Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
(2 Kings 18:1–12)

1Hezekia began to raigne when he was fiue and twentie yeres olde, and he raigned nine & twentie yeres in Hierusalem: And his mothers name was Abia, the daughter of Zachariahu. 2And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lorde, in all poyntes as did Dauid his father.

3He opened the doores of the house of the Lorde in the first yere and first moneth of his raigne, and repaired them. 4And he brought in the priestes and the Leuites, and gathered them together into the east streate,

5And saide vnto them: Heare me ye Leuites, and now be sanctified and halow the house of the Lorde God of your fathers, bring filthynesse out of the holy place. 6For our fathers haue trespassed, and done euill in the eyes of the Lorde our God, and haue forsaken him, and turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backes on it. 7And beside that, they haue shut vp the doores of the porche, and quenched the lampes, and haue neither burnt incense, nor offered burnt offringes in the holy place vnto the God of Israel. 8Wherefore the wrath of the Lorde fell on Iuda & Hierusalem, and he hath brought them to trouble to be wondred on, & to be hissed at, euen as ye see with your eyes. 9For loe, our fathers were ouerthrowen with the sword, and our sonnes, our daughters, and our wyues were caried away captiue for the same cause. 10And now it is in myne heart to make a couenaunt with the Lord God of Israel, that he may turne away his heauy indignation from vs. 11Now therefore my sonnes, be not negligent: for the Lorde hath chosen you to stande before him, and for to minister and serue him, and to burne incense.

12Then the Leuites arose, Mahath the sonne of Amasai, and Ioel the sonne of Azariahu of the children of the Caathites: And of the sonnes of Merari, Cis the sonne of Abdi, and Azariahu the sonne of Iahalelel: And of ye sonnes of the Gersonites, Ioah the sonne of Simma, and Eden the sonne of Ioah: 13And of the sonnes of Elizaphan, Simri and Iehiel: And of the sonnes of Asaph, Zechariahu and Matthaniahu: 14And of the sonnes of Heman, Iehiel, and Simei: And of the sonnes of Ieduthun, Semaia and Uzziel. 15And they gathered their brethren, and purified them selues, and came according to the commaundement of the king and the wordes of the Lord for to clense the house of the Lorde: 16And the priestes went into the inner partes of the house of the Lord to clense it, and brought out all the vnclennesse that they founde in the temple of the Lorde, into the court of the house of the Lorde: And the Leuites toke it, to cary it out into the brooke Cedron. 17They began the first day of the first moneth to purifie, and the eyght day of the moneth came they to the porche of the Lorde: So they sanctified the house of the Lorde in eyght dayes, and in the sixteenth day of the first moneth they made an end. 18And they went in to Hezekia the king, and saide: We haue clensed all the house of the Lorde, the aulter of burnt offring with all his vessels, and the shew bread table with all his apparell: 19And all the vessels which king Ahaz did cast aside, when he raigned, & transgressed, them we haue prepared and sanctified, and beholde they are before the aulter of the Lorde.

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20And Hezekia the king rose earlye, and gathered the lordes of the citie, and went vp to the house of the Lorde. 21And they brought seuen oxen, seuen rammes, seuen sheepe, and seuen hee goates, to be a sinne offring for the kingdome, for the sanctuary, and for Iuda: And he commaunded the priestes the sonnes of Aaron, to offer them on the aulter of the Lorde. 22And they slue the oxen, and the priestes receaued the blood and sprinckled it on the aulter: likewyse when they had slaine the rammes, they sprinckled the blood vpon the aulter: They slue also the sheepe, and they sprinckled the blood vpon the aulter. 23And then they brought foorth the hee goates for the sinne offering before the king and the congregation, & put their handes vpon them. 24And the priestes slue them, and with the blood of them they clensed the aulter, to make satisfaction for all Israel: for the king comaunded that the burnt offering and the sinne offering shoulde be made for all Israel.

25And set the Leuites in the house of the Lorde with cymbales, psalteries, and harpes, according to the commaundement of Dauid and of Gad the kinges sear, and Nathan the prophete: For so was the commaundement of the Lord through the hande of his prophetes. 26And the Leuites stoode, hauing the instrumentes of Dauid: and the priestes helde the trumpettes. 27And Hezekia commaunded to offer the burnt offring vpon the aulter: And when the burnt offring began, the song of the Lorde began also, and the trumpettes, with the instrumentes that were ordayned by the hand of Dauid king of Israel. 28And all the congregation worshipped, singing a song, and blowyng with the trumpettes, and all this continued vntill the burnt offring was finished.

29And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him, bowed them selues, and worshipped. 30And Hezekia the king and the lordes, spake to the Leuites to prayse the Lord with the wordes of Dauid & of Asaph the sear: And they sang prayses with gladnesse, and the other bowed them selues, and worshipped.

31And Hezekia aunswered, and saide: Now ye haue consecrated your handes to the Lorde: go to therefore, and bryng the sacrifices and thanke offeringes into the house of the Lorde. And the congregation brought in the sacrifices & thank offeringes, and burnt offringes, as many as were of a free liberall heart. 32And the number of the burnt offringes which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten oxen, an hundred rammes, & two hundred sheepe: which were all for the burnt offering of the Lorde. 33And there were dedicated sixe hundred oxen, and three thousand sheepe. 34And the priestes were to fewe to flay al the burnt offringes: but their brethren the Leuites did helpe them, till they had ended the worke, & vntil the priestes were sanctified: For the Leuites were purer hearted to be sanctified, then the priestes. 35And therto ye burnt offringes were many, with the fat of the peaceoffringes, & the drinke offringes, that belong to the burnt offring: And so the seruice parteyning to the house of the Lorde, was finished. 36And Hezekia reioyced, and all the people, that God had made the folke so readie, & that the thing was so soone done.