2 Chronicles 29

ENGWEBEnglish36 verses

1Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.

2He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that David his father had done.

3He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of Yahweh’s house, and repaired them.

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

5and said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, and sanctify Yahweh’s house, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filthiness out of the holy place.

6For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of Yahweh, and turned their backs.

7Also 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.

8Therefore the wrath of Yahweh 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.

9For, behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.

11My sons, don’t be negligent now; for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that you should be his ministers, and burn incense.”

12Then 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;

13and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15They gathered their brothers, and sanctified themselves, and went in, according to the commandment of the king by Yahweh’s words, to cleanse Yahweh’s house.

16The priests went in to the inner part of Yahweh’s house, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in Yahweh’s temple into the court of Yahweh’s house. The Levites took it, to carry it out abroad to the brook Kidron.

17Now 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 Yahweh; and they sanctified Yahweh’s house in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

18Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within the palace, and said, “We have cleansed all Yahweh’s house, and the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and the table of show bread, with all its vessels.

19Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign threw away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.”

20Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to Yahweh’s house.

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

22So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: and they killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood on the altar: they killed also the lambs, and sprinkled the blood on the altar.

23They brought near the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands on them:

24and 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.

25He set the Levites in Yahweh’s house with cymbals, with stringed instruments, 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 Yahweh by his prophets.

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

27Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of Yahweh began also, and the trumpets, together with the instruments of David king of Israel.

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

29When they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.

30Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises to Yahweh with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

31Then Hezekiah answered, “Now you have consecrated yourselves to Yahweh; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into Yahweh’s house.” The assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.

32The 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 Yahweh.

33The consecrated things were six hundred head of cattle and three thousand sheep.

34But 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.

35Also 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 Yahweh’s house was set in order.

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

Commentary

Chapter 29 We are here entering upon a pleasant scene, the good and glorious reign of Hezekiah, in which we shall find more of God and religion than perhaps in any of the good reigns we have yet met with; for he was a very zealous, devout, good man, none like him. In this chapter we have an account of the work of reformation which he set about with vigour immediately after his accession to the crown. Here is, I. His exhortation to the priests and Levites, when he put them in possession of the house of God again (v. 1–11). II. The care and pains which the Levites took to cleanse the temple, and put things in order there (v. 12–19). III. A solemn revival of God’s ordinances that had been neglected, in which atonement was made for the sins of the last reign, and the wheels were set a-going again, to the great satisfaction of king and people (v. 20–36).Verses 1-11 Here is, I. Hezekiah’s age when he came to the crown. He was twenty-five years old. Joash, who came to the crown after two bad reigns, was but seven years old; Josiah, who came after two bad reigns, was but eight, which occasioned the delay of the reformation; but Hezekiah had come to years, and so applied himself immediately to it. We may well think with what a sorrowful heart he beheld his father’s idolatry and profaneness, how it troubled him to see the doors of the temple shut, though, while his father lived, he durst not open them. His soul no doubt wept in secret for it, and he vowed that when he should receive the congregation he would redress these grievances, which made him do it with more readiness and resolution.II. His general character. He did that which was right like David, v. 2. Of several of his predecessors it had been said that they did that which was right, but not like David, not with David’s integrity and zeal. But here was one that had as hearty an affection for the ark and law of God as ever David had.III. His speedy application to the great work of restoring religion. The first thing he did was to open the doors of the house of the Lord, v. 3. We are willing to hope his father had not quite suppressed the temple service; for then the holy fire on the altar must have gone out, and we do not read of the re-kindling of it; but he had hindered the people from attending it, and the priests, except such of them as were of his own party, 2 Ki. 16:15. But Hezekiah immediately threw the church doors open, and brought in the priests and Levites. He found Judah low and naked, yet did not make it his first business to revive the civil interests of his kingdom, but to restore religion to its good posture again. Those that begin with God begin at the right end of their work, and it will prosper accordingly.IV. His speech to the priests and Levites. It was well known, no doubt, that he had a real kindness for religion and was disaffected to the corruptions of the last reign; yet we do not find the priests and Levites making application to him for the restoration of the temple service but he calls upon them, which, I doubt, bespeaks their coldness as much as his zeal; and perhaps, if they had done their part with vigour, things would not have been brought into so very bad a posture as Hezekiah found them in. Hezekiah’s exhortation to the Levites is very pathetic.1. He laid before them the desolations of religion and the deplorable state to which it was brought among them (v. 6, 7): Our fathers have trespassed. He said not "My father," because it became him, as a son, to be as tender as might be of his father’s name, and because his father would not have done all this if their fathers had not neglected their duty. Urijah the priest had joined with Ahaz in setting up an idolatrous altar. He complained, (1.) That the house of God had been deserted: They have forsaken God, and turned their backs upon his habitation. Note, Those that turn their backs upon God’s ordinances may truly be said to forsake God himself. (2.) That the instituted worship of God there had been let fall. The lamps were not lighted, and incense was not burnt. There are still such neglects as these, and they are no less culpable, when the word is not duly read and opened (for that was signified by the lighting of the lamps) and when prayers and praises are not duly offered up, for that was signified by the burning of incense.2. He showed the sad consequences of the neglect and decay of religion among them, v. 8. 9. This was the cause of all the calamities they had lain under. God had in anger delivered them to trouble, to the sword, and to captivity. When we are under the rebukes of God’s providence it is good for us to enquire whether we have not neglected God’s ordinances and whether the controversy he has with us may not be traced to this neglect.3. He declared his own full purpose and resolution to revive religion and make it his business to promote it (v. 10): "It is in my heart (that is, I am fully resolved) to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel (that is, to worship him only, and in that way which he has appointed); for I am sure that, otherwise, his fierce anger will not turn away from us." This covenant he would not only make himself, but bring his people into the bond of.4. He engaged and excited the Levites and priests to do their duty on this occasion. This he begins with (v. 5); this he ends with, v. 11. He called them Levites to remind them of their obligation to God, called them his sons to remind them of the relation to himself, that he expected that, as a son with the father, they should serve with him in the reformation of the land. (1.

