Hezekiah Purifies the Temple
1Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah. 2Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as King David had done.
3In the first month of Hezekiah’s first year as king, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple. He repaired them. 4He brought the priests and Levites in. He gathered them together in the open area on the east side of the temple. 5He said, “Levites, listen to me! Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Set apart the temple of the Lord. He’s the God of your people who lived long ago. Remove anything ‘unclean’ from the temple. 6Our people weren’t faithful. They did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God. They deserted him. They turned their faces away from the place where he lives. They turned their backs on him. 7They also shut the doors of the temple porch. They put the lamps out. They didn’t burn incense at the temple. They didn’t sacrifice burnt offerings there to the God of Israel. 8So the Lord has become angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them look so bad that everyone is shocked when they see them. They laugh at them. You can see it with your own eyes. 9That’s why our fathers have been killed by swords. That’s why our sons and daughters and wives have become prisoners. 10So I’m planning to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel. Then he’ll stop being angry with us. 11My sons, don’t fail to obey the Lord. He has chosen you to stand in front of him and work for him. He wants you to serve him and burn incense to him.”
12Here are the Levites who went to work.
Mahath and Joel were from the family line of Kohath.
Mahath was the son of Amasai. Joel was the son of Azariah.
Kish and Azariah were from the family line of Merari.
Kish was the son of Abdi. Azariah was the son of Jehallelel.
Joah and Eden were from the family line of Gershon.
Joah was the son of Zimmah. Eden was the son of Joah.
13Shimri and Jeiel were from the family line of Elizaphan.
Zechariah and Mattaniah were from the family line of Asaph.
14Jehiel and Shimei were from the family line of Heman.
Shemaiah and Uzziel were from the family line of Jeduthun.
15All these Levites gathered the other Levites together. They set themselves apart to the Lord. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple. That’s what the king had ordered them to do. They did what the Lord told them to. 16The priests went into the Lord’s temple to make it pure. They brought out to the temple courtyard everything that was “unclean.” They had found “unclean” things in the Lord’s temple. The Levites took them and carried them out to the Kidron Valley. 17On the first day of the first month they began to set everything in the temple apart to the Lord. By the eighth day of the month they reached the Lord’s porch. For eight more days they set the Lord’s temple itself apart to him. They finished on the 16th day of the first month.
18Then they went to King Hezekiah. They reported, “We’ve purified the whole temple of the Lord. That includes the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools. It also includes the table for the holy bread and all its objects. 19We’ve prepared all the things King Ahaz had removed. We’ve set them apart to the Lord. Ahaz had removed them while he was king. He wasn’t faithful to the Lord. Those things are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
20Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered together the city officials. They all went up to the Lord’s temple. 21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats with them. They sacrificed the animals as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the temple and for Judah. The king commanded the priests to offer them on the Lord’s altar. The priests were from the family line of Aaron. 22They killed the bulls. Then they splashed the blood against the altar. Next they killed the rams and splashed the blood against the altar. Then they killed the lambs and splashed the blood against the altar. 23The goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the whole community. They placed their hands on them. 24Then the priests killed the goats. They put the blood on the altar as a sin offering. It paid for the sin of the whole nation of Israel. The king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for the whole nation.
25Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple. They had cymbals, harps and lyres. They did everything in the way King David, his prophet Gad, and Nathan the prophet had required. The Lord had given commands about all these things through his prophets. 26So the Levites stood ready with David’s musical instruments. And the priests had their trumpets ready.
27Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. The offering began. Singing to the Lord also began. The singing was accompanied by the trumpets and by the instruments of David. He had been king of Israel. 28The whole community bowed down. They worshiped the Lord. At the same time the musicians played their musical instruments. The priests blew their trumpets. All of that continued until the burnt offering had been sacrificed.
29So the offerings were finished. King Hezekiah got down on his knees. He worshiped the Lord. So did everyone who was with him. 30The king and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord. They used the words of David and Asaph the prophet. They sang praises with joy. They bowed down and worshiped the Lord.
31Then Hezekiah said, “You have set yourselves apart to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to his temple.” So the whole community brought sacrifices and thank offerings. Everyone who wanted to brought burnt offerings.
32The whole community brought 70 bulls, 100 rams and 200 male lambs. They brought all of them as burnt offerings to the Lord. 33The total number of animals set apart as sacrifices to the Lord was 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep and goats. 34But there weren’t enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them. They worked until the task was finished. By that time other priests had been set apart to the Lord. The Levites had been more careful than the priests when they set themselves apart. 35There were large numbers of burnt offerings, along with the drink offerings and the fat from the friendship offerings. They were offered along with the burnt offerings.
So the service of the Lord’s temple was started up again. 36Hezekiah and all the people were filled with joy. That’s because everything had been done so quickly. God had provided for his people in a wonderful way.
