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Selected Verse: 2 Chronicles 29:3 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
2Ch 29:3	Strong Concordance	He in the first [07223] year [08141] of his reign [04427], in the first [07223] month [02320], opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and repaired [02388] them.
	King James	He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
HE RESTORES RELIGION. (Ch2 29:3-11) in the first year of his reign, in the first month--not the first month after his accession to the throne, but in Nisan, the first month of the sacred year, the season appointed for the celebration of the passover. he opened the doors of the house of the Lord--which had been closed up by his father (Ch2 28:24). and repaired them--or embellished them (compare Kg2 18:16).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

HE RESTORES RELIGION. (Ch2 29:3-11)

in the first year of his reign, in the first month--not the first month after his accession to the throne, but in Nisan, the first month of the sacred year, the season appointed for the celebration of the passover.

he opened the doors of the house of the Lord--which had been closed up by his father (Ch2 28:24).

and repaired them--or embellished them (compare Kg2 18:16).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
By "the first month" is meant (compare Ch2 30:2-3) the month of Nisan, the first of the Jewish sacred year, not necessarily the first month of Hezekiah's reign.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
first month That is, April.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The purification of the temple by the priests and Levites. - Ch2 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 Ch2 24:12, where it alternates with הדּשׁ). Cf. herewith the remark in Kg2 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 Ch2 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 Ch2 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 (Ch2 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 (Beitrge z. Einleit. in d. B. Jesaiah, S. 111) thinks that the first month (Ch2 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 Ch2 29:3 from that in which it is used in Ch2 29:17. We therefore hold, with Berth. and others, the first month, both in Ch2 29:3 and in Ch2 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 (Ch2 29:7), while the preparations for it which preceded were yet, according to Ch2 29:3, made also in the first month, is removed if we take Ch2 29:3 to be a comprehensive summary of what is described in the following verses, and regard the connection between Ch2 29:3 and Ch2 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 (Ch2 29:3), did not precede in time the summons to the priests (Ch2 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 Ch2 29:4-17. If we take Ch2 29:3 as a statement of the contents of the succeeding section, - as are e.g., (Kg1 6:14; Kg1 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 Ch2 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 Ch2 29:17. Ch2 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 Ezr 10:9 -and called upon them (Ch2 29:5) to sanctify themselves, and then to sanctify the house of the Lord. To purify the temple they must first sanctify themselves (cf. Ch2 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 Ch2 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 (Ch2 29:6, Ch2 29:7), and to the wrath of God which had on that account come upon them (Ch2 29:8, Ch2 29:9). "Our fathers" (Ch2 29:6), that is, Ahaz and his contemporaries, for only these had been guilty of displeasing God in the ways mentioned in Ch2 29:6 and Ch2 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. Ch2 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 Ch2 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, Ch2 29:7, is the whole sanctuary, with the court of the priests. Ch2 29:8-9 Wherefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Cf. for the expression, Ch2 24:18; Ch2 32:25; on Ch2 29:8, cf. Deu 28:25, Deu 28:37; Jer 24:9; Jer 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 (Ch2 28:5., Ch2 28:17-21), are here referred to, as we learn from Ch2 29:9. Ch2 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 Ch2 6:7; Ch2 9:1; Ch1 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. Pro 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 Ch2 29:11, cf. Deu 10:8; Ch1 23:13. Ch2 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 Ch2 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, Exo 6:18, who in the time of Moses was prince of the family of Kohath, Num 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 Ch1 6:18-32. Of these names, Mahath, Eden, and Jehiel occur again in Ch2 31:13-15; several others, Joah ben Zimmah and Kish ben Abdi, have occurred already in the genealogy, Ch1 6:5. and Ch2 29:29, for in the various families the same name often repeats itself. Ch2 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. Ch2 30:12. Ch2 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 (Ch2 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 Kg2 23:4. Ch2 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. Ch2 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 (Kg2 16:14, Kg2 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. Ch2 29:21.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The purification of the temple by the priests and Levites. - Ch2 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 Ch2 24:12, where it alternates with הדּשׁ). Cf. herewith the remark in Kg2 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 Ch2 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 Ch2 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 (Ch2 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 (Beitrge z. Einleit. in d. B. Jesaiah, S. 111) thinks that the first month (Ch2 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 Ch2 29:3 from that in which it is used in Ch2 29:17. We therefore hold, with Berth. and others, the first month, both in Ch2 29:3 and in Ch2 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 (Ch2 29:7), while the preparations for it which preceded were yet, according to Ch2 29:3, made also in the first month, is removed if we take Ch2 29:3 to be a comprehensive summary of what is described in the following verses, and regard the connection between Ch2 29:3 and Ch2 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 (Ch2 29:3), did not precede in time the summons to the priests (Ch2 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 Ch2 29:4-17. If we take Ch2 29:3 as a statement of the contents of the succeeding section, - as are e.g., (Kg1 6:14; Kg1 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 Ch2 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 Ch2 29:17.

