2 Chronicles 29 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old. He ruled 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah. Abijah was Zechariah’s daughter.

² Hezekiah did the things the Lord wanted him to do. He did what was right just like David his ancestor {\cf2\super [334]} had done.

^3-5 Hezekiah fixed the doors of the Lord’s temple {\cf2\super [335]} and made them strong. Hezekiah opened the temple again. He did this in the first month of the first year after he became king.

⁶ Our ancestors left the Lord and turned their faces away from the Lord’s house. {\cf2\super [336]}

⁷ They shut the doors of the porch of the temple and let the fire go out in the lamps. They stopped burning incense {\cf2\super [337]} and offering burnt offerings {\cf2\super [338]} in the Holy Place {\cf2\super [339]} to the God of Israel.

⁸ So, the Lord became very angry at the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord punished them. Other peoples became afraid and were shocked when they saw what the Lord did to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Those other people shook their heads with hate and shame for the people of Judah. You know these things are true. You can see with your own eyes.

⁹ And that is why our ancestors were killed in battle. Our sons and daughters and wives were made prisoners.

¹⁰ So now I, Hezekiah, have decided to make an agreement with the Lord God of Israel. Then he will not be angry at us any more.

^11-14 So my sons, {\cf2\super [340]} don’t be lazy or waste any more time. The Lord chose you to serve him. \{He chose you\} to serve him \{in the temple\} and to burn incense.”

¹⁵ Then these Levites gathered their brothers together and made themselves ready for holy service in the temple. {\cf2\super [342]} They obeyed the king’s command that came from the Lord. They went into the Lord’s temple to clean it.

¹⁶ The priests went into the inside part of the Lord’s temple to clean it. They took out all the unclean {\cf2\super [343]} things they found in the Lord’s temple. They brought the unclean things to the yard of the Lord’s temple. Then the Levites took the unclean things out to the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷ On the first day of the first month, the Levites began to make themselves ready for holy service. On the eighth day of the month, the Levites came to the porch of the Lord’s temple. For eight more days they cleaned the Lord’s temple to make it ready for holy use. They finished on the 16th day of the first month.

¹⁸ Then they went to King Hezekiah. They said to him, “King Hezekiah, we cleaned all the Lord’s temple {\cf2\super [344]} and the altar {\cf2\super [345]} for burning offerings and all the things in the temple. We cleaned the table for the rows of bread with all the things used for that table.

¹⁹ During the time that Ahaz was king, he rebelled against God. He threw away many of the things that were in the temple. But we fixed all of those things and made them ready for their special use. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”

²⁰ King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went up to the temple {\cf2\super [346]} of the Lord early the next morning.

²¹ They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven young male goats. These animals were for a sin offering for the kingdom of Judah, for the Holy Place {\cf2\super [347]} to make it clean, and for the people of Judah. King Hezekiah commanded the priests that were descendants {\cf2\super [348]} of Aaron to offer those animals on the Lord’s altar. {\cf2\super [349]}

^22-24 So the priests killed the bulls and kept the blood. Then they sprinkled the bulls’ blood on the altar. Then the priests killed the rams and sprinkled the rams’ blood on the altar. Then the priests killed the lambs and sprinkled the lambs’ blood on the altar.

²⁵ King Hezekiah put the Levites in the Lord’s temple {\cf2\super [351]} with cymbals, {\cf2\super [352]} harps, and lyres {\cf2\super [353]} the way David, Gad the king’s seer, {\cf2\super [354]} and Nathan the prophet had commanded. This command came from the Lord through his prophets.

²⁶ So the Levites stood ready with David’s instruments of music, and the priests stood ready with their trumpets.

²⁷ Then Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice {\cf2\super [355]} the burnt offering {\cf2\super [356]} on the altar. {\cf2\super [357]} When the burnt offering began, singing to the Lord began also. The trumpets were blown and the instruments of David king of Israel played.

²⁸ All the assembly bowed down, the musicians sang, and the trumpet players blew their trumpets until the burnt offering was finished.

²⁹ After the sacrifices {\cf2\super [358]} were finished, King Hezekiah and all the people with him bowed down and worshiped.

³⁰ King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to give praise to the Lord. They sang songs that David and Asaph the seer {\cf2\super [359]} had written. They praised God and became happy. They all bowed and worshiped God.

³¹ Hezekiah said, “Now you people of Judah have given yourselves to the Lord. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the Lord’s temple. {\cf2\super [360]} ” Then the people brought sacrifices and thank offerings. Any person who wanted to, also brought burnt offerings.

³² This is how many burnt offerings the assembly brought to the temple: 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All these animals were sacrificed as burnt offerings to the Lord.

³³ The holy offerings for the Lord were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep and goats.

³⁴ But there were not enough priests to skin and cut up all the animals for the burnt offerings. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and until other priests could make themselves ready for holy service. The Levites were more serious about making themselves ready to serve the Lord. They were more serious than the priests.

³⁵ There were many burnt offerings, and the fat of fellowship offerings, and drink offerings. So the service in the Lord’s temple began again.

³⁶ Hezekiah and the people were very happy about the things God prepared for his people. And they were happy he did it so quickly!