467 and for the sanctuary, H4720 and for Judah. H3063 And he commanded H559 the priests H3548 the sons H1121 of Aaron H175 to offer H5927 them on the altar H4196 of the LORD. H3068
22 So they killed H7819 the bullocks, H1241 and the priests H3548 received H6901 the blood, H1818 and sprinkled H2236 it on the altar: H4196 likewise, when they had killed H7819 the rams, H352 they sprinkled H2236 the blood H1818 upon the altar: H4196 they killed H7819 also the lambs, H3532 and they sprinkled H2236 the blood H1818 upon the altar. H4196
23 And they brought forth H5066 the he goats H8163 for the sin offering H2403 before H6440 the king H4428 and the congregation; H6951 and they laid H5564 their hands H3027 upon them:
24 And the priests H3548 killed H7819 them, and they made reconciliation H2398 with their blood H1818 upon the altar, H4196 to make an atonement H3722 for all Israel: H3478 for the king H4428 commanded H559 that the burnt offering H5930 and the sin offering H2403 should be made for all Israel. H3478
25 And he set H5975 the Levites H3881 in the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 with cymbals, H4700 with psalteries, H5035 and with harps, H3658 according to the commandment H4687 of David, H1732 and of Gad H1410 the king's H4428 seer, H2374 and Nathan H5416 the prophet: H5030 for so was the commandment H4687 of H3027 the LORD H3068 by H3027 his prophets. H5030
26 And the Levites H3881 stood H5975 with the instruments H3627 of David, H1732 and the priests H3548 with the trumpets. H2689
27 And Hezekiah H2396 commanded H559 to offer H5927 the burnt offering H5930 upon the altar. H4196 And when H6256 the burnt offering H5930 began, H2490 the song H7892 of the LORD H3068 began H2490 also with the trumpets, H2689 and with the instruments H3627 ordained by H3027 David H1732 king H4428 of Israel. H3478
28 And all the congregation H6951 worshipped, H7812 and the singers H7892 sang, H7891 and the trumpeters H2689 sounded: H2690 H2690 and all this continued until the burnt offering H5930 was finished. H3615
29 And when they had made an end H3615 of offering, H5927 the king H4428 and all that were present H4672 with him bowed H3766 themselves, and worshipped. H7812
30 Moreover Hezekiah H3169 the king H4428 and the princes H8269 commanded H559 the Levites H3881 to sing praise H1984 unto the LORD H3068 with the words H1697 of David, H1732 and of Asaph H623 the seer. H2374 And they sang praises H1984 with gladness, H8057 and they bowed their heads H6915 and worshipped. H7812
31 Then Hezekiah H3169 answered H6030 and said, H559 Now ye have consecrated H4390 H3027 yourselves unto the LORD, H3068 come near H5066 and bring H935 sacrifices H2077 and thank offerings H8426 into the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068 And the congregation H6951 brought in H935 sacrifices H2077 and thank offerings; H8426 and as many as were of a free H5081 heart H3820 burnt offerings. H5930
32 And the number H4557 of the burnt offerings, H5930 which the congregation H6951 brought, H935 was threescore and ten H7657 bullocks, H1241 an hundred H3967 rams, H352 and two hundred H3967 lambs: H3532 all these were for a burnt offering H5930 to the LORD. H3068
33 And the consecrated things H6944 were six H8337 hundred H3967 oxen H1241 and three H7969 thousand H505 sheep. H6629
34 But the priests H3548 were too few, H4592 so that they could H3201 not flay H6584 all the burnt offerings: H5930 wherefore their brethren H251 the Levites H3881 did help H2388 them, till the work H4399 was ended, H3615 and until the other priests H3548 had sanctified H6942 themselves: for the Levites H3881 were more upright H3477 in heart H3824 to sanctify H6942 themselves than the priests. H3548
35 And also the burnt offerings H5930 were in abundance, H7230 with the fat H2459 of the peace offerings, H8002 and the drink offerings H5262 for every burnt offering. H5930 So the service H5656 of the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 was set in order. H3559
36 And Hezekiah H3169 rejoiced, H8055 and all the people, H5971 that God H430 had prepared H3559 the people: H5971 for the thing H1697 was done suddenly. H6597
1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old; and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.
3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, 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 into the broad place on the east,
5 and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and turned their backs.
7 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 unto the God of Israel.
8 Wherefore the wrath of Jehovah was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to be tossed to and fro, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9 For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.
11 My sons, be not now negligent; for Jehovah hath chosen you to stand before him, to minister unto him, and that ye should be his ministers, and burn incense.
