2 Chronicles 29:5-11

29:5 He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors! ¹  Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean! 29:6 For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of ²  the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned ³  away from the Lord’s dwelling place and rejected him. ⁴  29:7 They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. 29:8 The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn, ⁵  as you can see with your own eyes. 29:9 Look, our fathers died violently ⁶  and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off ⁷  because of this. 29:10 Now I intend ⁸  to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger. ⁹  29:11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices.” ¹⁰ 

2 Chronicles 31:2

The People Contribute to the Temple

31:2 Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites to do their assigned tasks ¹¹  – to offer burnt sacrifices and present offerings and to serve, give thanks, and offer praise in the gates of the Lord’s sanctuary. ¹² 

2 Chronicles 31:1

31:1 When all this was over, the Israelites ¹³  who were in the cities of Judah went out and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished ¹⁴  all the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. ¹⁵  Then all the Israelites returned to their own homes in their cities. ¹⁶ 

2 Chronicles 22:1

Ahaziah’s Reign

22:1 The residents of Jerusalem ¹⁷  made his youngest son Ahaziah king in his place, for the raiding party that invaded the city with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. ¹⁸  So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.

¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

² tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

³ tn Heb “turned their faces.”

⁴ tn Heb “and turned the back.”

⁵ tn Heb “and he made them [an object] of dread and devastation and hissing.”

⁶ tn Heb “fell by the sword.”

⁷ tn Heb “are in captivity.”

⁸ tn Heb “now it is with my heart.”

⁹ tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from us.” The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding statement of intention.

¹⁰ tn Heb “to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and sacrificers.”

¹¹ 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.”

¹² tn Heb “in the gates of the encampments of the Lord.”

¹³ tn Heb “all Israel.”

¹⁴ tn Or “tore down.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “the high places and the altars from all Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and in Manasseh until finished.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel returned, each to his possession to their cities.”

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁸ tn Heb “for all the older [ones] the raiding party that came with the Arabs to the camp had killed.”