Ch2 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 Ezr 10:9 -and called upon them (Ch2 29:5) to sanctify themselves, and then to sanctify the house of the Lord. To purify the temple they must first sanctify themselves (cf. Ch2 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 Ch2 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 (Ch2 29:6, Ch2 29:7), and to the wrath of God which had on that account come upon them (Ch2 29:8, Ch2 29:9). "Our fathers" (Ch2 29:6), that is, Ahaz and his contemporaries, for only these had been guilty of displeasing God in the ways mentioned in Ch2 29:6 and Ch2 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.

Ch2 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 Ch2 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, Ch2 29:7, is the whole sanctuary, with the court of the priests.

Ch2 29:8-9

Wherefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem. Cf. for the expression, Ch2 24:18; Ch2 32:25; on Ch2 29:8, cf. Deu 28:25, Deu 28:37; Jer 24:9; Jer 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 (Ch2 28:5., Ch2 28:17-21), are here referred to, as we learn from Ch2 29:9.

Ch2 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 Ch2 6:7; Ch2 9:1; Ch1 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. Pro 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 Ch2 29:11, cf. Deu 10:8; Ch1 23:13.

Ch2 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 Ch2 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, Exo 6:18, who in the time of Moses was prince of the family of Kohath, Num 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 Ch1 6:18-32. Of these names, Mahath, Eden, and Jehiel occur again in Ch2 31:13-15; several others, Joah ben Zimmah and Kish ben Abdi, have occurred already in the genealogy, Ch1 6:5. and Ch2 29:29, for in the various families the same name often repeats itself.

Ch2 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. Ch2 30:12.

Ch2 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 (Ch2 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 Kg2 23:4.

Ch2 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.

Ch2 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 (Kg2 16:14, Kg2 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. Ch2 29:21.

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¹⁶ At that time [06256] did Hezekiah [02396] cut off [07112] the gold from the doors [01817] of the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068], and from the pillars [0547] which Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] had overlaid [06823], and gave [05414] it to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804].

²⁴ And Ahaz [0271] gathered together [0622] the vessels [03627] of the house [01004] of God [0430], and cut in pieces [07112] the vessels [03627] of the house [01004] of God [0430], and shut up [05462] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and he made [06213] him altars [04196] in every corner [06438] of Jerusalem [03389].

³ He in the first [07223] year [08141] of his reign [04427], in the first [07223] month [02320], opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and repaired [02388] them.
⁴ And he brought in [0935] the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881], and gathered them together [0622] into the east [04217] street [07339],
⁵ And said [0559] unto them, Hear [08085] me, ye Levites [03881], sanctify [06942] now yourselves, and sanctify [06942] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of your fathers [01], and carry forth [03318] the filthiness [05079] out of the holy [06944] place.
⁶ For our fathers [01] have trespassed [04603], and done [06213] that which was evil [07451] in the eyes [05869] of the LORD [03068] our God [0430], and have forsaken [05800] him, and have turned away [05437] their faces [06440] from the habitation [04908] of the LORD [03068], and turned [05414] their backs [06203].
⁷ Also they have shut up [05462] the doors [01817] of the porch [0197], and put out [03518] the lamps [05216], and have not burned [06999] incense [07004] nor offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930] in the holy [06944] place unto the God [0430] of Israel [03478].
⁸ Wherefore the wrath [07110] of the LORD [03068] was upon Judah [03063] and Jerusalem [03389], and he hath delivered [05414] them to trouble [02189] [02113], to astonishment [08047], and to hissing [08322], as ye see [07200] with your eyes [05869].
⁹ For, lo, our fathers [01] have fallen [05307] by the sword [02719], and our sons [01121] and our daughters [01323] and our wives [0802] are in captivity [07628] for this.
¹⁰ Now it is in mine heart [03824] to make [03772] a covenant [01285] with the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], that his fierce [02740] wrath [0639] may turn away [07725] from us.
¹¹ My sons [01121], be not now negligent [07952]: for the LORD [03068] hath chosen [0977] you to stand [05975] before [06440] him, to serve [08334] him, and that ye should minister [08334] unto him, and burn incense [06999].