12 Then 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;
13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah.
16 And the priests went in unto 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 into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.
17 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 Jehovah; and they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within `the palace', and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the table of showbread, with all the vessels thereof.
19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah.
20 Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah.
21 And 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 Jehovah.
22 So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: and they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar.
23 And they brought near the he-goats for the sin-offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands upon them:
24 and the priests killed them, and they made a sin-offering with their blood upon the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded `that' the burnt-offering and the sin-offering `should be made' for all Israel.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of Jehovah by his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the burnt-offering began, the song of Jehovah began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel.
28 And all the assembly worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this `continued' until the burnt-offering was finished.
29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises unto Jehovah with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto Jehovah; come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into 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 threescore and ten bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt-offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till 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.
35 And 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 Jehovah was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
1 Hezekiah 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;
2 and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that David his father did.
3 He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, hath opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and strengtheneth them,
4 and bringeth in the priests and the Levites, and gathereth them to the broad place to the east.
5 And 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,
6 for 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,
8 and 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.
9 And 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.
11 My 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.'
12 And 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;
13 and of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri, and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 and of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel --
15 and 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,
16 and 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.
17 And 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.
18 And 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,
19 and 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.'
20 And Hezekiah the king riseth early, and gathereth the heads of the city, and goeth up to the house of Jehovah;
21 and 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.
22 And 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;
23 and they bring nigh the he-goats of the sin-offering before the king and the assembly, and they lay their hands upon them;
24 and 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.'
25 And 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;
26 and the Levites stand with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And 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.
28 And all the assembly are doing obeisance, and the singers singing, and the trumpeters blowing; the whole `is' till the completion of the burnt-offering.
29 And at the completion of the offering up bowed have the king and all those found with him, and do obeisance.
30 And 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.
31 And 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.
32 And 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.
33 And the sanctified things `are' oxen six hundred, and sheep three thousand.
34 Only, 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.
35 And 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,
36 and rejoice doth Hezekiah and all the people, because of God's giving preparation to the people, for the thing hath been suddenly.
1 Hezekiah began to reign being twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah.
2 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.
3 He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and repaired them.
4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them into the open place eastward;
5 and he said to them, Hear me, ye Levites: hallow yourselves now, and hallow the house of Jehovah the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the sanctuary.
6 For our fathers have transgressed, and done evil in the sight of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and have turned their backs.
7 Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered up burnt-offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.
8 Therefore the wrath of Jehovah has been upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to vexation, to desolation, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9 And behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.
11 My sons, be not now negligent; for Jehovah has chosen you to stand before him, to do service unto him, and to be his ministers and incense-burners.
12 Then the Levites rose up, 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 Jehalleleel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah;
13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, and hallowed themselves, and came, 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 carried forth all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah, into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it to carry it forth into the brook Kidron.
17 And they began on the first of the first month to hallow, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of Jehovah; and they hallowed the house of Jehovah eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
18 And they went in to king Hezekiah, and said, We have cleansed all the house of Jehovah, and the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the table of the [bread] to be set in rows, and all its vessels;
19 and all the vessels that king Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression have we prepared and hallowed, and behold, they are before the altar of Jehovah.
20 And Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah.
21 And 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] upon the altar of Jehovah.
22 And they slaughtered the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar; and they slaughtered the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar; and they slaughtered the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar.
23 And they brought near the he-goats of the sin-offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them.
24 And the priests slaughtered them, and they made purification for sin with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel; because for all Israel, said the king, is the burnt-offering and the sin-offering.
25 And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with lutes, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of Jehovah through his prophets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer up the burnt-offering on the altar. And at the moment the burnt-offering began, the song of Jehovah began, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel.
28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded, all [the time] until the burnt-offering was finished.
29 And when they had ended offering the burnt-offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped.
30 And king Hezekiah and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to Jehovah with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and bowed their heads and worshipped.
31 And Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to Jehovah, come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart, burnt-offerings.
32 And the number of the burnt-offerings, which the congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
33 And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 Only the priests were too few, and they could not flay all the burnt-offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them, until the work was ended, and until the priests had hallowed themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to hallow themselves than the priests.
35 And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and with the drink-offerings for the burnt-offering. And the service of the house of Jehovah was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people; for the thing was done suddenly.
1 Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.
3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Yahweh, and repaired them.
4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east,
5 and said to them, Hear me, you Levites; now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6 For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of Yahweh, and turned their backs.
7 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.
8 Therefore the wrath of Yahweh was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to be tossed back and forth, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as you see with your eyes.
