2Chronicles:29

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* Hezekiah became king 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 . * And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD , according to all that his father David had done . * In the first year of his reign , in the first month , he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them . * Then he brought in the priests and the Levites , and gathered them in the East Square , * and said to them : "Hear me , Levites ! Now sanctify yourselves , sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers , and carry out the rubbish from the holy place . * For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God ; they have forsaken Him , have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD , and turned their backs on Him . * They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule , put out the lamps , and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel . * Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem , and He has given them up to trouble , to desolation , and to jeering , as you see with your eyes . * For indeed , because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword ; and our sons , our daughters , and our wives are in captivity . * "Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel , that His fierce wrath may turn away from us . * My sons , do not be negligent now , for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him , to serve Him , and that you should minister to Him and burn incense ." * Then these Levites arose : Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah , of the sons of the Kohathites ; of the sons of Merari , Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel ; of the Gershonites , Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah ; * of the sons of Elizaphan , Shimri and Jeiel ; of the sons of Asaph , Zechariah and Mattaniah ; * of the sons of Heman , Jehiel and Shimei ; and of the sons of Jeduthun , Shemaiah and Uzziel . * And they gathered their brethren , sanctified themselves , and went according to the commandment of the king , at the words of the LORD , to cleanse the house of the LORD . * Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it , and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD . And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron . * Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month , and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD . So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days , and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished . * Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said , "We have cleansed all the house of the LORD , the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles , and the table of the showbread with all its articles . * Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and sanctified ; and there they are , before the altar of the LORD ." * Then King Hezekiah rose early , gathered the rulers of the city , and went up to the house of the LORD . * And 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 . Then he commanded the priests , the sons of Aaron , to offer them on the altar of the LORD . * So they killed the bulls , and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar . Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar . They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar . * Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly , and they laid their hands on them . * And the priests killed them ; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering to make an atonement for all Israel , for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel . * And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals , with stringed instruments , and with harps , according to the commandment of David , of Gad the king 's seer , and of Nathan the prophet ; for thus was the commandment of the LORD by His prophets . * The Levites stood with the instruments of David , and the priests with the trumpets . * Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar . And when the burnt offering began , the song of the LORD also began , with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel . * So all the assembly worshiped , the singers sang , and the trumpeters sounded ; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished . * And when they had finished offering , the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped . * Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer . So they sang praises with gladness , and they bowed their heads and worshiped . * Then Hezekiah answered and said , "Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD , come near , and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD ." So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings , and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings . * And 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 . * The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep . * But the priests were too few , so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings ; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves , for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying 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 the LORD was set in order . * Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people , since the events took place so suddenly .

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