7. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and have extinguished the lamps, nor have they burned incense or burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel.
8. Therefore the wrath of the Lord has come on Judah and Jerusalem for a terror, horror, and scorn as you all can see with your own eyes.
9. Observe, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and now our sons, daughters, and wives are in captivity for all this.
10. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel so that His burning anger might turn away from us.
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.