9 For, behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10 Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.
11 My sons, don't be negligent now; for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that you should be his ministers, and burn incense.
12 Then 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;
13 and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 They gathered their brothers, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Yahweh, to cleanse the house of Yahweh.
16 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.
17 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.
18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king 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.
19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and, behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.
20 Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Yahweh.
21 They brought seven bulls, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven male goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. He commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of Yahweh.
22 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.
23 They brought near 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 made a sin-offering with their blood on the altar, to make atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded [that] the burnt offering and the sin-offering [should be made] for all Israel.
25 He set the Levites in the house of Yahweh with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of Yahweh by his prophets.
26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
27 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 David king of Israel.
28 All the assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this [continued] until the burnt offering was finished.
29 When they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.
30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
31 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.
32 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.
33 The consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: therefore their brothers 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.
35 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.
36 Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of that which God had prepared for the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
1 Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he was king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years; and his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done.
3 In the first year of his rule, in the first month, opening the doors of the Lord's house, he made them strong.
4 And he sent for the priests and the Levites, and got them together in the wide place on the east side,
5 And said to them, Give ear to me, O Levites: now make yourselves holy, and make holy the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and take away everything unclean from the holy place.
6 For our fathers have done evil, sinning in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have given him up, turning away their faces from the house of the Lord, and turning their backs on him.
7 The doors of his house have been shut and the lights put out; no perfumes have been burned or offerings made to the God of Israel in his holy place.
8 And so the wrath of the Lord has come on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has given them up to be a cause of fear and wonder and shame, as your eyes have seen.
9 For see, our fathers have been put to death with the sword, and our sons and daughters and wives have been taken away prisoners because of this.
10 Now it is my purpose to make an agreement with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that the heat of his wrath may be turned away from us.
11 My sons, take care now: for you have been marked out by the Lord to come before him and to be his servants, burning offerings to him.
12 Then the Levites took their places; Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel, the son of Azariah, among 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;
13 And of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14 And of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they got their brothers together and made themselves holy, and went in, as the king had said by the word of the Lord, to make the house of the Lord clean.
16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to make it clean, and everything unclean which was to be seen in the Temple of the Lord they took out into the outer square of the Lord's house, and the Levites got it together and took it away to the stream Kidron.
17 On the first day of the first month the work of making the house holy was started, and on the eighth day they came to the covered way of the Lord; in eight days they made the Lord's house holy, and on the sixteenth day of the first month the work was done.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, We have made all the house of the Lord clean, as well as the altar of burned offerings with all its vessels, and the table for the holy bread, with all its vessels.
19 And all the vessels which were turned out by King Ahaz in his sin while he was king, we have put in order and made holy, and now they are in their places before the altar of the Lord.
20 Then Hezekiah the king got up early, and got together the great men of the town, and went up to the house of the Lord.
21 And they took with them seven oxen and seven male sheep and seven lambs and seven he-goats as a sin-offering for the kingdom and for the holy house and for Judah. And he gave orders to the sons of Aaron, the priests, that these were to be offered on the altar of the Lord.
22 So they put the oxen to death and their blood was given to the priests to be drained out against the altar; then they put the male sheep to death, draining out their blood against the altar, and they put the lambs to death, draining out their blood against the altar.
23 Then they took the he-goats for the sin-offering, placing them before the king and the meeting of the people, and they put their hands on them:
24 And the priests put them to death, and made a sin-offering with their blood on the altar, to take away the sin of all Israel: for the king gave orders that the burned offering and the sin-offering were for all Israel.
25 Then he put the Levites in their places in the house of the Lord, with brass and corded instruments of music as ordered by David and Gad, the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for the order was the Lord's, given by his prophets.
26 So the Levites took their places with David's instruments, and the priests with their horns.
27 And Hezekiah gave the word for the burned offering to be offered on the altar. And when the burned offering was started, then the song of the Lord was started, with the blowing of horns and with all the instruments of David, king of Israel.
28 And all the people gave worship, to the sound of songs and the blowing of horns; and this went on till the burned offering was ended.
29 And at the end of the offering, the king and all who were present with him gave worship with bent heads.
30 Then King Hezekiah and the captains gave orders to the Levites to give praise to God in the words of David and Asaph the seer. And they made songs of praise with joy, and with bent heads gave worship.
31 Then Hezekiah made answer and said, Now that you have given yourselves to the Lord, come near and take offerings and praise-offerings into the house of the Lord. So all the people took in offerings and praise-offerings: and those whose hearts were moved, took in burned offerings.
