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Chapter 29
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1
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Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty
years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. |
2
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And he did that which was right in the sight of the
LORD, according to all that David his father had done. |
3
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He in the first year of his reign, in the first month,
opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired
them. |
4
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And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and
gathered them together into the east street, |
5
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And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now
yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of
your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the
holy place. |
6
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For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which
was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken
him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation
of the LORD, and turned their backs. |
7
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Also 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 unto the God of Israel. |
8
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Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and
Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to
astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. |
9
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For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and
our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity
for this. |
10
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Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the
LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away
from us. |
11
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My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen
you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should
minister unto him, and burn incense. |
12
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Then 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 Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites;
Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah: |
13
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And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and
of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah: |
14
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And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of
the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel. |
15
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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. |
16
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And the priests went into the inner part of the house
of the LORD, to cleanse it, and 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 out abroad into the brook Kidron. |
17
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Now 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 the LORD: so they sanctified the
house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth
day of the first month they made an end. |
18
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Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We
have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar
of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and
the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof. |
19
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Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign
did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared
and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar
of the LORD. |
20
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Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the
rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. |
21
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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 Judah. And
he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them
on the altar of the LORD. |
22
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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: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled
the blood upon the altar. |
23
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And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering
before the king and the congregation; and they laid their
hands upon them: |
24
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And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation
with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement
for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt
offering and the sin offering should be made for all
Israel. |
25
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And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with
cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to
the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer,
and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of
the LORD by his prophets. |
26
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And the Levites stood with the instruments of David,
and the priests with the trumpets. |
27
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And Hezekiah 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 ordained by David king of Israel. |
28
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And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers
sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued
until the burnt offering was finished. |
29
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And when they had made an end of offering, the king
and all that were present with him bowed themselves,
and worshipped. |
30
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Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded
the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words
of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises
with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. |
31
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Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated
yourselves unto 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 as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings. |
32
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And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation
brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred
rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt
offering to the LORD. |
33
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And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and
three thousand sheep. |
34
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But the priests were too few, so that they could not
flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore 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 to sanctify themselves
than the priests. |
35
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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 set in order. |
36
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And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God
had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly. |