² For the king [04428] had taken counsel [03289], and his princes [08269], and all the congregation [06951] in Jerusalem [03389], to keep [06213] the passover [06453] in the second [08145] month [02320].
³ For they could [03201] not keep [06213] it at that time [06256], because the priests [03548] had not sanctified [06942] themselves sufficiently [04078] [01767], neither had the people [05971] gathered themselves together [0622] to Jerusalem [03389].

²¹ And they brought [0935] seven [07651] bullocks [06499], and seven [07651] rams [0352], and seven [07651] lambs [03532], and seven [07651] he [06842] goats [05795], for a sin offering [02403] for the kingdom [04467], and for the sanctuary [04720], and for Judah [03063]. And he commanded [0559] the priests [03548] the sons [01121] of Aaron [0175] to offer [05927] them on the altar [04196] of the LORD [03068].

¹⁷ And king [04428] Ahaz [0271] cut off [07112] the borders [04526] of the bases [04350], and removed [05493] the laver [03595] from off them; and took down [03381] the sea [03220] from off the brasen [05178] oxen [01241] that were under it, and put [05414] it upon a pavement [04837] of stones [068].

¹⁴ And he brought [07126] also the brasen [05178] altar [04196], which was before [06440] the LORD [03068], from the forefront [06440] of the house [01004], from between the altar [04196] and the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and put [05414] it on the north [06828] side [03409] of the altar [04196].

¹⁸ Then they went [0935] in [06441] to Hezekiah [02396] the king [04428], and said [0559], We have cleansed [02891] all the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and the altar [04196] of burnt offering [05930], with all the vessels [03627] thereof, and the shewbread [04635] table [07979], with all the vessels [03627] thereof.
¹⁹ Moreover all the vessels [03627], which king [04428] Ahaz [0271] in his reign [04438] did cast away [02186] in his transgression [04604], have we prepared [03559] and sanctified [06942], and, behold, they are before [06440] the altar [04196] of the LORD [03068].

¹⁷ Now they began [02490] on the first [0259] day of the first [07223] month [02320] to sanctify [06942], and on the eighth [08083] day [03117] of the month [02320] came [0935] they to the porch [0197] of the LORD [03068]: so they sanctified [06942] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] in eight [08083] days [03117]; and in the sixteenth [08337] [06240] day of the first [07223] month [02320] they made an end [03615].

⁴ And the king [04428] commanded [06680] Hilkiah [02518] the high [01419] priest [03548], and the priests [03548] of the second order [04932], and the keepers [08104] of the door [05592], to bring forth [03318] out of the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068] all the vessels [03627] that were made [06213] for Baal [01168], and for the grove [0842], and for all the host [06635] of heaven [08064]: and he burned [08313] them without [02351] Jerusalem [03389] in the fields [07709] of Kidron [06939], and carried [05375] the ashes [06083] of them unto Bethel [01008].

¹⁶ And the priests [03548] went [0935] into the inner part [06441] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], to cleanse [02891] it, and brought out [03318] all the uncleanness [02932] that they found [04672] in the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068] into the court [02691] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068]. And the Levites [03881] took [06901] it, to carry it out [03318] abroad [02351] into the brook [05158] Kidron [06939].

¹² Also in Judah [03063] the hand [03027] of God [0430] was to give [05414] them one [0259] heart [03820] to do [06213] the commandment [04687] of the king [04428] and of the princes [08269], by the word [01697] of the LORD [03068].

¹⁵ And they gathered [0622] their brethren [0251], and sanctified [06942] themselves, and came [0935], according to the commandment [04687] of the king [04428], by the words [01697] of the LORD [03068], to cleanse [02891] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

²⁹ And when they had made an end [03615] of offering [05927], the king [04428] and all that were present [04672] with him bowed [03766] themselves, and worshipped [07812].

