In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of LORD, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the broad place on the east, and said to them, Hear me, ye Levites. Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. read more.
For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of LORD, and turned their backs. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to be tossed to and fro, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with LORD, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, be not now negligent. For LORD has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that ye should be his ministers, and 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 Jehallelel, and of the Gershonites, Joah the son and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel, and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah, and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei, and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. And they gathered their brothers, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by the words of LORD, to cleanse the house of LORD. And the priests went in to the inner part of the house of LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of LORD into the court of the house of LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out a 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 porch of LORD. And they sanctified the house of LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month t Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within [the palace], and said, We have cleansed all the house of LORD, and the altar of burnt-offering with all the vessels of it, and the table of showbread with all the vessels of it. Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign cast away when he trespassed, we have prepared and sanctified. And, behold, they are before the altar of LORD. Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of LORD. 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 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 also killed the lambs, and sprinkled the blood upon the altar. And they brought near the he-goats for the sin-offering before the king and the assembly. And they laid their hands upon them, 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. And he set the Levites in the house of 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 the commandment was of LORD by his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the burnt-offering began, the song of LORD began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel. And all the assembly worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this until the burnt-offering was finished. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshipped. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the rulers commanded the Levites to sing praises to LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to LORD. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of LORD. And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and as many as were And the number of the burnt-offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for a burnt-offering to LORD. And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt-offerings. Therefore their brothers the Levites helped them till the work was ended, and until the priests had sanctified themselves. For the Levites were more 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 LORD was set in order.