32 The number of burned offerings which the people took in was seventy oxen, a hundred male sheep, and two hundred lambs: all these were for burned offerings to the Lord.
33 And the holy things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
34 There were not enough priests for the work of cutting up all the burned offerings; so their brothers the Levites gave them help till the work was done and the priests had made themselves holy: for the Levites were more upright in heart to make themselves holy than the priests.
35 And there was a great amount of burned offerings, with the fat of the peace-offerings and the drink offerings for every burned offering. So the work of the Lord's house was put in order.
36 And Hezekiah and all the people were full of joy, because God had made the people ready: for the thing was done suddenly.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 29
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 29 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Reign of Hezekiah - 2 Chronicles 29-32
Hezekiah, the pious son of the godless Ahaz, recognised that it was to be the business of his reign to bring the kingdom out of the utterly ruinous condition into which Ahaz had brought it by his idolatry and his heathen policy, and to elevate the state again, both in respect to religion and morals, and also in political affairs. He consequently endeavoured, in the first place, to do away with the idolatry, and to restore the Jahve-worship according to the law, and then to throw off the yoke of subjection to the Assyrian. These two undertakings, on the success of which God bestowed His blessing, form the contents of the history of his reign both in the books of Kings and in the Chronicle; but they are differently treated by the authors of these books. In the book of Kings, the extirpation of idolatry, and Hezekiah's faithfulness in cleaving to the Lord his God, are very briefly recorded (2 Kings 17:3-7); while the throwing off of the Assyrian yoke, which brought on Sennacherib's invasion, and ended with the destruction of the Assyrian army before Jerusalem, and the further results of that memorable event (the sickness and recovery of Hezekiah, the arrival of a Babylonian embassy in Jerusalem, and Hezekiah's reception of them), are very fully narrated in 2 Kings 18:8-20:19. The author of the Chronicle, on the contrary, enlarges upon Hezekiah's reform of the cultus, the purification of the temple from all idolatrous abominations, the restoration of the Jahve-worship, and a solemn celebration of the passover, to which the king invited not only his own subjects, but also the remainder of the ten tribes (2 Chron 29-31); and gives merely a brief summary of the chief points in Sennacherib's invasion, and the events connected with it (2 Chron 32).
The beginning of his reign (2 Chronicles 29:1, 2 Chronicles 29:2). Purification and consecration of the temple (vv. 3-36). - 2 Chronicles 29:1 and 2 Chronicles 29:2. Age of Hezekiah, duration and spirit of his reign, as in 2 Kings 18:1-3. With 2 Chronicles 29:3 the account of the restoration of the Jahve-worship begins. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, Hezekiah caused the temple doors to be opened, and the priests and Levites to assemble, in order that he might rouse them by an energetic address to purify the house of God from all the uncleannesses of idolatry (2 Chronicles 29:3-11). They, vigorously commencing the work, completed the purification of the temple with its courts and vessels in sixteen days, and reported to the king what had been done (2 Chronicles 29:12-19); and then the king and the chiefs of the city offered a great sacrifice to consecrate the purified sanctuary, upon which followed burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and thankofferings of the whole assembly (vv. 20-36).
The purification of the temple by the priests and Levites . - 2 Chronicles 29:3. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he caused the doors of the house of Jahve to be opened and repaired ( הזּק as in 2 Chronicles 24:12, where it alternates with הדּשׁ ). Cf. herewith the remark in 2 Kings 18:16, that Hezekiah caused the doors of the היכל to be covered with leaf-gold. The date, in the first month , in the first year of his reign, is variously interpreted. As the Levites, according to 2 Chronicles 29:17, began the purification on the first day of the first month, in eight days had reached the porch, and on the sixteenth day of the first month had completed the work, while the king had, according to 2 Chronicles 29:4, before called upon the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves for the work, and those summoned then assembled their brethren for this purpose, and after they had consecrated themselves, began the cleansing (2 Chronicles 29:15), it would seem as if the summons of the king and the calling together of the remaining Levites had occurred before the first day of the first month, when they began the purification of the house of God. On that account Caspari ( Beiträge z. Einleit. in d. B. Jesaiah, S. 111) thinks that the first month (2 Chronicles 29:3) is not the first month of the year (Nisan), but the first month of the reign of Hezekiah, who probably became king shortly before Nisan, towards the end of the year. But it is not at all likely that הראשׁון החדר is used in a different