⁵ And Abishua [050] begat [03205] Bukki [01231], and Bukki [01231] begat [03205] Uzzi [05813],

¹³ And Jehiel [03171], and Azaziah [05812], and Nahath [05184], and Asahel [06214], and Jerimoth [03406], and Jozabad [03107], and Eliel [0447], and Ismachiah [03253], and Mahath [04287], and Benaiah [01141], were overseers [06496] under the hand [03027] of Cononiah [03562] and Shimei [08096] his brother [0251], at the commandment [04662] of Hezekiah [03169] the king [04428], and Azariah [05838] the ruler [05057] of the house [01004] of God [0430].
¹⁴ And Kore [06981] the son [01121] of Imnah [03232] the Levite [03881], the porter [07778] toward the east [04217], was over the freewill offerings [05071] of God [0430], to distribute [05414] the oblations [08641] of the LORD [03068], and the most [06944] holy things [06944].
¹⁵ And next him were Eden [05731], and Miniamin [04509], and Jeshua [03442], and Shemaiah [08098], Amariah [0568], and Shecaniah [07935], in the cities [05892] of the priests [03548], in their set office [0530], to give [05414] to their brethren [0251] by [03027] courses [04256], as well to the great [01419] as to the small [06996]:

¹⁸ And the sons [01121] of Kohath [06955] were, Amram [06019], and Izhar [03324], and Hebron [02275], and Uzziel [05816].
¹⁹ The sons [01121] of Merari [04847]; Mahli [04249], and Mushi [04187]. And these are the families [04940] of the Levites [03881] according to their fathers [01].
²⁰ Of Gershom [01647]; Libni [03845] his son [01121], Jahath [03189] his son [01121], Zimmah [02155] his son [01121],
²¹ Joah [03098] his son [01121], Iddo [05714] his son [01121], Zerah [02226] his son [01121], Jeaterai [02979] his son [01121].
²² The sons [01121] of Kohath [06955]; Amminadab [05992] his son [01121], Korah [07141] his son [01121], Assir [0617] his son [01121],
²³ Elkanah [0511] his son [01121], and Ebiasaph [043] his son [01121], and Assir [0617] his son [01121],
²⁴ Tahath [08480] his son [01121], Uriel [0222] his son [01121], Uzziah [05818] his son [01121], and Shaul [07586] his son [01121].
²⁵ And the sons [01121] of Elkanah [0511]; Amasai [06022], and Ahimoth [0287].
²⁶ As for Elkanah [0511]: the sons [01121] of Elkanah [0511]; Zophai [06689] his son [01121], and Nahath [05184] his son [01121],
²⁷ Eliab [0446] his son [01121], Jeroham [03395] his son [01121], Elkanah [0511] his son [01121].
²⁸ And the sons [01121] of Samuel [08050]; the firstborn [01060] Vashni [02059], and Abiah [029].
²⁹ The sons [01121] of Merari [04847]; Mahli [04249], Libni [03845] his son [01121], Shimei [08096] his son [01121], Uzza [05798] his son [01121],
³⁰ Shimea [08092] his son [01121], Haggiah [02293] his son [01121], Asaiah [06222] his son [01121].
³¹ And these are they whom David [01732] set [05975] over the service [03027] of song [07892] in the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], after that the ark [0727] had rest [04494].
³² And they ministered [08334] before [06440] the dwelling [04908] place of the tabernacle [0168] of the congregation [04150] with singing [07892], until Solomon [08010] had built [01129] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] in Jerusalem [03389]: and then they waited [05975] on their office [05656] according to their order [04941].

³⁰ And the chief [05387] of the house [01004] of the father [01] of the families [04940] of the Kohathites [06956] shall be Elizaphan [0469] the son [01121] of Uzziel [05816].

¹⁸ And the sons [01121] of Kohath [06955]; Amram [06019], and Izhar [03324], and Hebron [02275], and Uzziel [05816]: and the years [08141] of the life [02416] of Kohath [06955] were an hundred [03967] thirty [07970] and three [07969] years [08141].

