Bible Reading May 2 
2 Chronicles 30:1--32:33
Context30:1 Hezekiah sent messages throughout Israel and Judah; he even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, summoning them to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem 1 and observe a Passover celebration for the Lord God of Israel. 30:2 The king, his officials, and the entire assembly in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover in the second month. 30:3 They were unable to observe it at the regular 2 time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem. 30:4 The proposal seemed appropriate to 3 the king and the entire assembly. 30:5 So they sent an edict 4 throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people 5 to come and observe a Passover for the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law. 6 30:6 Messengers 7 delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah.
This royal edict read: 8 “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return 9 to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria. 10 30:7 Don’t be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord God of their ancestors, 11 provoking him to destroy them, 12 as you can see. 30:8 Now, don’t be stubborn 13 like your fathers! Submit 14 to the Lord and come to his sanctuary which he has permanently consecrated. Serve the Lord your God so that he might relent from his raging anger. 15 30:9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and sons will be shown mercy by their captors and return to this land. The Lord your God is merciful and compassionate; he will not reject you 16 if you return to him.”
30:10 The messengers journeyed from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but people mocked and ridiculed them. 17 30:11 But some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 30:12 In Judah God moved the people to unite and carry out the edict the king and the officers had issued at the Lord’s command. 18 30:13 A huge crowd assembled in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. 19 30:14 They removed the altars in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley. 20
30:15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt sacrifices to the Lord’s temple. 30:16 They stood at their posts according to the regulations outlined in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests were splashing the blood as the Levites handed it to them. 21 30:17 Because many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites slaughtered 22 the Passover lambs of all who were ceremonially unclean and could not consecrate their sacrifice to the Lord. 23 30:18 The majority of the many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were ceremonially unclean, yet they ate the Passover in violation of what is prescribed in the law. 24 For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the Lord, who is good, forgive 25 30:19 everyone who has determined to follow God, 26 the Lord God of his ancestors, even if he is not ceremonially clean according to the standards of the temple.” 27 30:20 The Lord responded favorably 28 to Hezekiah and forgave 29 the people.
30:21 The Israelites who were in Jerusalem observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests were praising the Lord every day with all their might. 30 30:22 Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites, 31 who demonstrated great skill in serving the Lord. 32 They feasted for the seven days of the festival, 33 and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their ancestors.
30:23 The entire assembly then decided to celebrate for seven more days; so they joyfully celebrated for seven more days. 30:24 King Hezekiah of Judah supplied 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep 34 for the assembly, while the officials supplied them 35 with 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. Many priests consecrated themselves. 30:25 The celebration included 36 the entire assembly of Judah, the priests, the Levites, the entire assembly of those who came from Israel, the resident foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and the residents of Judah. 30:26 There was a great celebration in Jerusalem, unlike anything that had occurred in Jerusalem since the time of King Solomon son of David of Israel. 37 30:27 The priests and Levites got up and pronounced blessings on the people. The Lord responded favorably to them 38 as their prayers reached his holy dwelling place in heaven.
31:1 When all this was over, the Israelites 39 who were in the cities of Judah went out and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished 40 all the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. 41 Then all the Israelites returned to their own homes in their cities. 42
31:2 Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites to do their assigned tasks 43 – to offer burnt sacrifices and present offerings and to serve, give thanks, and offer praise in the gates of the Lord’s sanctuary. 44
31:3 The king contributed 45 some of what he owned for burnt sacrifices, including the morning and evening burnt sacrifices and the burnt sacrifices made on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other appointed times prescribed 46 in the law of the Lord. 31:4 He ordered 47 the people living in Jerusalem 48 to contribute the portion prescribed for the priests and Levites so they might be obedient 49 to the law of the Lord. 31:5 When the edict was issued, 50 the Israelites freely contributed 51 the initial portion of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a tenth of everything, which added up to a huge amount. 31:6 The Israelites and people of Judah 52 who lived in the cities of Judah also contributed a tenth of their cattle and sheep, as well as a tenth of the holy items consecrated to the Lord their God. They brought them and placed them in many heaps. 53 31:7 In the third month they began piling their contributions in heaps 54 and finished in the seventh month. 31:8 When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the Lord and pronounced blessings on his people Israel. 55
31:9 When Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps, 31:10 Azariah, the head priest from the family of Zadok, said to him, “Since the contributions began arriving in the Lord’s temple, we have had plenty to eat and have a large quantity left over. For the Lord has blessed his people, and this large amount remains.” 31:11 Hezekiah ordered that storerooms be prepared in the Lord’s temple. When this was done, 56 31:12 they brought in the contributions, tithes, 57 and consecrated items that had been offered. 58 Konaniah, a Levite, was in charge of all this, assisted by his brother Shimei. 31:13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah worked under the supervision of Konaniah and his brother Shimei, as directed by King Hezekiah and Azariah, the supervisor of God’s temple.