sense in 2 Chronicles 29:3 from that in which it is used in 2 Chronicles 29:17. We therefore hold, with Berth. and others, the first month, both in 2 Chronicles 29:3 and in 2 Chronicles 29:17, to be the first month of the ecclesiastical year Nisan, without, however, accepting the supposition of Gumpach and Bertheau that the years of Hezekiah's reign began with the first of Tishri, for for that way of reckoning there are no certain data in the historical books of the Old Testament. The statement, “in the first year of his reign, in the first month” (not in the first year, in the first month of his reign), is sufficiently explained if Hezekiah ascended the throne in one of the last months of the calendar year, which began with Nisan. In that case, on the first of Nisan of the new year, so few months, or perhaps only weeks, would have elapsed since his accession, that what he did in Nisan could not rightly have been dated otherwise than “in the first year of his reign.” The other difficulty, that the purification of the temple began on the first day of the first month (2 Chronicles 29:7), while the preparations for it which preceded were yet, according to 2 Chronicles 29:3, made also in the first month, is removed if we take 2 Chronicles 29:3 to be a comprehensive summary of what is described in the following verses, and regard the connection between 2 Chronicles 29:3 and 2 Chronicles 29:4. as only logical, not chronological, the ו consec. ( ויּבא ) expressing, not succession in time, but connection in thought. The opening of the doors of the house of God, and the repairing of them (2 Chronicles 29:3), did not precede in time the summons to the priests (2 Chronicles 29:4), but is placed at the commencement of the account of the reopening and restoration of the temple as a contrast to the closing and devastation of the sanctuary by Ahaz. Hezekiah commenced this work in the first year of his reign, in the first month of the calendar year, and accomplished it as is described in 2 Chronicles 29:4-17. If we take 2 Chronicles 29:3 as a statement of the contents of the succeeding section, - as are e.g., (1 Kings 6:14; 1 Kings 7:1) the statements, “he built the house, and completed it,” where in both passages the completion of the building is described only in the succeeding verses, - we need not confine the preparations spoken of in 2 Chronicles 29:4-15 to the first day of the first month, but may quite well suppose that these preparations preceded the first day of the month, and that only the accomplishment of that which had been resolved upon and commanded by the king fell in the first month, as is more accurately stated in 2 Chronicles 29:17.
2 Chronicles 29:4-6
Hezekiah gathered the priests and Levites together “into the open space of the east,” i.e., in the eastern open space before the temple, not “in the inner court” (Berth.), - see on Ezra 10:9 -and called upon them (2 Chronicles 29:5) to sanctify themselves, and then to sanctify the house of the Lord. To purify the temple they must first sanctify themselves (cf. 2 Chronicles 29:15), in order to proceed to the work of sanctifying the house of God in a state of Levitical purity. The work was to remove all that was unclean from the sanctuary. הנּדּה is Levitical uncleanness, for which in 2 Chronicles 29:16 we have הטּמאה ; here the abominations of idolatry. The king gave the reason of his summons in a reference to the devastation which Ahaz and his contemporaries had wrought in the house of God (2 Chronicles 29:6, 2 Chronicles 29:7), and to the wrath of God which had on that account come upon them (2 Chronicles 29:8, 2 Chronicles 29:9). “Our fathers” (2 Chronicles 29:6), that is, Ahaz and his contemporaries, for only these had been guilty of displeasing God in the ways mentioned in 2 Chronicles 29:6 and 2 Chronicles 29:7, “have turned away their face from the dwelling of Jahve, and turned their back (upon it).” These words are a symbolical expression for: they have ceased to worship Jahve in His temple, and exchanged it for idolatry.
2 Chronicles 29:7
Even ( גּם ) the doors of the porch have they shut, and caused the service in the sanctuary, the lighting of the lamps, and the sacrifices of incense, to cease; see on 2 Chronicles 28:24. The words, “and they brought not burnt-offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel,” do not imply the complete cessation of the legal sacrificial worship, but only that no burnt-offerings were brought to the God of Israel. Sacrifices offered upon the altar of burnt-offering built after a heathen pattern by Ahaz were not, in the eyes of the author of the Chronicle, sacrifices which were offered to the God of Israel; and it is also possible that even this sacrificial worship may have more and more decayed. קדשׁ , 2 Chronicles 29:7, is the whole sanctuary, with the court of the priests.
2 Chronicles 29:8-9
Wherefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Cf. for the expression, 2 Chronicles 24:18; 2 Chronicles 32:25; on 2 Chronicles 29:8 , cf. Deuteronomy 28:25, Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 25:9, etc. “As ye see with your eyes.” The shameful defeats which Judah had sustained under Ahaz from the Syrians, Ephraimites, Philistines, and Edomites, and the oppression by the Syrian king (2 Chronicles 28:5., 2 Chronicles 28:17-21), are here referred to, as we learn from 2 Chronicles 29:9.