¹² Then the Levites [03881] arose [06965], Mahath [04287] the son [01121] of Amasai [06022], and Joel [03100] the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], of the sons [01121] of the Kohathites [06956]: and of the sons [01121] of Merari [04847], Kish [07027] the son [01121] of Abdi [05660], and Azariah [05838] the son [01121] of Jehalelel [03094]: and of the Gershonites [01649]; Joah [03098] the son [01121] of Zimmah [02155], and Eden [05731] the son [01121] of Joah [03098]:
¹³ And of the sons [01121] of Elizaphan [0469]; Shimri [08113], and Jeiel [03273]: and of the sons [01121] of Asaph [0623]; Zechariah [02148], and Mattaniah [04983]:
¹⁴ And of the sons [01121] of Heman [01968]; Jehiel [03171], and Shimei [08096]: and of the sons [01121] of Jeduthun [03038]; Shemaiah [08098], and Uzziel [05816].

¹³ The sons [01121] of Amram [06019]; Aaron [0175] and Moses [04872]: and Aaron [0175] was separated [0914], that he should sanctify [06942] the most [06944] holy things [06944], he and his sons [01121] for [05704] ever [05769], to burn incense [06999] before [06440] the LORD [03068], to minister [08334] unto him, and to bless [01288] in his name [08034] for [05704] ever [05769].

⁸ At that time [06256] the LORD [03068] separated [0914] the tribe [07626] of Levi [03878], to bear [05375] the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068], to stand [05975] before [06440] the LORD [03068] to minister [08334] unto him, and to bless [01288] in his name [08034], unto this day [03117].

¹¹ My sons [01121], be not now negligent [07952]: for the LORD [03068] hath chosen [0977] you to stand [05975] before [06440] him, to serve [08334] him, and that ye should minister [08334] unto him, and burn incense [06999].

⁸ For what is the hope [08615] of the hypocrite [02611], though he hath gained [01214], when God [0433] taketh away [07953] his soul [05315]?

⁸ My son [01121], hear [08085] the instruction [04148] of thy father [01], and forsake [05203] not the law [08451] of thy mother [0517]:

² Then David [01732] the king [04428] stood up [06965] upon his feet [07272], and said [0559], Hear [08085] me, my brethren [0251], and my people [05971]: As for me, I had in mine heart [03824] to build [01129] an house [01004] of rest [04496] for the ark [0727] of the covenant [01285] of the LORD [03068], and for the footstool [01916] [07272] of our God [0430], and had made ready [03559] for the building [01129]:

¹ And when the queen [04436] of Sheba [07614] heard [08085] of the fame [08088] of Solomon [08010], she came [0935] to prove [05254] Solomon [08010] with hard questions [02420] at Jerusalem [03389], with a very [03966] great [03515] company [02428], and camels [01581] that bare [05375] spices [01314], and gold [02091] in abundance [07230], and precious [03368] stones [068]: and when she was come [0935] to Solomon [08010], she communed [01696] with him of all that was in her heart [03824].

⁷ Now it was in the heart [03824] of David [01732] my father [01] to build [01129] an house [01004] for the name [08034] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].

¹⁰ Now it is in mine heart [03824] to make [03772] a covenant [01285] with the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], that his fierce [02740] wrath [0639] may turn away [07725] from us.
¹¹ My sons [01121], be not now negligent [07952]: for the LORD [03068] hath chosen [0977] you to stand [05975] before [06440] him, to serve [08334] him, and that ye should minister [08334] unto him, and burn incense [06999].

⁹ For, lo, our fathers [01] have fallen [05307] by the sword [02719], and our sons [01121] and our daughters [01323] and our wives [0802] are in captivity [07628] for this.

¹⁷ For again the Edomites [0130] had come [0935] and smitten [05221] Judah [03063], and carried away [07617] captives [07628].
¹⁸ The Philistines [06430] also had invaded [06584] the cities [05892] of the low country [08219], and of the south [05045] of Judah [03063], and had taken [03920] Bethshemesh [01053], and Ajalon [0357], and Gederoth [01450], and Shocho [07755] with the villages [01323] thereof, and Timnah [08553] with the villages [01323] thereof, Gimzo [01579] also and the villages [01323] thereof: and they dwelt [03427] there.
¹⁹ For the LORD [03068] brought [03665] Judah [03063] low [03665] because of Ahaz [0271] king [04428] of Israel [03478]; for he made [06544] Judah [03063] naked [06544], and transgressed [04603] sore [04604] against the LORD [03068].
²⁰ And Tilgathpilneser [08407] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] came [0935] unto him, and distressed [06696] him, but strengthened [02388] him not.
²¹ For Ahaz [0271] took away a portion [02505] out of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and out of the house [01004] of the king [04428], and of the princes [08269], and gave [05414] it unto the king [04428] of Assyria [0804]: but he helped [05833] him not.