31:14 Kore son of Imnah, a Levite and the guard on the east side, was in charge of the voluntary offerings made to God and disbursed the contributions made to the Lord and the consecrated items. 31:15 In the cities of the priests, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in making disbursements to their fellow priests 59 according to their divisions, regardless of age. 60 31:16 They made disbursements to all the males three years old and up who were listed in the genealogical records – to all who would enter the Lord’s temple to serve on a daily basis and fulfill their duties as assigned to their divisions. 61 31:17 They made disbursements to the priests listed in the genealogical records by their families, and to the Levites twenty years old and up, according to their duties as assigned to their divisions, 31:18 and to all the infants, wives, sons, and daughters of the entire assembly listed in the genealogical records, for they faithfully consecrated themselves. 31:19 As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests who lived in the outskirts of all their cities, 62 men were assigned 63 to disburse portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogical records.
31:20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what the Lord his God considered good and right and faithful. 31:21 He wholeheartedly and successfully reinstituted service in God’s temple and obedience to the law, in order to follow his God. 64
32:1 After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them. 65 32:2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had invaded and intended to attack Jerusalem, 66 32:3 he consulted with his advisers and military officers about stopping up the springs 67 outside the city, and they supported him. 32:4 A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district. 68 They reasoned, 69 “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” 32:5 Hezekiah 70 energetically rebuilt 71 every broken wall. He erected towers and an outer wall, 72 and fortified the terrace of the City of David. 73 He made many weapons and shields.
32:6 He appointed military officers over the army 74 and assembled them in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, 75 saying, 32:7 “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic 76 because of the king of Assyria and this huge army that is with him! We have with us one who is stronger than those who are with him. 77 32:8 He has with him mere human strength, 78 but the Lord our God is with us to help us and fight our battles!” The army 79 was encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.
32:9 Afterward King Sennacherib of Assyria, while attacking Lachish with all his military might, sent his messengers 80 to Jerusalem. The message was for King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of 81 Judah who were in Jerusalem. It read: 32:10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘Why are you so confident that you remain in Jerusalem while it is under siege? 82 32:11 Hezekiah says, “The Lord our God will rescue us from the power 83 of the king of Assyria.” But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst! 84 32:12 Hezekiah is the one who eliminated 85 the Lord’s 86 high places and altars and then told Judah and Jerusalem, “At one altar you must worship and offer sacrifices.” 32:13 Are you not aware of what I and my predecessors 87 have done to all the nations of the surrounding lands? Have the gods of the surrounding lands actually been able to rescue their lands from my power? 88 32:14 Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power? 89 32:15 Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Don’t believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my power or the power of my predecessors. So how 90 can your gods rescue 91 you from my power?’”
32:16 Sennacherib’s 92 servants further insulted 93 the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah. 32:17 He wrote letters mocking the Lord God of Israel and insulting him with these words: 94 “The gods of the surrounding nations could not rescue their people from my power. Neither can Hezekiah’s god rescue his people from my power.” 95 32:18 They called out loudly in the Judahite dialect to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, trying to scare and terrify them so they could seize the city. 32:19 They talked about the God of Jerusalem as if he were one of the man-made gods of the nations of the earth.
32:20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven. 32:21 The Lord sent a messenger 96 and he wiped out all the soldiers, princes, and officers in the army of the king of Assyria. So Sennacherib 97 returned home humiliated. 98 When he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons 99 struck him down with the sword. 32:22 The Lord delivered Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem from the power of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the other nations. 100 He made them secure on every side. 101 32:23 Many were bringing presents 102 to the Lord in Jerusalem and precious gifts to King Hezekiah of Judah. From that time on he was respected by 103 all the nations.
32:24 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 104 He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a sign confirming that he would be healed. 105 32:25 But Hezekiah was ungrateful; he had a proud attitude, provoking God to be angry at him, as well as Judah and Jerusalem. 106 32:26 But then Hezekiah and the residents of Jerusalem humbled themselves and abandoned their pride, and the Lord was not angry with them for the rest of Hezekiah’s reign. 107
32:27 Hezekiah was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made storehouses for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, and all his other valuable possessions. 108 32:28 He made storerooms for the harvest of grain, wine, and olive oil, and stalls for all his various kinds of livestock and his flocks. 109 32:29 He built royal cities 110 and owned a large number of sheep and cattle, for God gave him a huge amount of possessions.
