11. My people, do not now be negligent for the Lord has chosen you all to stand in His presence, to serve Him, and to be ministers and make sacrifices for Him.”
12. Then the Levites arose:from the Kohathites,Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;from the Merarites,Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;from the Gershonites,Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
13. from the descendants of Elizaphan,Shimri and Jeiel;from the descendants of Asaph,Zechariah and Mattaniah;
14. from the descendants of Heman,Jehiel and Shimei;from the descendants of Jeduthun,Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15. So they gathered their brothers together and consecrated themselves and entered in as the king commanded by the words of the Lord in order to cleanse the house of the Lord.
16. Then the priests came into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they removed everything that they found that was unclean in the main hall of the temple of the Lord to the court. And the Levites took those things and brought them out to the Kidron Valley.
17. They began to consecrate themselves on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the vestibule of the Lord. They consecrated the house of the Lord for eight days. Then on the sixteenth day of the first month they completed the task.
18. Then they came toward Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleaned the entire house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the table for showbread and all its utensils.
19. All the vessels that King Ahaz discarded from use during his reign in his treachery we have prepared and consecrated. They are before the altar of the Lord.”
20. So King Hezekiah got up early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord.
21. And he brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, sanctuary, and Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them up on the altar of the Lord.
22. So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took their blood and sprinkled it on the altar and then slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar. They did the same for the lambs.
23. And they brought the male goats for a sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on the goats.
24. And the priests slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood to provide atoning reconciliation for all Israel because the king said that the burnt offering and sin offering would be for all Israel.
25. And he set the Levites at the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the commandment of David, and Gad the seer of the king, and Nathan the prophet. For the commandment came from the Lord through His prophets.
26. So the Levites stood with the instruments of David and the priests with the trumpets.