9. Our fathers were killed in battle, and our sons, daughters, and wives are prisoners because of this.
10. Now I intend to make a pledge to the Lord God of Israel so that he may turn his burning anger away from us.
11. Don’t be negligent, my sons. The Lord has chosen you to stand in front of him, serve him, be his servants, and burn sacrifices.”
12. So the Levites started to work.From Kohath’s descendants were Mahath, son of Amasai, and Joel, son of Azariah.From Merari’s descendants were Kish, son of Abdi, and Azariah, son of Jehallelel.From Gershon’s descendants were Joah, son of Zimmah, and Eden, son of Joah.
13. From Elizaphan’s descendants were Shimri and Jeiel.From Asaph’s descendants were Zechariah and Mattaniah.
14. From Heman’s descendants were Jehiel and Shimei.From Jeduthun’s descendants were Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15. These men gathered their relatives and performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy. Then they obeyed the king’s order from the Lord’s word and entered the temple to make it clean.
16. The priests entered the Lord’s temple to make it clean. They carried into the courtyard every unclean thing that they found in the Lord’s temple. Then the Levites took the unclean items outside the city to the Kidron Brook.