2Ch 29-32 | NASB2020 | STEP | Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old ; and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem . And his mother’s name was Abijah , the daughter of Zechariah .

2 Chronicles 29

Hezekiah Succeeds Ahaz in Judah

1 ^aHezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 ^bHe did what was right in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that his father David had done.

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^copened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the public square on the east.

Reforms Begun

5 Then he said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites. ^dConsecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out of the holy place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have abandoned Him and ^eturned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and have ^{▼▼Lit given}turned their backs. 7 They have also ^gshut the doors of the porch and extinguished the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore ^hthe wrath of the Lord was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of ⁱhissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, ^jour fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this. 10 Now it is in my heart ^kto make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that His burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for ^lthe Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and burn incense.”

12 Then the Levites arose: ^mMahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, from the sons of ⁿthe Kohathites; and from the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and from the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and ^{▼▼Or Jeuel}Jeiel; and from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and from the sons of Heman, ^{▼▼Another reading is Jehuel}Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They assembled their brothers, ^qconsecrated themselves, and went in ^rto cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king ^sby the words of the Lord. 16 So the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord out to the courtyard of the house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to ^tthe Kidron ^{▼▼Or wadi}Valley. 17 Now they began ^{▼▼Lit to consecrate}the consecration ^won the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the Lord. Then they consecrated the house of the Lord in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. 18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the showbread with all of its utensils. 19 Moreover, ^xall the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then King Hezekiah got up early and assembled the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ^yas a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. And he ordered the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. They also slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar; they slaughtered the lambs as well, and ^zsprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought the male goats of the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and ^aathey laid their hands on them. 24 The priests slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood ^abto atone for all Israel, because the king ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

25 ^acHe then stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, ^adaccording to the command of David and of ^aeGad, the king’s seer, and of ^afNathan the prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with ^agthe musical instruments of David, and ^ahthe priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, ^aithe song to the Lord also began with the trumpets, ^{▼▼Lit and on the hands of}accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel. 28 While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.

29 Now at the completion of the burnt offerings, ^akthe king and all who were present with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the seer. ^alSo they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, “ ^amNow that you have ^{▼▼Lit filled your hands}consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come forward and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and ^aoeveryone who was ^{▼▼Lit willing of heart}willing brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all of these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 The consecrated offerings were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; ^aqtherefore their brothers the Levites helped them until the work was finished and the other priests had consecrated themselves. For ^arthe Levites were more ^{▼▼Lit upright of heart}conscientious to consecrate themselves than the priests. 35 There were also ^{▼▼Lit the burnt offerings to an abundance
,} ^aumany burnt offerings with ^avthe fat of the peace offerings and ^awthe drink offerings for the burnt offerings. So the service of the house of the Lord was established again. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

2 Chronicles 30

All Israel Invited to the Passover

1 Now Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to ^{▼▼Lit do, and so throughout the ch}celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had decided ^ayto celebrate the Passover in the second month, 3 since they could not celebrate it ^azat that time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem. 4 So the ^{▼▼Lit word}decision was right in the sight of the king and all the assembly. 5 So they established a decree to circulate a ^{▼▼Lit voice}proclamation throughout Israel ^bcfrom Beersheba to Dan, that they are to come to celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem. For they had not celebrated it in great numbers as was written. 6 ^bdThe ^{▼▼Lit runners}couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes, even according to the command of the king, saying, “Sons of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that He may return to those of you who escaped and are left from ^bfthe ^{▼▼Lit palm}hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 ^bhDo not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were untrue to the Lord God of their fathers, so that ^biHe made them an object of horror, just as you see. 8 Now do not ^bjstiffen your neck like your fathers, but ^{▼▼Lit give a hand}yield to the Lord and enter His sanctuary which He has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^blthat His burning anger may turn away from you. 9 For ^bmif you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will find compassion in the presence of those who led them captive, and will return to this land. ^bnFor the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

10 So the ^{▼▼Lit runners}couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but ^bpthey laughed at them with scorn and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless, ^bqsome men of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The ^brhand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

Passover Reinstituted

13 Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^bsin the second month, a very large assembly. 14 They got up and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem; they also ^btremoved all the incense altars and ^buthrew them into the brook Kidron. 15 Then ^bvthey slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth of the second month. And ^bwthe priests and Levites were ashamed of themselves, and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. 16 ^bxThey stood at their stations following their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves; therefore, ^bythe Levites were in charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was unclean, in order to consecrate them to the Lord. 18 For a multitude of the people, ^bzmany from Ephraim and Manasseh, and Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, ^cayet they ate the Passover ^cbcontrary to what was written. For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon 19 ^cceveryone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” 20 So the Lord heard Hezekiah and ^cdhealed the people. 21 The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem ^cecelebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests were praising the Lord day after day with loud instruments to the Lord. 22 Then Hezekiah ^cfspoke ^{▼▼Lit to the heart of}encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of the Lord. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and ^chgiving thanks to the Lord God of their fathers.

