1Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, also in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, each to his possession, into their own cities. 2And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites according to their courses, each according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. 3 He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, even for the morning and the evening and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the appointed feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. 4Moreover, he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites so that they might be strong in the law of the LORD. 5And as soon as the commandment spread abroad, the children of Israel brought plentifully of the firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field. And the tithe of all things they brought in abundance. 6And the children of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God, and laid it up by heaps. 7In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps and finished them in the seventh month. 8And Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, and they blessed the LORD and His people Israel. 9And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him and said, "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people, and this great store is left." 11Then Hezekiah commanded storehouses to be prepared in the house of the LORD. And they prepared them 12And faithfully brought in the offerings and the tithes and the things dedicated to God. And over them was Cononiah the Levite ruler, and Shimei, his brother, was next in rank. 13And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. 14And Kore, the son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God to distribute the offerings of the LORD and the most holy things. 15And next to him was Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, to the great as well as to the small. 16Besides registered males from three years and upward, even to everyone who entered into the house of the LORD, they gave daily portions for their service in their charges according to their courses, 17Both to the priests according to the genealogy of the house of their fathers, and to the Levites from twenty years old and upward, by their charges by their divisions, 18And to those written in the genealogy-- all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation--for in their set office they set themselves apart in holiness. 19And to the sons of Aaron, the priests, in the fields of the open lands of their cities, in each separate city were those who were named by name to give portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were counted by genealogies among the Levites. 20And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah what was good and right and true before the LORD his God. 21And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart and prospered. A Faithful Version Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 York Publishing Company Post Office Box 1038 Hollister, California 95024-1038 All rights reserved. All Scripture may be freely quoted except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means--electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or information storage and retrieval systems, or use of hermeneutical conclusions of copyright owner. Bible Hub |