10. So I have decided to renew our agreement with the Lord God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop being so angry with us.
11. Let's not waste any time, my friends. You are the ones who were chosen to be the Lord's priests and to offer him sacrifices.
12-14. When Hezekiah finished talking, the following Levite leaders went to work:Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohath clan; Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merari clan; Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershon clan; Shimri and Jeuel from the Elizaphan clan; Zechariah and Mattaniah from the Asaph clan; Jehuel and Shimei from the Heman clan; Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthun clan.
15. These leaders gathered together the rest of the Levites, and they all went through the ceremony to make themselves clean. Then they began to purify the temple according to the Law of the Lord, just as Hezekiah had commanded.
16. The priests went into the temple and carried out everything that was unclean. They put these things in the courtyard, and from there, the Levites carried them outside the city to Kidron Valley.
17. The priests and Levites began their work on the first day of the first month. It took them one week to purify the courtyards of the temple and another week to purify the temple. So on the sixteenth day of that same month
18. they went back to Hezekiah and said:Your Majesty, we have finished our work. The entire temple is now pure again, and so is the altar and its utensils, as well as the table for the sacred loaves of bread and its utensils.
19. And we have brought back all the things that King Ahaz took from the temple during the time he was unfaithful to God. We purified them and put them back in front of the altar.
20. Straight away, Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem, and they went to the temple.
21. They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats as sacrifices to take away the sins of Hezekiah's family and of the people of Judah, as well as to purify the temple. Hezekiah told the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, to sacrifice these animals on the altar.
22. The priests killed the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, then splattered the blood on the altar.
23. They took the goats to Hezekiah and the worshippers, and they laid their hands on the animals.
24. The priests then killed the goats and splattered the blood on the altar as a sacrifice to take away the sins of everyone in Israel, because Hezekiah had commanded that these sacrifices be made for all the people of Israel.
25. Next, Hezekiah assigned the Levites to their places in the temple. He gave them cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments, according to the instructions that the Lord had given King David and the two prophets, Gad and Nathan.
26. The Levites were ready to play the instruments that had belonged to David; the priests were ready to blow the trumpets.
27. As soon as Hezekiah gave the signal for the sacrifices to be burnt on the altar, the musicians began singing praises to the Lord and playing their instruments,
28. and everyone worshipped the Lord. This continued until the last animal was sacrificed.
29. After that, Hezekiah and the crowd of worshippers knelt down and worshipped the Lord.