Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
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In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he b opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.
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Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square,
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and said to them: "Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, c sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.
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"For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have d turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him.
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e "They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
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"Therefore the f wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has g given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to h jeering, as you see with your i eyes.
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"For indeed, because of this j our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.
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"Now it is in my heart to make k a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.
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"My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has l chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense."
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Then these Levites arose: m Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the n Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah;
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of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;
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of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
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And they gathered their brethren, o sanctified themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the LORD, p to cleanse the house of the LORD.
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Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the LORD to the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook q Kidron.
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Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
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Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles.
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"Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had r cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the LORD."
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 28:24
So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 29:7
They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
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Cross References
1 Chronicles 15:12
He said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.
2 Chronicles 29:15
And they gathered their brethren, sanctified themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 29:34
But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests.
2 Chronicles 35:6
"So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses."
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Cross References
Isaiah 1:4
Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
Jeremiah 2:27
Saying to a tree, 'You are my father,' And to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble They will say, 'Arise and save us.
Ezekiel 8:16
So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 28:24
So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 24:18
Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 28:5
Therefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter.
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Cross References
1 Kings 9:8
"And as for this house, which is exalted, every...
Jeremiah 18:16
To make their land desolate and a perpetual his...
Jeremiah 19:8
I will make this city desolate and a hissing; e...
Jeremiah 25:9
Behold, I will send and take all the families o...
Jeremiah 25:18
Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings an...
Jeremiah 29:18
And I will pursue them with the sword, with fam...
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:32
Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.
2 Chronicles 28:5 - 8
Therefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter.
2 Chronicles 28:17
For again the Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 15:12
Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.
2 Chronicles 23:16
Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the LORD's people.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:6
Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them ...
Numbers 8:14
Thus you shall separate the Levites from among ...
Numbers 18:2
Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe ...
Numbers 18:6
Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the L...
2 Chronicles 30:16
They stood in their place according to their cu...
2 Chronicles 30:17
For there were many in the assembly who had not...
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 31:13
Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, 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.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:19
And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
Numbers 3:20
And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers' houses.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 29:5
And said to them: "Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.
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Cross References
1 Chronicles 23:28
Because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 15:16
Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.
2 Chronicles 30:14
They arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook Kidron.
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Cross References
2 Chronicles 28:24
So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.