« | 2 Chronicles 31 | » |
1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the images in pieces, and cut down the Asherah poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
2 And Hezekiah appointed the watches of the priests and the Levites according to their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD.
3 He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD.
4 Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD.
5 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
6 And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps.
7 In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.
8 And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel.
9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him and said, "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have left plenty; for the LORD hath blessed His people, and that which is left is this great store.
11 Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare storage chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them,
12 and faithfully brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things, over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler and Shimei his brother was the next.
13 And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God.
14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God to distribute the oblations of the LORD and the most holy things.
15 And next to him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small;
16 besides their genealogy of males from three years old and upward, even unto every one who entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges, according to their courses,
17 both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses;
18 and to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation; for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness;
19 also of the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities in every separate city, the men who were expressed by name to give portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites.
20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.
21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
About: The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21) is an updated version of the King James Version Bible published in 1994 that remains aligned to the Textus Receptus, and does not exclude biblical passages based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts. Unlike the New King James Version, it does not change the language significantly from the 1611 King James Version, keeping Jacobean grammar (including thee and thou), but it tries to substitute some of the vocabulary that may not be understood by the modern reader.
The alterations in words are based on the second edition of the Webster New International Dictionary. There were no changes related to gender or theology. Recently, it has the capitalization of pronouns much like New King James Version, addressing Deity while keeping the archaic pronouns.
The reader should notice almost no difference from reading the King James Version except that certain archaic words have been replaced with words that are more understandable in modern English. The translation is directed towards readers who are looking for a very conservative King James update, but reduce the use of obsolete words.