32:30 Hezekiah dammed up the source of the waters of the Upper Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the City of David. 111 Hezekiah succeeded in all that he did. 32:31 So when the envoys arrived from the Babylonian officials to visit him and inquire about the sign that occurred in the land, 112 God left him alone to test him, in order to know his true motives. 113
32:32 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, including his faithful deeds, are recorded in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz, included in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 114 32:33 Hezekiah passed away 115 and was buried on the ascent of the tombs of the descendants of David. All the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem buried him with great honor. 116 His son Manasseh replaced him as king.
[30:1] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[30:3] 2 tn Heb “at that time.”
[30:4] 3 tn Heb “and the thing was proper in the eyes of.”
[30:5] 4 tn Heb “and they caused to stand a word to cause a voice to pass through.”
[30:5] 5 tn The words “summoning the people” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:5] 6 tn Heb “because not for abundance had they done as written.”
[30:6] 7 tn Heb “the runners.”
[30:6] 8 tn Heb “and according to the command of the king, saying.”
[30:6] 9 tn The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
[30:6] 10 tn Heb “to the survivors who are left to you from the palm of the kings of Assyria.”
[30:7] 11 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 19, 22).
[30:7] 12 tn Heb “and he made them a devastation” (or, perhaps, “an object of horror”).
[30:8] 13 tn Heb “don’t stiffen your neck” (a Hebrew idiom for being stubborn).
[30:8] 14 tn Heb “give a hand.” On the meaning of the idiom here, see HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד 2.
[30:8] 15 tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from you.” The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
[30:9] 16 tn Heb “turn [his] face from you.”
[30:10] 17 tn Heb “and they were mocking them and ridiculing them.”
[30:12] 18 tn Heb “also in Judah the hand of God was to give to them one heart to do the command of the king and the officials by the word of the
[30:13] 19 tn The Hebrew text adds here, “a very large assembly.” This has not been translated to avoid redundancy with the expression “a huge crowd” at the beginning of the verse.
[30:14] 20 tn Heb “and they arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem, and all the incense altars they removed and threw into the Kidron Valley.”
[30:16] 21 tn Heb “from the hand of the Levites.”
[30:17] 22 tn Heb “were over the slaughter of.”
[30:17] 23 tn Heb “of everyone not pure to consecrate to the
[30:18] 24 tn Heb “without what is written.”
[30:18] 25 tn Heb “make atonement for.”
[30:19] 26 tn Heb “everyone [who] has prepared his heart to seek God.”
[30:19] 27 tn Heb “and not according to the purification of the holy place.”
[30:21] 30 tn Heb “and they were praising the
[30:22] 31 tn Heb “and Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites.” On the meaning of the idiom “speak to the heart of” here, see HALOT 210 s.v. II דבר 8.d.
[30:22] 32 tn Heb “who demonstrated skill [with] good skill for the
[30:22] 33 tn Heb “and they ate [during] the appointed time [for] seven days.” מוֹעֵד (mo’ed, “appointed time”) is probably an adverbial accusative of time referring to the festival. However, some understand it as metonymically referring to the food eaten during the festival. See BDB 417 s.v.
[30:24] 34 tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (ts’on, translated “sheep” twice in this verse) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
[30:24] 35 tn Heb “the assembly.” The pronoun “them” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
[30:25] 36 tn Heb “they rejoiced.”
[30:26] 37 tn Heb “and there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.”
[30:27] 38 tn Heb “and it was heard with their voice.” BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Niph.4 interprets this to mean “hearing was granted to their voice.” It is possible that the name יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the
[31:1] 39 tn Heb “all Israel.”
[31:1] 41 tn Heb “the high places and the altars from all Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and in Manasseh until finished.”
[31:1] 42 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel returned, each to his possession to their cities.”
[31:2] 43 tn Heb “and Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each in accordance with his service for the priests and for the Levites.”
[31:2] 44 tn Heb “in the gates of the encampments of the
[31:3] 45 tn Heb “the portion of the king [was].”
[31:3] 46 tn Heb “as written.”
[31:4] 48 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[31:4] 49 tn Heb “might hold firmly.”
[31:5] 50 tn Heb “and when the word spread out.”
[31:5] 51 tn Heb “the sons of Israel multiplied.”
[31:6] 52 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel and Judah.”
[31:6] 53 tn Heb “heaps, heaps.” Repetition of the noun draws attention to the large number of heaps.
[31:7] 54 tn Heb “they began the heaps, to establish.”
[31:8] 55 tn Heb “they blessed the
[31:11] 56 tn Heb “and they prepared.”