23 Then the whole assembly ^cidecided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy. 24 For ^cjHezekiah king of Judah had contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the princes had contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and ^cka large number of priests consecrated themselves. 25 All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and ^clall the assembly that came from Israel, both the strangers who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem ^cmsince the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. 27 Then ^cnthe Levitical priests stood and ^coblessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to ^cpHis holy dwelling place, to heaven.

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, ^cqbroke 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 ^ctthe divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, ^cufor 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 ^cvthe 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, ^cwas it is written in the Law of the Lord. 4 Also he told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give ^cxthe portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to ^cythe Law of the Lord. 5 As 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 ^dathe tithe of everything. 6 The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and ^dbthe tithe of ^{▼▼Lit consecrated things}sacred gifts which were consecrated to the Lord their God, and placed them in heaps. 7 In the third month they began to ^{▼▼Lit lay}make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and ^deHis people Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 Azariah, the chief priest ^dfof the house of Zadok, said to ^{▼▼Lit him, and he said}him, “ ^dhSince 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 ^dirooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. 12 They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge ^djof them, and his brother Shimei was second. 13 Jehiel, 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 ^dlAzariah was the chief officer of the house of God. 14 Kore 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 ^doEden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in ^dpthe cities of the priests, to distribute their portions faithfully to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, 16 without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from ^{▼▼Heb three
,} ^drthirty years old and upward --everyone who entered the house of the Lord ^dsfor his daily obligations--for their work in their duties according to their divisions; 17 as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers’ households, and the Levites ^dtfrom twenty years old and upward, by their duties and their divisions. 18 The 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. 19 Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in ^dwthe pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, ^dxthere 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 ^dyhe did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. 21 Every 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 ^dzprospered.

2 Chronicles 32

Sennacherib Invades Judah

1 After these ^{▼▼Lit things and this faithfulness}acts of faithfulness ^ebSennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and ^{▼▼Lit said}intended to break into them for himself. 2 Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that ^{▼▼Lit he set his face for war}he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. 4 So many people assembled ^eeand stopped up all the springs and ^efthe stream which flowed ^{▼▼Lit in the midst of}through the region, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?” 5 And he resolutely set to work and ^ehrebuilt all of the wall that had been broken down and ^{▼▼Lit raised on the towers}erected towers on it, and built ^ejanother outside wall and strengthened the ^{▼▼I.e., terraced structure
,} ^elMillo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great numbers. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the public square at the city gate, and ^emspoke ^{▼▼Lit upon their hearts}encouragingly to them, saying, 7 “ ^eoBe strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; ^epfor the One with us is greater than the one with him. 8 With him is only ^eqan arm of flesh, but ^erwith us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Sennacherib Undermines Hezekiah

9 After this ^esSennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was ^{▼▼Lit against}besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: ‘On what are you trusting that you are staying in Jerusalem under siege? 11 Is Hezekiah not misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will save us from the ^{▼▼Lit palm}hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 ^evIs it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and ^{▼▼Lit Jerusalem, saying,}Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall ^{▼▼Lit offer up in smoke}burn incense”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? ^eyWere the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand? 14 ^ezWho was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand? 15 Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for ^fano god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’”

16 His servants spoke further against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah. 17 He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “ ^fbAs the gods of the nations of the lands ^{▼▼Lit who have}have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.” 18 ^fdThey called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city. 19 They spoke ^{▼▼Lit to}of the God of Jerusalem as they did against ^ffthe gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

Hezekiah’s Prayer Is Answered

20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and called out to heaven for help. 21 And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned ^{▼▼Lit in shame of face}in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword. 22 So the Lord ^fhsaved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and ^{▼▼Another reading is gave them rest}guided them on every side. 23 And ^fjmany were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter ^fkhe rose in the sight of all nations.

24 ^flIn those days Hezekiah became ^{▼▼Lit sick to the point of death}mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and ^{▼▼Lit He}the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did nothing in return for the benefit ^{▼▼Lit to Him}he received, ^fpbecause his heart was ^{▼▼Lit high}proud; ^frtherefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 26 However, ^fsHezekiah ^{▼▼Lit humbled himself in}humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

27 Now Hezekiah had immense riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles, 28 also storehouses for the produce of grain, wine, and oil; stalls for all kinds of cattle, and ^{▼▼As in ancient versions; MT herds for the stables}sheepfolds for the flocks. 29 He made cities for himself and acquired flocks and herds in abundance, because ^fvGod had given him very great ^{▼▼Lit possessions; or property}wealth. 30 It was Hezekiah who ^fxstopped the upper outlet of the waters of ^fyGihon and directed them to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah was successful in everything that he did. 31 Even in the matter of ^fzthe messengers of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about ^gathe wonder that had happened in the land; God left him alone only ^gbto test him, so that He might know everything that was in his heart.

32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of devotion, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 So Hezekiah ^{▼▼I.e., died}lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the ^{▼▼Or ascent to}upper section of the tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^gehonored him at his death. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.