2 Chronicles 29:10-11
To turn away this anger of God, Hezekiah wishes to make a covenant with the Lord, i.e., to renew the covenant with Jahve by restoring His worship ( לבבי עם as in 2 Chronicles 6:7; 2 Chronicles 9:1; 1 Chronicles 28:2, etc.), and therefore calls upon the Levites not to neglect the performance of their duty. בּני he calls the Levites, addressing them in kindly language; cf. Proverbs 1:8, etc. תּשּׁלוּ in Niph. occurs only here, and denotes to avoid a thing from carelessness or laziness, - from שׁלה , to draw forth; Job 27:8. On 2 Chronicles 29:11 , cf. Deuteronomy 10:8; 1 Chronicles 23:13.
2 Chronicles 29:12-14
This address was heard with gladness. The Levites present assembled their brethren, and set to work, after they had all sanctified themselves, to purify the temple. In 2 Chronicles 29:12-14 fourteen names are mentioned as those of the audience, viz.: two Levites of each of the great families of Kohath, Merari, and Gershon; two of the family of Elizaphan, i.e., Elzaphan the son of Uzziel, the son of Kohath, Exodus 6:18, who in the time of Moses was prince of the family of Kohath, Numbers 3:30; and then two Levites of the descendants of Asaph (of the family of Gershon); two of Heman's descendants (of the family of Kohath); and two of Jeduthun's (of the family of Merari): see on 1 Chronicles 6:18-32. Of these names, Mahath, Eden, and Jehiel occur again in 2 Chronicles 31:13-15; several others, Joah ben Zimmah and Kish ben Abdi, have occurred already in the genealogy, 1 Chronicles 6:5. and 2 Chronicles 29:29, for in the various families the same name often repeats itself.
2 Chronicles 29:15
These fourteen heads of the various families and branches of Levi assembled their brethren (the other Levites who dwelt in Jerusalem); then they all sanctified themselves, and went forward, according to the command of the king, with the work of cleansing the temple. יהוה בּדברי belongs to הם כּמצות , according to the command of the king, which was founded upon the words of Jahve, i.e., upon the commands of Moses' law; cf. 2 Chronicles 30:12.
2 Chronicles 29:16
The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord (into the holy place, probably also into the most holy place) to cleanse it, and removed all the uncleanness which was there into the court, whence the Levites carried it out into the valley of the brook Kidron ( חוּצה , out of the precincts of the temple). The Levites were forbidden by the law to enter the holy place, and this command was strictly observed. Of what nature the uncleannesses were which the priests found in the holy place ( היכל ) cannot be accurately ascertained. Owing to the prevalence of idolatry under Ahaz, vessels, e.g., sacrificial bowls, which were used in the worship, may have come into the holy place; and besides, all vessels of the holy place would require to be cleaned, and their filth removed. The closing of the temple doors (2 Chronicles 28:24) occurred only in the last year of Ahaz, while idolatry had been practised from the beginning of his reign. On the Kidron, see on 2 Kings 23:4.
2 Chronicles 29:17
The duration of the purification. On the first day of the first month they commenced with the purification of the courts; on the eighth day of the same month they came to the porch of Jahve, and with it began the purification of the temple building. This lasted eight days more, so that the work was finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
2 Chronicles 29:18-19
At the end of this business they made their report to the king. “All the vessels which King Ahaz had thrown away, i.e., made worthy of rejection,” are the copper altar of burnt-offering, the brazen sea, and the lavers upon the bases (2 Kings 16:14, 2 Kings 16:17). הכנּוּ , we have prepared, is a shorter form of הכיונוּ ; cf. Gesen. Gramm . §72. 5, and J. Olshausen, hebr. Grammat . S. 565. The altar of Jahve is the altar of burnt-offering; cf. 2 Chronicles 29:21.
