2 Chronicles 31
Idols Are Destroyed
1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, abroke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the ▼▼I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until ▼▼Lit to completion
they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession. 2 And Hezekiah appointed dthe divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, efor burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord. Reforms Continued
3 He also appointed fthe king’s portion of his property for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the appointed festivals, gas it is written in the Law of the Lord. 4Also he told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give hthe portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to ithe Law of the Lord. 5As soon as the ▼▼Lit word
order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly kthe tithe of everything. 6The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and lthe tithe of ▼▼Lit consecrated things
sacred gifts which were consecrated to the Lord their God, and placed them in heaps. 7In the third month they began to ▼▼Lit lay
make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. 8When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and oHis people Israel. 9Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10Azariah, the chief priest pof the house of Zadok, said to ▼▼Lit him, and he said
him, “ rSince the contributions started coming into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.” 11 Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare srooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. 12They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge tof them, and his brother Shimei was second. 13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers ▼▼Lit from the hand of
under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and vAzariah was the chief officer of the house of God. 14Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the ▼▼Or freewill offerings
voluntary offerings for God, to distribute the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. 15 ▼▼Lit On his hand
Under his authority were yEden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in zthe cities of the priests, to distribute their portions faithfully to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, 16without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from ▼▼Heb three
,
abthirty years old and upward --everyone who entered the house of the Lord acfor his daily obligations--for their work in their duties according to their divisions; 17as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites adfrom twenty years old and upward, by their duties and their divisions. 18The genealogical enrollment included ▼▼Lit with all
all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves ▼▼Lit in their faithfulness
faithfully in holiness. 19Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in agthe pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, ahthere were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites. 20 Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and aihe did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. 21Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in the Law and in the commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and ajprospered.
Copyright information for
NASB2020