2 Chronicles 29:4-11 ▼

4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east.

5 Then he said to them, “Listen to me, O Levites. Set yourselves apart now as holy, and set apart as holy the house of Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and bring out the impurity from the holy place.

6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what is evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place of Yahweh, and have turned their backs.

7 They have also shut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.

8 Therefore the wrath of Yahweh was against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

9 And behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

10 Now it is in my heart to cut a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, that His burning anger may turn away from us.

11 My sons, do not be at ease now, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers and offer offerings up in smoke.”