The re-dedication of the temple by offering sacrifices . - 2 Chronicles 29:20. Probably on the very next morning Hezekiah went with the princes (heads) of the city into the house of the Lord, and brought seven bullocks, seven rams, and seven lambs for a burnt-offering, and seven he-goats for a sin-offering, “for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah,” i.e., as expiation for and consecration of the kingdom, sanctuary, and people. These sacrifices were offered by the priests according to the prescription of the law of Moses, 2 Chronicles 29:22-24. The burnt-offerings are first named, as in the sacrificial Torah in Lev 1-6, although the offering of the sin-offering preceded that of the burnt-offering. The laying on of hands, too, is mentioned only with the sin-offering, 2 Chronicles 29:23, although according to Leviticus 1:4 the same ceremony was gone through with the burnt-offerings; but that is not because a confession of sin was probably made during the laying on of hands, as Bertheau conjectures, adducing Leviticus 16:21, for from that passage no such conclusion can be drawn. The ceremony is mentioned only in the one case to emphasize the fact that the king and the assembly (the latter, of course, by their representatives) laid their hands upon the sacrificial beasts, because the atonement was, according to the king's words, to be for all Israel. “All Israel” are probably not only all the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah, but Israelites in general (the twelve tribes), for whom the temple in Jerusalem was the only lawful sanctuary. דּם את חטּא signifies to bring the blood to the altar for an atonement, in the manner prescribed in Leviticus 4:30, Leviticus 4:34.
Hezekiah, moreover, restored again the music with which the Levites were wont to accompany the sacrificial act, and which David, with the prophets Gad and Nathan, had arranged. The ו consec . with ויּעמד expresses the secution of thought, and 2 Chronicles 29:25 corresponds to the 2 Chronicles 29:21. First, the beasts to be sacrificed were prepared for the sacrifice, and then to the Levites was committed the performance of instrumental and vocal music during the sacrificial act. In reference to the musical instruments, see on 1 Chronicles 15:16. The Levites were appointed to sing, “according to the command of David;” but this command was בּיד , by interposition of Jahve, viz., given by His prophets. David had consequently made this arrangement at the divine suggestion, coming to him through the prophets. With המּלך הזה cf. 1 Chronicles 21:9. נביאיו בּיד is in explanatory apposition to יהוה בּיד , and נביאיו is not to be referred to David, although David is called in 2 Chronicles 8:14 “man of God.”
דויד כּלי are the musical instruments the use of which David introduced into the public worship; see 1 Chronicles 23:5. - The first clause, 2 Chronicles 29:27, “And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar,” is repeated from 2 Chronicles 29:21 to form a connection for what follows: “At the time when the sacrificial act began, the song of Jahve commenced,” i.e., the praising of Jahve by song and instrumental music ( יהוה שׁיר = ליהוה שׁיר , 1 Chronicles 25:7), and (the blowing) of trumpets, “and that under the leading ( ידי על ) of the instruments of David.” This is to be understood as denoting that the blowing of the trumpets regulated itself by the playing of the stringed instruments-suited itself to the song and the music of the stringed instruments.
During the offering of the burnt-offering, until it was ended, the whole congregation stood worshipping; and the song of the Levites, accompanied by the music of the stringed instruments and the trumpet-blowing of the priests, continued. משׁורר השּׁיר , “the song was singing,” stands for “the body of singers sang;” and the trumpets also stand for the trumpeters.
At the conclusion of the sacrificial act ( להעלות is a contraction for העולה להעלות , 2 Chronicles 29:27) the king and all who were present knelt and worshipped.
The king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words (psalms) of David and of Asaph; and they sang praise with joy, and bowed themselves and worshipped. This verse does not mean that the Levites began to sing psalms at the king's command only after the sacrificial act and the instrumental music (2 Chronicles 29:27.) had been finished, but it forms a comprehensive conclusion of the description of the sacrificial solemnities. The author of the Chronicle considered it necessary to make express mention of the praising of God in psalms, already implicite involved in the משׁורר השּׁיר , 2 Chronicles 29:28, and to remark that the Levites also, at the conclusion of the song of praise, knelt and worshipped. Asaph is here called חזה , as Jeduthun (Ethan) is in 2 Chronicles 35:15, and Heman, 1 Chronicles 25:5.
