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

1Ezechias was fyue & twentye yeare olde whan he was made kynge, & reigned nyne & twentye yeares at Ierusalem. His mothers name was Abia ye doughter of Zachary. 2And he dyd that which was right in the sight of the LORDE, as did his father Dauid.

3He opened the dores of ye house of the LORDE in the first moneth of ye first yeare of his raigne, & made them stronge, 4& brought in the prestes and Leuites, and gathered them together vnto the East streate

5and sayde vnto them: Herken vnto me ye Leuites, sanctifye youre selues now, yt ye maye halowe the house of the LORDE God of yor fathers, and put fylthines out of the Sanctuary: 6for oure fathers haue trespaced, and done yt which was euell in the sighte of the LORDE oure God, and haue forsaken him. For they turned their faces from the habitacio of ye LORDE oure God, & turned their backes on it, 7and shut the dores of the Porche, and put out the lampes, and brent no incense, & offred no burntsacrifyces in the Sanctuary vnto the God of Israel. 8Therfore is the wrath of the LORDE come ouer Iuda and Ierusalem, and he hath geuen them ouer to be scatred abrode, desolate and to be hyssed at, as ye se with yor eies. 9For beholde, euen for the same cause fell oure fathers thorow the swerde, oure sonnes doughters and wyues were caryed awaye captyue. 10Now am I mynded to make a couenaunt with the LORDE God of Israel, yt he maye turne awaie from vs his wrath & indignacion. 11Now my sonnes, be not ye negligent: for the LORDE hath chosen you to stode before him, and to be his mynisters and to burne incense vnto him.

12Then rose the Leuites: Mahath the sonne of Amasai, and Ioel the sonne of Asaria of the children of the Kahathites. Of the children of Merari: Cis the sonne of Abdi, & Asaria the sonne of Iehaleleel. Of the children of the Gersonites: Ioah the sonne of Simma, and Eden the sonne of Ioah. 13And of the childre of Elizaphan: Simri & Ieiel. And of the childre of Assaph: Sachary and Mathama. 14And of the chidren of Heman: Iehiel and Simei. And of the children of Iedithun: Semaia and Vsiel. 15And they gathered their brethren together, and were sanctified, and wente in acordinge to the kynges commaundement at the worde of the LORDE, to clense the house of ye LORDE. 16And the prestes entred within in the house of the LORDE to purifye, and put out all the vnclennes that was founde in the teple of the LORDE, in the courte of the LORDES house: and the prestes toke it vp, and caryed it out in to the broke Cedron. 17The fyrst daye of the fyrst moneth beganne they to sanctifye them selues, and on the eight daye of the moneth wente they in to the porche of the LORDE, and halowed the house of ye LORDE eight dayes, and fynished it on the sixtenth daye of the fyrst moneth. 18And they wete in to the kynge Ezechias, and sayde: We haue clensed all the house of the LORDE, the altare of burntofferynges, and all his vessels, the table of the shewbred and all the apparell therof: 19and all the ornamentes that kynge Achas cast awaye wha he was kynge, what tyme as he transgressed, those haue we prepared and halowed. Beholde, they are before the altare of the LORDE.

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20The the kynge Ezechias gat him vp early, and gathered together the Elders of the cite, and wete vp vnto the house of the LORDE, 21and they broughte seuen bullockes, seuen rammes, seuen lambes, and seuen he goates to be the synofferynge, for the Sanctuary, & for Iuda. And he spake vnto the prestes the children of Aaron, that they shulde offre vpon the altare of the LORDE. 22So they slewe the bullockes, and the prestes toke the bloude, and sprenkled it vpon ye altare: and slewe the rammes, and sprenkled the bloude vpon the altare: and slewe the labes, and sprenkled the bloude vpon the altare. 23And ye goates to ye synofferynge brought they before the kynge and the congregacio, and layed their handes vpon them: 24and the prestes slewe them, and sprenkled their bloude vpon the altare to make attonemet for all Israel: for the kynge commaunded to offre burntsacrifyces and sinofferinges for all Israel.

25And he set the Leuites in the house of the LORDE with Cymbales, Psalteries and harpes, as Dauid had commaunded, and Gad the kynges Seer, and the prophet Nathan for it was the commaundement of the LORDE by his prophetes. 26And the Leuites stode with the musicall instrumentes of Dauid, & the prestes with the trompettes. 27And Ezechias commaunded them to offre burntsacrifyces vpon the altare. And aboute the tyme that the burntsacrifyce begane to be offred the songe of the LORDE beganne also, and ye trompettes, and dyuerse instrumentes of Dauid the kynge of Israel 28and all the congregacion gaue praise & thankes: and the songe of the Musicians, and ye blowynge of the trompetters, endured all tyll the burntofferynge was fynished.

29Now whan the burntofferynge was perfourmed, the kynge and all they that were with him, bowed them selues, and gaue praise and thankes. 30And Ezechias the kynge wt the rulers commaunded the Leuites to prayse the LORDE with the songes of Dauid and Assaph the Seer. And they gaue prayse tyll they were ioyfull, and they bowed them selues, and worshipped.

31And Ezechias answered and saide: Now haue ye fylled youre hades vnto the LORDE steppe forth, and brynge hither ye sacrifyces and thankofferynges vnto the house of the LORDE. And the congregacion broughte sacrifyces and thankofferynges, and euery ma of a fre wyllinge hert brought burntofferynges. 32And the nombre of the burntofferynges that the congregacion broughte, was thre score bullockes and ten, an hundreth rames, and two hundreth lambes, and all these for the burntofferynge vnto the LORDE, 33and they sanctifyed sixe hundreth bullockes, and thre thousande shepe. 34But the prestes were to fewe, and coulde not pluck of the skynnes of all the burnt offerynges, therfore toke they their brethren the Leuites, tyll the worke was fynished, and tyll the prestes were halowed (for the Leuites are easier to be halowed then the prestes) 35and many of the burnt offerynges were with the fat of the thankofferynges and drynkofferynges to the burntsacrifices. Thus was the ministracion of the house of the LORDE prepared. 36And Ezechias reioysed with all the people, that they were prepared with God: for it was done righte haistely.