2 Chronicles 29:3-17

3He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, and repaired them.

4And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them into the open place eastward;

5and he said to them, Hear me, ye Levites: hallow yourselves now, and hallow the house of Jehovah the 1God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the sanctuary.

6For our fathers have transgressed, and done evil in the sight of Jehovah our 2God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the habitation of Jehovah, and have turned their backs.

7Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered up burnt-offerings in the sanctuary to the 3God of Israel.

8Therefore the wrath of Jehovah has been upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to vexation, to desolation, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

9And behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

10Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Jehovah the 4God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.

11My sons, be not now negligent; for Jehovah has chosen you to stand before him, to do service unto him, and to be his ministers and incense-burners.

12Then the Levites rose up, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalleleel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah;

13and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah;

14and of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.

15And they gathered their brethren, and hallowed themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king by the words of Jehovah, to cleanse the house of Jehovah.

16And the priests went into the inner part of the house of Jehovah to cleanse it, and carried forth all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of Jehovah, into the court of the house of Jehovah. And the Levites took it to carry it forth into the brook Kidron.

17And they began on the first of the first month to hallow, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of Jehovah; and they hallowed the house of Jehovah eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.