2 Chronicles 29

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.

At the youthful age of 25, Hezekiah ascended to the throne, ruling Jerusalem for a significant 29 years. His mother, Abijah, a woman of grace and strength, was the cherished daughter of Zechariah.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

He acted rightly, just as his father David had, in the eyes of the Lord.

He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.

In the initial days of his rule, he passionately reopened and restored the doors of God's sanctuary.

And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

He guided the priests and Levites, uniting them on the eastern road, with a sense of purpose and anticipation.

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.

Listen closely, Levites, cleanse yourselves and purify God's sacred house, inherited from your ancestors. Remove all impurities from this holy sanctuary.

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.

Our ancestors sinned, doing wrong in God's sight. They abandoned Him, turned their backs on His home, and ignored His presence.

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.

They've closed the sanctuary doors, extinguished the lamps, and neglected their sacred duties. No incense burns, no offerings made, in the holy place for the God of Israel.

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.

God's wrath fell on Judah and Jerusalem, and He made them an object of terror, horror, and scorn, as you can clearly see.

For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

Indeed, our forefathers have tragically perished in battle, and our children and beloved wives are held captive because of this.

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.

I feel compelled to form a bond with the Lord God of Israel, hoping His intense anger may soften towards us.

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.

My dear children, don't be careless now. Remember, God has handpicked you to stand in His presence, to serve Him, to minister to Him, and to burn incense.

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:

Then the Levites set to work: from the Kohathites, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; from the Merarites, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehalelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.

And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah:

From Elizaphan's lineage came Shimri and Jeiel, filled with courage and wisdom. Asaph's descendants were Zechariah and Mattaniah, radiating strength and faith.

And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel.

From Heman's lineage came Jehiel and Shimei, while from Jeduthun's family sprouted Shemaiah and Uzziel.

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.

They united with their kin, purified their hearts, and obediently followed the king's decree, which was inspired by God, to purify God's home.

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.

The priests bravely ventured into the heart of the Lord's house, their mission to purify it. They gathered every impurity they found within the sacred temple, bringing it out into the courtyard. The Levites, with solemn duty, carried these impurities away, casting them into the distant Kidron brook.

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.

From the first day of the new month, they started to purify, reaching the Lord's porch on the eighth day. They spent eight days sanctifying God's house, and by the sixteenth day, their task was complete.

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.

They approached King Hezekiah, joyfully announcing, "We've purified every corner of the Lord's house, including the altar and all its tools, even the table for the sacred bread and all its utensils."

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.

In his rule, King Ahaz discarded sacred items in his wrongdoing. We've restored and blessed these items, and now they stand ready before God's altar.

Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

King Hezekiah woke up at dawn, rallied the city's leaders, and led them to the Lord's temple.

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.

They presented seven each of bulls, rams, lambs, and goats, as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. He instructed Aaron's sons, the priests, to offer these on the Lord's altar.

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.

They solemnly sacrificed the bulls, the priests reverently collected the blood, and gently splashed it on the altar. Similarly, after sacrificing the rams, they delicately sprinkled their blood on the altar. They did the same with the lambs, their blood too, graced the altar.

And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them:

They presented the sacrificial goats before the king and the crowd for their sins. With deep remorse and hope, they gently placed their hands on them.

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.

The priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar as a sin offering, to make atonement for the entire nation of Israel, for the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

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.

He placed the Levites in God's house, equipped with cymbals, psalteries, and harps. This was David's order, backed by Gad, the king's visionary, and Nathan, the prophet. It was God's will, expressed through His prophets.

And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.

The Levites, holding David's sacred instruments, stood firm, while the priests, filled with solemnity, held their trumpets high.

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.

Hezekiah ordered the sacrificial offering to be placed on the altar. As the flames consumed the offering, a divine melody filled the air, echoing from the trumpets and instruments blessed by King David himself.

And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

Everyone present was deeply immersed in worship, their hearts filled with reverence. The singers filled the air with melodious hymns, while the trumpeters played soul-stirring tunes. This beautiful symphony of devotion didn't cease until the sacrificial offering was completely consumed.

And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.

After they finished their offerings, the king and everyone with him humbly bowed down, expressing their deep reverence and worship.

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.

King Hezekiah and the leaders instructed the Levites to sing praises to the Lord using David and Asaph's words. They joyfully sang and humbly bowed in worship.

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.

Hezekiah responded, "Now that you've dedicated yourselves to God, come closer. Bring your sacrifices and thanksgiving to God's house." The people did just that, bringing their offerings and thanksgiving. Those with generous hearts even brought burnt offerings.

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.

The community passionately offered 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs in a heartfelt, fiery sacrifice to the Lord.

And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

The sacred offerings were a mighty herd of six hundred oxen and a grand flock of three thousand sheep.

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.

There weren't enough priests to prepare all the offerings, so the Levites, their brothers, stepped in to help. They worked until the job was done and the other priests were ready. The Levites were more committed and sincere in preparing themselves spiritually than 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. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.

The offerings were plentiful, rich with the fat of peace offerings and accompanied by libations for each one. Thus, the sacred duties of the Lord's house were beautifully organized.

And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.

Hezekiah and everyone else were overjoyed, realizing that God had swiftly readied them all.