[31:12] 58 tn Heb “and holy things in faithfulness.”
[31:15] 59 tn Heb “to their brothers.”
[31:15] 60 tn Heb “like great, like small” (i.e., old and young alike).
[31:16] 61 tn Heb “in addition enrolling them by males from a son of three years and upwards, to everyone who enters the house of the
[31:19] 62 tn Heb “the priests in the fields of the pastureland of their cities in every city and city.”
[31:19] 63 tn Heb “designated by names.”
[31:21] 64 tn Heb “and in all the work which he began with regard to the service of the house of God and with respect to the law and with respect to the commandment, to seek his God; with all his heart he acted and he succeeded.”
[32:1] 65 tn Heb “and he said to break into them for himself.”
[32:2] 66 tn Heb “and his face was for war against Jerusalem.”
[32:3] 67 tn Heb “the waters of the springs.”
[32:4] 68 tn Heb “and they closed up all the springs and the stream that flows in the midst of the land.” Here אָרֶץ (’arets, “land”) does not refer to the entire land, but to a smaller region like a district.
[32:4] 69 tn Heb “land, saying.”
[32:5] 70 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hezekiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:5] 71 tn Heb “strengthened himself and built.”
[32:5] 72 tn Heb “and outside the wall another one.”
[32:5] 73 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[32:6] 74 tn Heb “and he placed officers of war over the people.”
[32:6] 75 tn Heb “he spoke to their heart[s].”
[32:7] 76 tn Or perhaps, “and don’t be discouraged.”
[32:7] 77 tn Heb “for with us [is] a greater [one] than with him.”
[32:8] 78 tn Heb “With him is an arm of flesh.”
[32:9] 81 tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” here by metonymy for the people of Judah.
[32:10] 82 tn Heb “On what are you trusting that [you] are living during the siege in Jerusalem.”
[32:11] 84 tn Heb “Is not Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to die by hunger and thirst, saying, ‘The
[32:12] 85 tn Heb “Did not he, Hezekiah, eliminate…?” This rhetorical question presupposes a positive reply (“yes, he did”) and so has been translated here as a positive statement.
[32:12] 86 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the
[32:13] 87 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 14, 15), but in this context the term does not necessarily refer to Sennacherib’s ancestors, but to his predecessors on the Assyrian throne.
[32:15] 90 tn Heb “how much less.”
[32:15] 91 tn The verb is plural, suggesting that the preceding אֱלֹהֵיכֶם (’elohekhem) be translated “your gods,” rather than “your God.”
[32:16] 92 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Sennacherib) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[32:16] 93 tn Heb “spoke against.”
[32:17] 94 tn Heb “and speaking against him, saying.”
[32:17] 95 tn Heb “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.”
[32:21] 97 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sennacherib) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[32:21] 98 tn Heb “and he returned with shame of face to his land.”
[32:21] 99 tn Heb “and some from those who went out from him, from his inward parts.”
[32:22] 100 tn Heb “and from the hand of all.”
[32:22] 101 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he led him from all around.” However, the present translation assumes an emendation to וַיָּנַח לָהֶם מִסָּבִיב (vayyanakh lahem missaviv, “and he gave rest to them from all around”). See 2 Chr 15:15 and 20:30.
[32:23] 102 tn Or perhaps, “offerings.”
[32:23] 103 tn Heb “lifted up in the eyes of.”
[32:24] 104 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”
[32:24] 105 tn Heb “and he spoke to him and a sign he gave to him.”
[32:25] 106 tn Heb “but not according to the benefit [given] to him did Hezekiah repay, for his heart was high, and there was anger against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.”
[32:26] 107 tn Heb “and Hezekiah humbled himself in the height of his heart, he and the residents of Jerusalem, and the anger of the
[32:27] 108 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and shields and all the desirable items.” The present translation assumes an emendation of מָגִנִּים (maginnim, “shields”) to מִגְדָּנִים (migdanim, “precious items”). See v. 23.
[32:28] 109 tn Heb “and stalls for all beasts and beasts, and flocks for the stalls.” The repetition of בְהֵמָה (bÿhemah, “beast”) here indicates various kinds of livestock.
[32:29] 110 tn Heb “and cities he made for himself.”
[32:30] 111 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
[32:31] 112 tn Heb “and when the envoys of the officials of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire concerning the sign which was in the land, [arrived].”
[32:31] 113 tn Heb “to know all [that was] in his heart.”
[32:32] 114 tn Heb “and the rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and his faithful acts, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet upon the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
[32:33] 115 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[32:33] 116 tn Heb “and honor they did to him in his death, all Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.”
