II Chronicles 29 Hezekiah Orders the Cleansing of the Temple

 II Chronicles 29

Hezekiah Orders the Cleansing of the Temple

1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah.

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

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

4 Then he brought the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east side.

5 And he said to them, "Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and remove the filth from the sanctuary.

6 For our fathers transgressed and did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and forsook Him; and they turned their faces away from the tabernacle of the Lord and turned their backs on Him.

7 They also shut the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

8 Therefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he gave them over to confusion, desolation, and hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

9 For, behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives have been in captivity.

10 Now it has come into my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger may turn away from us.

11 And now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and to be his ministers and to burn incense.