⁵ Wherefore the LORD [03068] his God [0430] delivered [05414] him into the hand [03027] of the king [04428] of Syria [0758]; and they smote [05221] him, and carried away [07617] a great multitude [01419] of them captives [07633], and brought [0935] them to Damascus [01834]. And he was also delivered [05414] into the hand [03027] of the king [04428] of Israel [03478], who smote [05221] him with a great [01419] slaughter [04347].

⁹ Behold, I will send [07971] and take [03947] all the families [04940] of the north [06828], saith [05002] the LORD [03068], and Nebuchadrezzar [05019] the king [04428] of Babylon [0894], my servant [05650], and will bring [0935] them against this land [0776], and against the inhabitants [03427] thereof, and against all these nations [01471] round about [05439], and will utterly destroy [02763] them, and make [07760] them an astonishment [08047], and an hissing [08322], and perpetual [05769] desolations [02723].

⁹ And I will deliver [05414] them to be removed [02189] [02113] into all the kingdoms [04467] of the earth [0776] for their hurt [07451], to be a reproach [02781] and a proverb [04912], a taunt [08148] and a curse [07045], in all places [04725] whither I shall drive [05080] them.

³⁷ And thou shalt become an astonishment [08047], a proverb [04912], and a byword [08148], among all nations [05971] whither the LORD [03068] shall lead [05090] thee.

²⁵ The LORD [03068] shall cause [05414] thee to be smitten [05062] before [06440] thine enemies [0341]: thou shalt go out [03318] one [0259] way [01870] against them, and flee [05127] seven [07651] ways [01870] before [06440] them: and shalt be removed [02189] into all the kingdoms [04467] of the earth [0776].

²⁵ But Hezekiah [03169] rendered not again [07725] according to the benefit [01576] done unto him; for his heart [03820] was lifted up [01361]: therefore there was wrath [07110] upon him, and upon Judah [03063] and Jerusalem [03389].

¹⁸ And they left [05800] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of their fathers [01], and served [05647] groves [0842] and idols [06091]: and wrath [07110] came upon Judah [03063] and Jerusalem [03389] for this their trespass [0819].

⁸ Wherefore the wrath [07110] of the LORD [03068] was upon Judah [03063] and Jerusalem [03389], and he hath delivered [05414] them to trouble [02189] [02113], to astonishment [08047], and to hissing [08322], as ye see [07200] with your eyes [05869].
⁹ For, lo, our fathers [01] have fallen [05307] by the sword [02719], and our sons [01121] and our daughters [01323] and our wives [0802] are in captivity [07628] for this.

⁷ Also they have shut up [05462] the doors [01817] of the porch [0197], and put out [03518] the lamps [05216], and have not burned [06999] incense [07004] nor offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930] in the holy [06944] place unto the God [0430] of Israel [03478].

⁶ For our fathers [01] have trespassed [04603], and done [06213] that which was evil [07451] in the eyes [05869] of the LORD [03068] our God [0430], and have forsaken [05800] him, and have turned away [05437] their faces [06440] from the habitation [04908] of the LORD [03068], and turned [05414] their backs [06203].

⁹ For, lo, our fathers [01] have fallen [05307] by the sword [02719], and our sons [01121] and our daughters [01323] and our wives [0802] are in captivity [07628] for this.

⁵ And said [0559] unto them, Hear [08085] me, ye Levites [03881], sanctify [06942] now yourselves, and sanctify [06942] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of your fathers [01], and carry forth [03318] the filthiness [05079] out of the holy [06944] place.

⁹ Then all the men [0582] of Judah [03063] and Benjamin [01144] gathered themselves together [06908] unto Jerusalem [03389] within three [07969] days [03117]. It was the ninth [08671] month [02320], on the twentieth [06242] day of the month [02320]; and all the people [05971] sat [03427] in the street [07339] of the house [01004] of God [0430], trembling [07460] because of this matter [01697], and for the great rain [01653].