The sacrifice of thank-offerings and praise-offerings and voluntary burnt-offering . - Hezekiah introduces this, the concluding act of this religious festival, with the words, “Now have ye filled your hand to the Lord,” i.e., you have again consecrated yourselves to the service of the Lord (cf. Exodus 32:29 and the commentary on Leviticus 7:37.); “come near, and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the Lord.” The words “Now have ye filled” are regarded by the commentators (Clericus, Ramb., Bertheau, etc.) as addressed to the priests; while the following וגו גּשׁוּ are supposed to be directed to the congregation, and Clericus and Ramb. consequently supply before גּשׁוּ , vos vero , Israelitae . The summons והביאוּ גּשׁוּ can certainly only be addressed to the congregation, as is shown by the words הקּהל ויּביאוּ , and the congregation brought, which correspond to the summons. But the supplying of vos vero before גּשׁוּ is quite arbitrary. If in גּשׁוּ other persons are addressed than those to whom the king formerly said, “Now have ye filled your hands,” the change in the persons addressed would have been intimated by mention of the person, or at least by ואתּם , “but ye.” As the two clauses at present stand, they must be spoken to the same persons, viz., the whole assembled congregation, including the priests and Levites. We must therefore suppose that the phrase לי יד מלּא , which in its narrower sense denotes only the consecration of the priests for service at the altar (see on Leviticus 7:37), is here used in a wider sense, and transferred to the whole congregation. They, by their participation in the consecratory offerings, by laying on of hands and worship during the sacrificial act, had consecrated themselves anew to the service of the Lord as their God, and had anew made a covenant with the Lord (2 Chronicles 29:10); so that only the sacrificial meal was wanting to the completion of this celebration of the covenant, and for this the offering of sacrifices was requisite. The collocation ותודות זבהים is strange. זבהים are שׁלמים זבהים , sacrifices of peace-offering, also called briefly שׁלמים . Of these, in the law, three species - praise-offerings ( תּודות ), vowed offerings, and voluntary offerings - are distinguished (Leviticus 7:11, Leviticus 7:16). תּודות therefore denotes a species of the sacrifices or peace-offerings, the praise or thank-offerings in the stricter sense; and ותודות must be taken as explicative: sacrifices, and that (or namely) praise-offerings. לב וכל־נדיב , and every one who was heartily willing, (brought) burnt-offerings; i.e., all who felt inwardly impelled to do so, brought of their own accord burnt-offerings.
2 Chronicles 29:32
The number of the burnt-offerings brought spontaneously by the congregation was very large: 70 bullocks, 100 rams, and 200 lambs.
2 Chronicles 29:33-34
והקּדשׁים , and the consecrated, i.e., the beasts brought as thank-offering (cf. 2 Chronicles 35:13; Nehemiah 10:34), were 600 bullocks and 3000 small cattle (sheep and goats). - In 2 Chronicles 29:34-36 the account closes with some remarks upon these sacrifices and the festal solemnity. 2 Chronicles 29:34. But there were too few priests, and they were not able (so that they were not able) to flay all the burnt-offerings; and their brethren the Levites helped them till the work was ended (i.e., the flaying), and until the priests had sanctified themselves. In the case of private burnt-offerings the flaying of the beast was the business of the sacrificer (Leviticus 1:6); while in the case of those offered on solemn occasions in the name of the congregation it was the priest's duty, and in it, as the work was not of a specifically priestly character, the Levites might assist. The burnt-offerings which are spoken of in 2 Chronicles 29:34 are not merely those voluntarily offered (2 Chronicles 29:34), but also the consecratory burnt-offerings (2 Chronicles 29:22, 2 Chronicles 29:27). Only 2 Chronicles 29:35 refers to the voluntary offerings alone. “For the Levites had been more upright to sanctify themselves than the priests.” לב ישׁרי , rectiores animo , had endeavoured more honestly. Perhaps the priests had taken more part in the idolatrous worship of Ahaz than the Levites, which would be quite accounted for, as Kueper, das Priesterth. des A. Bundes (1870), S. 216, remarks, by their relation to the court of the king, and their dependence upon it. They consequently showed themselves more slack even in the purification than the Levites, who forte etiam idololatricis sacris minus contaminati et impediti erant (Ramb.).
2 Chronicles 29:35
2 Chronicles 29:35 gives yet another reason why the Levites had to help the priests: “And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and the drink-offerings for every burnt-offering.” The priests could not accomplish the flaying for this reason also, that they had, besides, to see to the proper altar service (sprinkling of the blood, and burning of the sacrifices upon the altar), which taxed their strength, since, besides the consecratory burnt-offerings, there were the voluntary burnt-offerings (2 Chronicles 29:31), which were offered along with the thank-offerings and the drink-offerings, which belonged to the burnt-offerings of Numbers 15:1-15. Thus the service of the house of Jahve was arranged. עבודה is not the purification and dedication of the temple (Berth.), but only the sacrificial service, or rather all that concerned the regular temple worship, which had decayed under Ahaz, and had at length wholly ceased.
2 Chronicles 29:36
Hezekiah and the whole people rejoiced because of it. ההכין על , over that which God had prepared for the people (by the purification of the temple and the restoration of the Jahve worship), not “because God had made the people ready” (Ramb., Berth.). The article with הכין represents the relative pronoun אשׁר ; see on 1 Chronicles 26:28. The joy was heightened by the fact that the thing was done suddenly.