2 Chronicles 29:20

THE MESSAGE

Then Hezekiah the king went to work: He got all the leaders of the city together and marched to The Temple of God . They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats to sacrifice as an Absolution-Offering for the royal family, for the Sanctuary, and for Judah as a whole; he directed the Aaronite priests to sacrifice them on the Altar of God . The priests butchered the bulls and then took the blood and sprinkled it on the Altar, and then the same with the rams and lambs. Finally they brought the goats up; the king and congregation laid their hands upon them. The priests butchered them and made an Absolution-Offering with their blood at the Altar to atone for the sin of all Israel—the king had ordered that the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Absolution-Offering be for all Israel.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
King Hezekiah got up early, gathered the city officials, and went to the Lord’s temple.

Hebrew Names Version
Then Hizkiyahu the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

King James Version
Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord .

English Standard Version
Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord .

New Century Version
Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the leaders of the city and went up to the Temple of the Lord .

New English Translation
Early the next morning King Hezekiah assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord 's temple.

Amplified Bible
Then King Hezekiah arose early and assembled the officials of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

New American Standard Bible
Then King Hezekiah got up early and assembled the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

World English Bible
Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Yahweh.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Hezekiah the King rose early, and gathered the princes of the citie, and went vp to the house of the Lord.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then King Hezekiah arose early and gathered the princes of the city and went up to the house of Yahweh.

Berean Standard Bible
Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went up to the house of the LORD.

Contemporary English Version
Right away, Hezekiah called together the officials of Jerusalem, and they went to the temple.

Complete Jewish Bible
Next morning, Hizkiyahu the king got up early, gathered the leading men of the city and went up to the house of Adonai .

Darby Translation
And Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah.

Easy-to-Read Version
King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went up to the Temple of the Lord early the next morning.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the elders of Jerusalem, and went up to the house of the LORD.

Good News Translation
Without delay King Hezekiah assembled the leading men of the city, and together they went to the Temple.

Lexham English Bible
Then King Hezekiah rose early and gathered the officials of the city, and he went up to the house of Yahweh.

Literal Translation
And Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the heads of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The the kynge Ezechias gat him vp early, and gathered together the Elders of the cite, and wete vp vnto the house of the LORDE,

American Standard Version
Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English
Then Hezekiah the king got up early, and got together the great men of the town, and went up to the house of the Lord.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Hezekia the king rose earlye, and gathered the lordes of the citie, and went vp to the house of the Lorde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

King James Version (1611)
Then Hezekiah the king rose earely, and gathered the rulers of the citie, and went vp to the house of the Lord.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And king Ezekias rose early in the morning, and gathered the chief men of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord.

English Revised Version
Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Ezechie, the kyng, roos in the morwetid, and gaderide togidere alle the princes of the citee, and stiede in to the hows of the Lord;

Update Bible Version
Then Hezekiah the king arose early, and gathered the princes of the city, and went up to the house of Yahweh.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and convened the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

New King James Version
Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

New Living Translation
Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went to the Temple of the Lord .

New Life Bible
Then King Hezekiah got up early and gathered the city rulers and went up to the house of the Lord.

New Revised Standard
Then King Hezekiah rose early, assembled the officials of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord .

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Hezekiah the king rose up early, and gathered together the rulers of the city, - and went up to the house of Yahweh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And king Ezechias rising early, assembled all the rulers of the city, and went up into the house of the Lord:

Revised Standard Version
Then Hezeki'ah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.

Young's Literal Translation
And Hezekiah the king riseth early, and gathereth the heads of the city, and goeth up to the house of Jehovah;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then King Hezekiah arose early and assembled the princes of the city and went up to the house of the LORD.

Contextual Overview

²⁰Then Hezekiah the king went to work: He got all the leaders of the city together and marched to The Temple of God . They brought with them seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven he-goats to sacrifice as an Absolution-Offering for the royal family, for the Sanctuary, and for Judah as a whole; he directed the Aaronite priests to sacrifice them on the Altar of God . The priests butchered the bulls and then took the blood and sprinkled it on the Altar, and then the same with the rams and lambs. Finally they brought the goats up; the king and congregation laid their hands upon them. The priests butchered them and made an Absolution-Offering with their blood at the Altar to atone for the sin of all Israel—the king had ordered that the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the Absolution-Offering be for all Israel. ²⁵The king ordered the Levites to take their places in The Temple of God with their musical instruments—cymbals, harps, zithers—following the original instructions of David, Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; this was God 's command conveyed by his prophets. The Levites formed the orchestra of David, while the priests took up the trumpets. ²⁷Then Hezekiah gave the signal to begin: The Whole-Burnt-Offering was offered on the Altar; at the same time the sacred choir began singing, backed up by the trumpets and the David orchestra while the entire congregation worshiped. The singers sang and the trumpeters played all during the sacrifice of the Whole-Burnt-Offering. When the offering of the sacrifice was completed, the king and everyone there knelt to the ground and worshiped. Then Hezekiah the king and the leaders told the Levites to finish things off with anthems of praise to God using lyrics by David and Asaph the seer. They sang their praises with joy and reverence, kneeling in worship. ³¹Hezekiah then made this response: "The dedication is complete—you're consecrated to God . Now you're ready: Come forward and bring your sacrifices and Thank-Offerings to The Temple of God ." And come they did. Everyone in the congregation brought sacrifices and Thank-Offerings and some, overflowing with generosity, even brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings, a generosity expressed in seventy bulls, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs—all for Whole-Burnt-Offerings for God ! The total number of animals consecrated for sacrifice that day amounted to six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. They ran out of priests qualified to slaughter all the Whole-Burnt-Offerings so their brother Levites stepped in and helped out while other priests consecrated themselves for the work. It turned out that the Levites had been more responsible in making sure they were properly consecrated than the priests had been. Besides the overflow of Whole-Burnt-Offerings there were also choice pieces for the Peace-Offerings and lavish libations that went with the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The worship in The Temple of God was on a firm footing again! ³⁶ Hezekiah and the congregation celebrated: God had established a firm foundation for the lives of the people—and so quickly!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

rose: Genesis 22:3, Exodus 24:4, Joshua 6:12, Jeremiah 25:4

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 23:1 - the king 1 Chronicles 13:1 - consulted 2 Chronicles 1:2 - to the captains

Cross-References

Genesis 29:6
"Are things well with him?" Jacob continued. "Very well," they said. "And here is his daughter Rachel coming with the flock."

Genesis 29:7
Jacob said, "There's a lot of daylight still left; it isn't time to round up the sheep yet, is it? So why not water the flocks and go back to grazing?"

Hosea 12:12
Are you going to repeat the life of your ancestor Jacob? He ran off guilty to Aram, Then sold his soul to get ahead, and made it big through treachery and deceit. Your real identity is formed through God-sent prophets, who led you out of Egypt and served as faithful pastors. As it is, Ephraim has continually and inexcusably insulted God. Now he has to pay for his life-destroying ways. His Master will do to him what he has done.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Hezekiah the king rose early,.... Took the first opportunity to attend the worship of God, and set an example to his people:

and gathered the rulers of the city; the elders of the people, the chief magistrates in Jerusalem:

and went up to the house of the Lord; the temple, to worship there.