⁴ And he brought in [0935] the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881], and gathered them together [0622] into the east [04217] street [07339],
⁵ And said [0559] unto them, Hear [08085] me, ye Levites [03881], sanctify [06942] now yourselves, and sanctify [06942] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of your fathers [01], and carry forth [03318] the filthiness [05079] out of the holy [06944] place.
⁶ For our fathers [01] have trespassed [04603], and done [06213] that which was evil [07451] in the eyes [05869] of the LORD [03068] our God [0430], and have forsaken [05800] him, and have turned away [05437] their faces [06440] from the habitation [04908] of the LORD [03068], and turned [05414] their backs [06203].
⁷ Also they have shut up [05462] the doors [01817] of the porch [0197], and put out [03518] the lamps [05216], and have not burned [06999] incense [07004] nor offered [05927] burnt offerings [05930] in the holy [06944] place unto the God [0430] of Israel [03478].
⁸ Wherefore the wrath [07110] of the LORD [03068] was upon Judah [03063] and Jerusalem [03389], and he hath delivered [05414] them to trouble [02189] [02113], to astonishment [08047], and to hissing [08322], as ye see [07200] with your eyes [05869].
⁹ For, lo, our fathers [01] have fallen [05307] by the sword [02719], and our sons [01121] and our daughters [01323] and our wives [0802] are in captivity [07628] for this.
¹⁰ Now it is in mine heart [03824] to make [03772] a covenant [01285] with the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], that his fierce [02740] wrath [0639] may turn away [07725] from us.
¹¹ My sons [01121], be not now negligent [07952]: for the LORD [03068] hath chosen [0977] you to stand [05975] before [06440] him, to serve [08334] him, and that ye should minister [08334] unto him, and burn incense [06999].
¹² Then the Levites [03881] arose [06965], Mahath [04287] the son [01121] of Amasai [06022], and Joel [03100] the son [01121] of Azariah [05838], of the sons [01121] of the Kohathites [06956]: and of the sons [01121] of Merari [04847], Kish [07027] the son [01121] of Abdi [05660], and Azariah [05838] the son [01121] of Jehalelel [03094]: and of the Gershonites [01649]; Joah [03098] the son [01121] of Zimmah [02155], and Eden [05731] the son [01121] of Joah [03098]:
¹³ And of the sons [01121] of Elizaphan [0469]; Shimri [08113], and Jeiel [03273]: and of the sons [01121] of Asaph [0623]; Zechariah [02148], and Mattaniah [04983]:
¹⁴ And of the sons [01121] of Heman [01968]; Jehiel [03171], and Shimei [08096]: and of the sons [01121] of Jeduthun [03038]; Shemaiah [08098], and Uzziel [05816].
¹⁵ And they gathered [0622] their brethren [0251], and sanctified [06942] themselves, and came [0935], according to the commandment [04687] of the king [04428], by the words [01697] of the LORD [03068], to cleanse [02891] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

¹ But Solomon [08010] was building [01129] his own house [01004] thirteen [07969] [06240] years [08141], and he finished [03615] all his house [01004].

¹⁴ So Solomon [08010] built [01129] the house [01004], and finished [03615] it.

³ He in the first [07223] year [08141] of his reign [04427], in the first [07223] month [02320], opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and repaired [02388] them.

⁴ And he brought in [0935] the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881], and gathered them together [0622] into the east [04217] street [07339],

³ He in the first [07223] year [08141] of his reign [04427], in the first [07223] month [02320], opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and repaired [02388] them.

⁴ And he brought in [0935] the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881], and gathered them together [0622] into the east [04217] street [07339],

³ He in the first [07223] year [08141] of his reign [04427], in the first [07223] month [02320], opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and repaired [02388] them.

⁴ And he brought in [0935] the priests [03548] and the Levites [03881], and gathered them together [0622] into the east [04217] street [07339],

¹² And the king [04428] and Jehoiada [03077] gave [05414] it to such as did [06213] the work [04399] of the service [05656] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and hired [07936] masons [02672] and carpenters [02796] to repair [02318] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and also such as wrought [02796] iron [01270] and brass [05178] to mend [02388] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068].

³ He in the first [07223] year [08141] of his reign [04427], in the first [07223] month [02320], opened [06605] the doors [01817] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and repaired [02388] them.