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IMMERSE
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CHRONICLES
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| 29:3-18
In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the
doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them. He summoned the
priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple. He
said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the
Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled
things from the sanctuary. Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what
was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned the Lord
and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. They also shut the
doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They
stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary
of the God of Israel.
“That is why the Lord’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He
has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with
your own eyes. Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and
our sons and daughters and wives have been captured. But now I will make
a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will
turn away from us. My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The
Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to
lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.”
Then these Levites got right to work:
From the clan of Kohath: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of
Azariah.
From the clan of Merari: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of
Jehallelel.
From the clan of Gershon: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.
From the family of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel.
From the family of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah.
From the family of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei.
From the family of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified
themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the Lord, just as
the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work. The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple
of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all
the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to
the Kidron Valley.
They began the work in early spring, on the first day of the new year,
and in eight days they had reached the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.
Then they purified the Temple of the Lord itself, which took another
eight days. So the entire task was completed in sixteen days.
Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: “We
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