犹大王希西迦
1希西迦二十五岁登基，在耶路撒冷执政二十九年。他母亲叫亚比雅，是撒迦利雅的女儿。 2希西迦效法他祖先大卫，做耶和华视为正的事。
洁净圣殿
3希西迦元年一月，他开启耶和华殿的门，重新修理。 4他把众祭司和利未人召集在东边的广场， 5对他们说：“利未人啊，请听我说！现在你们要洁净自己，也要洁净你们祖先的上帝耶和华的殿，除去圣所中的污秽之物。 6我们的祖先行事不忠，做我们的上帝耶和华视为恶的事，背弃祂，转脸背向祂的居所。 7他们封锁殿廊的门，吹灭灯火，不在圣所里向以色列的上帝烧香、献燔祭。 8因此，耶和华的烈怒临到犹大和耶路撒冷，使他们的遭遇令人恐惧、震惊、嗤笑，正如你们亲眼所见的。 9所以我们的祖先死在刀下，我们的妻儿也被掳去。 10现在我决心要与以色列的上帝耶和华立约，好使祂的烈怒转离我们。 11我的孩子们啊，不要懈怠！因为耶和华拣选你们站在祂面前事奉祂，向祂烧香。”
12于是，利未人开始供职。其中哥辖宗族有亚玛赛的儿子玛哈和亚撒利雅的儿子约珥，米拉利宗族有亚伯底的儿子基士和耶哈利勒的儿子亚撒利雅，革顺宗族有薪玛的儿子约亚和约亚的儿子伊甸， 13以利撒反宗族有申利和耶利，亚萨宗族有撒迦利雅和玛探雅， 14希幔宗族有耶歇和示每，耶杜顿宗族有示玛雅和乌薛。 15他们召集其他利未人一起洁净自己，并遵照王的吩咐和耶和华的命令，进去洁净耶和华的殿。 16祭司们进入耶和华的殿，把所有污秽之物搬到耶和华殿的院子里，然后再由利未人运到外面的汲沦溪丢掉。 17他们一月一日开始洁净的工作，到一月八日已经洁净到耶和华殿的走廊，又用八天洁净耶和华的殿，一月十六日完成洁净的工作。
重新奉献圣殿
18然后，他们晋见希西迦王，说：“我们已经洁净了整个耶和华的殿、燔祭坛以及坛上的一切器皿、供饼的桌子及桌子上的一切器皿。 19我们已备齐亚哈斯王对上帝不忠时所废弃的器皿，并洁净了它们，现在都放在耶和华的坛前。”
20希西迦王清早起来，召集城中官员一同上到耶和华的殿。 21他们牵来七头公牛、七只公绵羊、七只羊羔和七只公山羊，作国家、圣所和犹大人的赎罪祭。王吩咐做祭司的亚伦子孙把这些牲畜献在耶和华的坛上。 22他们宰了公牛，祭司取过血来洒在坛上，然后宰了公绵羊并把血洒在坛上，又宰了羊羔并把血洒在坛上。 23有人把作赎罪祭的公山羊牵到王和会众面前，他们就将手按在公山羊身上。 24祭司宰了公山羊，把血洒在坛上作赎罪祭，为所有以色列人赎罪，因为王吩咐要为所有以色列人献上燔祭和赎罪祭。
25王又分派利未人在耶和华的殿里敲钹、鼓瑟、弹琴，正如大卫王、王的先见迦得和先知拿单的指示，即耶和华借先知所吩咐的。 26利未人拿着大卫的乐器侍立在那里，祭司拿着号角侍立在那里。 27希西迦下令在坛上献燔祭。开始献燔祭时，伴随着号角声和以色列王大卫的乐器声，响起了颂赞耶和华的歌声。 28全体会众伴着歌声和号角声俯伏敬拜，直到献完燔祭。 29献完燔祭后，王和所有在场的人都俯伏敬拜。 30希西迦王与众官员又吩咐利未人用大卫和亚萨先见的诗词颂赞耶和华。他们欢喜地歌唱，并低头敬拜。
31希西迦说：“你们既然已经把自己献给了耶和华，现在就把祭物和感恩祭带到耶和华的殿里来吧。”于是，会众就把祭物和感恩祭送来，有些人甘心乐意地送来燔祭。 32会众献给耶和华作燔祭的有七十头公牛、一百只公绵羊、二百只羊羔， 33献为圣物的有六百头公牛、三千只绵羊。 34但祭司人数太少，剥不完燔祭牲的皮，于是他们的亲族利未人就来帮助他们，直到献完燔祭，并且别的祭司也洁净了自己，因为利未人比祭司更诚心洁净自己。 35他们献上大量的燔祭，以及很多平安祭祭牲的脂肪和与燔祭同献的奠祭。
从此，耶和华殿里的事奉恢复了。 36希西迦和民众因上帝为他们所做的而欢喜快乐，因为这事情很快成就了。
