1. HEZEKIAH began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2. He did that which was right in The LORD's eyes, according to all that David his father had done.

3. In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of The LORD's house, and repaired them.

4. He brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the wide place on the east,

5. and said to them, "Listen to me, you Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify The LORD, the God of your fathers' house, and carry the filthiness out of the holy place.

6. For our fathers were unfaithful, and have done that which was evil in the LORD our God's sight, 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 to the God of Israel.

8. Therefore The LORD's wrath 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 The LORD, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.

11. My sons, don't be negligent now; for the LORD 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, sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by The LORD's words, to cleanse The LORD's house.

16. The priests went into the inner part of The LORD's house to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in The LORD's temple into the court of The LORD's house. The Levites took it from there to carry it out 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 they came to The LORD's porch. They sanctified The LORD's house in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

18. Then they went in to HEZEKIAH the king within the palace, and said, "We have cleansed all The LORD's house, including the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, and the table of show bread with all its vessels.

19. Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign threw away when he was unfaithful, have we prepared and sanctified. Behold, they are before The LORD's altar."

20. Then HEZEKIAH the king arose early, gathered the princes of the city, and went up to The LORD's house.

21. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. He commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on The LORD's altar.

22. So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar. They killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed 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. Then 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 LORD's house with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was from the LORD by his prophets.

26. The Levites stood with David's instruments, and the priests with the trumpets.

27. HEZEKIAH commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, The LORD's song also began, along with the trumpets and David king of Israel's instruments.

28. All the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29. When they had finished 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 the LORD 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 The LORD. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into The LORD's house." 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 The LORD.

33. The consecrated things were six hundred head of cattle 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 LORD's house was set in order.

36. HEZEKIAH and all the people rejoiced, because of that which God had prepared for the people; for the thing was done suddenly.

1. HEZEKIAH sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to The LORD's house at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to The LORD, the God of Israel.

2. For the king had taken counsel with his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month.

3. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, and the people had not gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.

4. The thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly.

5. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to The LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it in great numbers in the way it is written.

6. So the couriers went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, "You children of Israel, turn again to The LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to the remnant of you that have escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.

7. Don't be like your fathers and like your brothers, who trespassed against The LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he gave them up to desolation, as you see.

8. Now don't be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to The LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you.

9. For if you turn again to The LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion before those who led them captive, and will come again into this land, because the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him."

10. So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun, but people ridiculed them and mocked them.

11. Nevertheless some men of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.

12. Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by The LORD's word.

13. Many people assembled at Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great assembly.

14. They arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the altars for incense and threw them into the brook Kidron.

15. Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought burnt offerings into The LORD's house.

16. They stood in their place after their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood which they received of the hand of the Levites.

17. For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves: therefore the Levites were in charge of killing the Passovers for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to The LORD.

18. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover other than the way it is written. For HEZEKIAH had prayed for them, saying, "May the good the LORD pardon everyone

19. who sets his heart to seek God, The LORD, the God of his fathers, even if they aren't clean according to the purification of the sanctuary."

20. The LORD listened to HEZEKIAH, and healed the people.

21. The children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness. The Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments to The LORD.

22. HEZEKIAH spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the service of The LORD. So they ate throughout the feast for the seven days, offering sacrifices of peace offerings, and making confession to The LORD, the God of their fathers.

23. The whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days, and they kept another seven days with gladness.

24. For HEZEKIAH king of Judah gave to the assembly for offerings one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.

25. All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly who came out of Israel, and the foreigners who came out of the land of Israel, and who lived in Judah, rejoiced.

26. So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.

27. Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people. Their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven.