King Hezekiah of Judah
(2 Kings 18.1-3)1 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 29 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 2 Hezekiah obeyed the Lord by doing right, just as his ancestor David had done.
The Temple Is Purified
3 In the first month of the first year of Hezekiah's rule, he unlocked the doors to the Lord's temple and had them repaired. 4 Then he called the priests and Levites to the east courtyard of the temple 5 and said:
It's time to purify the temple of the Lord God of our ancestors. You Levites must first go through the ceremony to make yourselves clean, then go into the temple and bring out everything that is unclean and unacceptable to the Lord. 6 Some of our ancestors were unfaithful and disobeyed the Lord our God. Not only did they turn their backs on the Lord, but they also completely ignored his temple. 7 They locked the doors, then let the lamps go out and stopped burning incense and offering sacrifices to him. 8 The Lord became terribly angry with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and everyone was shocked and horrified at what he did to punish them. Not only were 9 our ancestors killed in battle, but our own children and wives were taken captive.
10 So I have decided to renew our agreement with the Lord God of Israel. Maybe 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.
Worship in the Temple
20 At once, 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 worshipers, 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 burned on the altar, the musicians began singing praises to the Lord and playing their instruments, 28 and everyone worshiped the Lord. This continued until the last animal was sacrificed.
29 After that, Hezekiah and the crowd of worshipers bowed down and worshiped the Lord. 30 Then Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing the songs of praise that David and Asaph the prophet had written. And so they bowed down and joyfully sang praises to the Lord.
31 Hezekiah said to the crowd, “Now that you are once again acceptable to the Lord, bring sacrifices and offerings to give him thanks.”
The people did this, and some of them voluntarily brought animals to be offered as sacrifices. 32 Seventy bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs were brought as sacrifices to please the Lord; 33 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep were brought as sacrifices to ask the Lord's blessing. 34 There were not enough priests to skin all these animals, because many of the priests had not taken the time to go through the ceremony to make themselves clean. However, since all the Levites had made themselves clean, they helped the priests until the last animal was skinned. 35 Besides all the sacrifices that were burned on the altar, the fat from the other animal sacrifices was burned, and the offerings of wine were poured over the altar.
So the temple was once again used for worshiping the Lord. 36 Hezekiah and the people of Judah celebrated, because God had helped them make this happen so quickly.
Judab di gao-aob Hiskiab
(2 Gao-aogu 18:1-3)1 Hiskiab ge ǀgamdisikoroǀa kurixab a hîa ge gao-ao kai, tsîb ge ǀgamdisikhoeseǀa kuriga Jerusalems ǃnâ gere ǂgaeǂgui. ǁÎb îs ge Saxariab ôas Abijasa ge i. 2 Hiskiab ge ǁîb aboxab gao-aob Davidi aiǁgausa sao tsî ǃKhūba a ǃgâibana gere dī.
Tempeli di ǃanuǃanuhes
3 Hiskiab ge ǂguro kurib ǁîb ǂgaeǂguis dib di ǂguro ǁkhâb ǃnâ, Tempeli di dao-amde ǁkhowa-am tsî ǁîde ge dī-unu. 4 ǁÎb ge pristergu tsî Leviǁîgu tsîga aiǂoasǀkhāb di omǂnamib Tempeli dib tawa ǂgaiǀhao 5 tsî ǁîga ge mîba: “Sago Leviǁîgo ǃanuǃanusen, î go ǃKhūb sadu aboxan Elob di Tempela ǃanuǃanu. ǃAnuoǃnâ xū-i hoa-e Tempela xu ūǂui. 6 Sada aboxagu ge ǃKhūb sada Eloba ǁnâuǀnamoǃnâ tsî ǁîba ǃgâiba tamana ge dī. ǁÎgu ge ǁîba ǁnāxū tsî ǁîb di ǁanǃkhaisa ǁâba ge mā. 7 ǁÎgu ge Tempeli âb di dao-amde ǂganam, ǃamǀaede ǀari tsî ǀanǀanǁguibadi kas, khauǁguibadi kas hoasa Israeli di Elob di Tempeli ǃnâ ǁguiba tama ge i. 8 ǁNā-amagab ge ǃKhūba Judab tsî Jerusalems tsîra ǀkha ge ǁaixa, tsî ǁîb ge ǁîn ǀkha dīn ge hoaraga khoena ǃao tsî ge ǃhuri kai. Sadu hoadu ge ǁnāsa ǃgâise a ǂan. 9 Sada aboxagu ge torogu ǃnâ ge ǁō tsî sada tarekhoedi tsî ǀgôan tsîn ge ǃkhōsabese ge ǃgû-ūhe.
10 “Nēsi ta ge go mîǀgui ǃKhūb, Israeli di Elob ǀkha ta ǃgaeǀhao-e nî dīsa, îb tā ǃaruǀî sada ǀkha ǁaixa. 11 Ti ôago tā noxopa ǀhabe re. ǃKhūb ge sago ge ǁhûiǂuibasen, ǁîba go ǀanǀanǁguibade nî dība tsî go ǁaes âba ǁîb di ǃoabas ǃnâ nî ǂgaeǂguise.”
12-14 Sao ra Leviǁîgu ge ǁnāpa ge hâ i:
Kohatǁîna xu Amasaib ôab Mahati tsî Asariab ôab Joeli tsîkha;
Merariǁîna xu Abdib ôab Kisi tsî Jehaleleli ôab Asariab tsîkha;
Gersonǁîna xu Simmab ôab Joaxi tsî Joaxi ôab Edenni tsîkha;
Elisafanǁîna xu Simrib tsî Jeieli tsîkha;
Asafǁîna xu Saxariab tsî Matanjab tsîkha;
Hemanǁîna xu Jehieli tsî Simeib tsîkha;
Jedutunǁîna xu Semajab tsî Usieli tsîkha.
15 Nē khoegu ge ǁîgu di ǃgâsa Leviǁîga ge ǀhaoǀhao tsîgu ge ǁîgu hoaga ge ǃanuǃanusen. Tsîgu ge gao-aob xa gu ge mîmāhe hâ i khami Tempela ge ǃanuǃanu, ǃKhūb di ǂhanuba ǃoa. 16 Pristergu ge Tempeli ǃnâ ǁîba gu nî ǃanuǃanuse ǂgâ tsî ǃanuoǃnâ xūn hoana Tempeli di omǂnamib ǁga ge taniǂui. ǁNāpa xu gu ge Leviǁîga, ǁîna ǃās ǃaugab ǁga Kidronǃgoaǃnāb ǃoa ge ǃgû-ū.
17 Nē sîsenni ge ǂguro ǁkhâb di ǂguro tsēs ai tsoatsoa tsî ǁkhaisaǁî tsēs ai ge dītoahe, Tempeli di ai-ommi kōse. ǁNās khaoǃgâ gu ge noxopa ǁkhaisa tsēde Tempela ǃanuǃanus ǀkha ge aiǃgû, disiǃnaniǀaǁî tsēs ǁkhâb dis ai gu ge sîsenna dītoas kōse.
Tempeli ge ǁkhawa ra khaihe
18 Leviǁîgu ge sao ra ǃnuriba gao-aob Hiskiaba sī ge mā: “Sige ge hoaraga Tempela go ǃanuǃanutoa. ǀAnǀanǁguibas altars, ǁguibaperegu tāb tsî hoaraga sîsenūxūn tsîna ge ge ǁkhāti go ǃanuǃanu. 19 Hoaraga sîsenūxūn, gao-aob Axasi ge ǁîb ǂgaeǂguis ǁaeb, Elob ǃoagub ge ǂgomǂgomsa tama hâ ib ǃnâ ūbē hâ ina ge ge ǁkhawa oaǀkhī-ū tsî go khai. ǁÎn hoan ge ǃKhūb di altars aiǃâ mâ.”
20 Ob ge gao-aob Hiskiaba ǃnauǁgoaga ǃās di ǂamkhoegu hoaga ge ǂgaiǀhao tsîgu ge ǀguipa Tempela ǃoa ge ǃgû. 21 ǁÎgu ge hû ǁgōgu, hû baigu, hû ǁkhaogu tsî hû pirigu tsîga, gao-aob surib tsî Judab khoen tsîn di ǁoreǁguibas ase tsî Tempeli di khaihes tsîn ǃaroma ge ūsao. Tsîb ge gao-aoba pristergu, Aronni surib diga ge mîmā, î gu ǁnā ǁguibasa ǃKhūb di altars ai ǁguiba. 22 O gu ge pristerga ǂgurose ǁgōga ge ǂā tsî ǁnāpa xu baiga tsî ǁnāpa xu ǁkhaoga tsî mâ ǁguibas hoas di ǀaoba altars ai ge ǀgapi. 23 ǀUnis ai ge ǁoreǁguibas piriga ū tsî gao-aob tsî nau ǀgoreǀî-aon tawa ge sī-ū, tsîn ge ǁîna ǃomgu âna ǁîgu ai ge ǁgui. 24 ǁNās khaoǃgâ gu ge pristerga piriga ǂā tsî ǁîgu ǀaoba ǁoreǁguibas ase altars ai ge ǂnâǂui, ǂkhîbagusa hoaraga Israelǁîna dības ǃaroma, gao-aob ge khauǁguibas tsî ǁoreǁguibas tsîran hoaraga Israelǁîna nî dībahesa mîmā xui-ao.
25 Gao-aob ge ǃKhūb ge gao-aob Davida, gao-aob di kēbo-aob Gadi tsî kēbo-aob Natanni tsîkha ǃnâ-u mā mîmā hâ i khami ge dī. ǁÎb ge Leviǁîga ge mîmā, îgu harpdi tsî simbaldi ǀkha Tempeli ǃnâ mâ, 26 o gu Leviǁîga gao-aob Davidi di ǀkhōxūn ǁkhān khami i ǀkhōxūn ǀkha ge mâ tsî pristergu ge xâiǁnâdi ǀkha ge mâ. 27 Hiskiab ge ge mîmā, khauǁguibas altars ai nî ǁguibahesa. Tsî khauǁguibas ra tsoatsoahe hîan ge khoena ǃKhūba ge koaǁnaeba, xâiǁnâdi tsî nau ǀkhōxūn Israeli gao-aob Davidi din ra ǀkhōhese. 28 ǁNāpa ge hâ i khoen hoan ge ge ǀgoreǀîtsoatsoa tsîn ge ǁnaeb tsî xâiǁnâdi ǀōb tsîna, khauǁguibas ge dītoahes kōse ge aiǃgû. 29 ǁNās khaoǃgân ge gao-aob Hiskiab tsî ǁîb ǀkha ge hâ i khoen hoana ǃhonǁgoa tsî Eloba ge ǀgoreǀî. 30 Gao-aob Hiskiab tsî ǁaes di ǂgaeǂgui-aogu ge Leviǁîga ge mîmā, î gu Davidi tsî kēbo-aob Asafi tsîkha ǁnaetsanadi ǀkha ǃKhūba koaǁnaeba. O gu ge hoaga kai ǃgâiaǂgaob ǀkha ra ǁnaese ǃhonǁgoa tsî ǃKhūba ge ǀgoreǀî.
31 ǁNās khaoǃgâb ge Hiskiaba khoen ǃoa ge mî: “Nēsi du ge go ǃanu, xuige ǂāǁguibadi tsî ganganǁguibadi tsîna ǃKhūba hā-ūba re.” On ge khoena ǂāǁguibadi tsî ganganǁguibadi tsîna ge hā-ū tsîn ge ǀnîna māsenxase khauǁguibadi tsîna ge hā-ū. 32 ǁÎn ge hûdisi ǁgōgu, ǀguikaidisi baigu tsî ǀgamkaidisi ǁkhaogu tsîna khauǁguibas ase ǃKhūba ge hā-ūba. 33 ǁÎn ge ǁkhāti ǃnanikaidisi ǁgōgu tsî ǃnonaǀoadisi ǀgoan tsîna ǁguibas ǃaroma ge hā-ū. 34 Pristergu ge nē xūn hoana ǂāsa ǃoa ǀoro i, xui-ao gu ge Leviǁîga, sîsenni nî dītoahes kōse ǁîga ge hui. ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâ gu ge ǃnāsa pristerga ge ǃanuǃanusen. Leviǁîgu ge pristergu xa ǃnāsase ge ǂgomǂgomsa i. 35 Khauǁguibadi ge kaise ge ǂgui i tsî kaub ǂûǁguibadi dib tsî āǁguibadi, khauǁguibadi tawa gere ǀarohedi tsîna. ǁNātis ge Tempelǃoabasa ǁkhawa ge ǂnûiǂgāhe.
36 Gao-aob Hiskiab tsî ǁaes tsîn ge kaise gere ǃgâiaǂgao, Elob ge ǁîna, nē ǃkhaisan ǃhaese nî dītoase hui xui-ao.