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG ሕዝቅያስም የሀያ አምስት ዓመት ጕልማሳ በነበረ ጊዜ መንገሥ ጀመረ፥ በኢየሩሳሌም ሀያ ዘጠኝ ዓመት ነገሠ፤ እናቱም የዘካርያስ ልጅ አቡ ትባል ነበር። አማርኛ ENGNIV Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's nam… English BCV ሕዝቅያስ ክነግስ እንተሎ ወዲ ዕስራን ሓሙሽተን ዓመት ነበረ። ኣብ ኢየሩሳሌም ኮይኑ ኸዓ ዕስራን ትሽዓተን ዓመት ገዝአ። እኖኡ ኣቡ እትበሃል ጓል ዘካርያስ ነበረት። ትግርኛ GAZBIB Hisqiyaas yommuu mootii ta'e nama waggaa digdamii shanii ture; inni Yerusaalem keessa taa'ee waggaa digdamii sagal mo'e… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ከዊኖ ወልደ ዕሥራ ወኀምስቱ ዓመት ወዕሥራ ወተስዐተ ዓመተ ነግሠ በኢየሩሳሌም፤ ወስመ እሙ አባኡት ወለተ ዘካርያስ። giz GAZGAZ Hisqiyaas yommuu mootii ta'e nama waggaa digdamii shanii ture; inni Yerusaalem keessa taa'ee waggaa digdamii sagal mo'e… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum ሕዝቅያስ ክነግስ እንተሎ ወዲ ዕስራን ሓሙሽተን ዓመት ነበረ። ኣብ ኢየሩሳሌም ኮይኑ ኸዓ ዕስራን ትሽዓተን ዓመት ገዝአ። እኖኡ ኣቡ እትበሃል ጓል ዘካርያስ ነበረት። ትግርኛ AMHNIV ሕዝቅያስ በነገሠ ጊዜ ዕድሜው ሃያ አምስት ዓመት ነበር፤ በኢየሩሳሌም ተቀምጦም ሃያ ዘጠኝ ዓመት ገዛ። እናቱም አቡ የተባለች፤ የዘካርያስ ልጅ ነበረች። አማርኛ