II Chronicles 29 · דברי הימים ב

Yeĥizqiyyahu began to reign when he was twenty five years old, and he reigned twenty nine years in Yerushalayim. And his mother’s name was Aviyya, the daughter of Zekharyahu.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.

And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

and he said to them, Hear me, you Levites, sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the holy place.

For our fathers trespassed, and did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and forsook him, and turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.

Also they shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Yisra᾽el.

So that the fury of the Lord came upon Yehuda and Yerushalayim, and he delivered them to horror, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes.

For lo, our fathers fell 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 the Lord God of Yisra᾽el, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that you should minister to him, and burn incense.

Then the Levites arose, Maĥat the son of ῾Amasay, and Yo᾽el the son of ῾Azaryahu, of the sons of the Qehati: and of the sons of Merari, Qish the son of ῾Avdi, and ῾Azaryahu the son of Yehallel᾽el: and of the Gershoni; Yo᾽aĥ the son of Zimma, and ῾Eden the son of Yo᾽aĥ:

and of the sons of Eliżafan; Shimri, and Ye῾i᾽el: and of the sons of Asaf; Zekharyahu, and Mattanyahu:

And of the sons of Heman; Yeĥi᾽el, and Shim῾i: and of the sons of Yedutun; Shema῾ya, and ῾Uzzi᾽el.

And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord.

And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it, to carry it outside into the wadi of Qidron.

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 the Lord: so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Then they went in to Ḥizqiyyahu the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, and the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and the showbread table, with all its vessels.

Moreover all the vessels, which king Aĥaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, we have prepared and sanctified, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.

Then Yeĥizqiyyahu the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the 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 Yehuda. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aharon to offer them on the altar of the Lord.

So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: and they slaughtered the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar.

And they presented the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; 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 Yisra᾽el: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Yisra᾽el.

And he set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with lutes, and with lyres, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king’s seer, and Natan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets.

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

And Ḥizqiyyahu commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments of David king of Yisra᾽el.

And all the congregation prostrated themselves, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued 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 down, and prostrated themselves.

Moreover Yeĥizqiyyahu the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaf the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Then Yeĥizqiyyahu answered and said, Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.

And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord.

And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.

But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: so that their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in sanctifying themselves.

And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was firmly established.

And Yeĥizqiyyahu rejoiced, and all the people, because of what God had prepared for the people: for the thing was done suddenly.