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2 Chronicles 31

1 The people deſtroye idolatrie. 2 Hezekiáh appointeth Prieſts & Leuites. 4 And prouideth for their liuing. 13 He ordeineth ouerſeers to diſtribute to euerie one his portion.
1.ANd whẽ all theſe thĩgs were finiſhed, all Iſraél that were founde in ỹ cities of Iudáh, went out & brake the images, & cut downe the groues, & brake downe the hie places, and the altars through out all Iudáh & Beniamín, in Ephráim alſo and Manaſſéh, vntil they had made an end: afterward all the childré of Iſraél returned euerie má to his poſſeſsion, into their owne cities.
2.And Hezekiáh appointed the courſes of the Prieſts and Leuites by their turnes, euerie man according to his office, bothe Prieſts & Leuites, for the burnt offring & peace offrings, to miniſter & to giue thankes, and to praiſe in the gates of the tents of the Lord.
3.(And the Kings porcion was of his owne ſubſtance for the burnt offrings, euen for the burnt offrigs of the morning & of the euening, and the burnt offrings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moones, & for the ſolemne feaſtes, as it is writen in the Law of the Lord)
4.He commáded alſo the people that dwelt in Ieruſalém, to giue a parte to the Prieſts, and Leuites, that they might be encouraged in the Law of the Lord.
5.And whé the commãdement was ſpred, the children of Iſraél broght abundance of firſt frutes, of corne, wine, & oyle, & honie, & of all the increaſe of the field, and the tithes of all things broght they abundantly.
6.And the children of Iſraél & Iudáh that dwelt in ye cities of Iudah, thei alſo broght the tithes of bullockes and ſhepe, and the holy tithes wc were cõſecrate vnto ye Lord their God, & laid them on many heapes.
7.In the third moneth they began to laye the fundacion of the heapes, and finiſhed them in the ſeuenth moneth.
8.¶ And when Hezekiáh & the princes came, and ſawe the heapes, thei bleſſed the Lord and his people Iſraél.
9.And Hezekiáh queſtioned wt the Prieſts and the Leuites concerning the heapes.
10.And Azariáh ye chief Prieſt of the houſe of Zadók anſwered him, & ſaid, Since the people begã to bring the offrings into the houſe of the Lord, we haue eaten & haue bene ſatiſficed, & there is left in abũdãce: for the Lord hathe bleſſed his people, and this abundance that is left.
11.¶ And Hezekiáh cõmanded to prepare chambers in the houſe of the Lord: and they prepared them,
12.And caryed in the firſt frutes, and the tithes, & the dedicate things faithfully: & ouer thẽ was Conaniáh the Leuite, ye chief, and Shimeí his brother the ſeconde.
13.And Iehiél, and Azaziáh, & Náhath, & Aſahél, & Ierimóth, and Iozabád, and Eliél, and Iſmachiáh, and Máhath, and Benaiáh were ouerſeers by the appointement of Conaniáh, and Shimeí his brother, by the cõmandement of Hezekiáh the King, and of Azariáh the chief of the houſe of God.
14.And Koré the ſonne of Imnáh the Leuite porter toward the Eaſt, was ouer the things yt were willingly offred vnto God, to diſtribute the oblations of the Lord, & the holy things that were conſecrate.
15.And at his hand were Edén, & Miniamín, & Ieſhua, & Shemaiah, Amariáh, and Shechaniáh, in the cities of the Prieſts, to diſtribute with fidelitie to their brethrẽ by courſes, bothe to the great and ſmall,
16.Their daily porcion: beſide their generacion being males from thre yere olde and aboue, euen to all that entred into the houſe of the Lord to their office in their charge, according to their courſes:
17.Bothe to the generació of the Prieſts after the houſe of their fathers, & to the Leuites from twentie yere olde & aboue, according to their charge in their courſes:
18.And to the generacion of all their children, their wiues, & their ſonnes and their daughters throughout all the Congregacion: for by their fidelitie are thei partakers of the holy things.
19.Alſo to the ſonnes of Aarón, the Prieſts, which were in ye fields & ſuburbes of their cities, in euerie citie the men that were appointed by names, ſhulde giue porcions to all the males of the Prieſts, and to all the generacion of the Leuites.
20.And thus did Hezekiáh throughout all Iudáh, and did wel, and vprightly, & truely before the Lord his God.
21.And in all the workes that he began for the ſeruice of the houſe of God, bothe in the Law and in the commandements, to ſeke his God, he did it with all his heart, & proſpered.

Notes

1:a.
According to the cõmandemẽt of the Lord, Deut 7, 25, Ioſh 7,1. 2, mac 12,40.
1:b.
That is, all they which came to the Paſſeouer.
2:c.
That is, in ye Temple where thei aſſembled as in a tent.
3:*.
Nom. 28. 8. & 9.
4:d.
The tithes & firſt frutes for the maintenance of ye Prieſts and Leuites.
4:e.
That their mindes might not be intangled with prouiſion of wordely thĩgs but yt they might wholy & cherefully ſerue the Lord.
5:".
Or, publiſhed.
6:f.
Which they had dedicate to the Lord by a vowe.
6:g.
For the relief of the Prieſts, Leuites, widowes, pupilles, fatherleſſe, ſtrangers & ſuche as were in neceſſitie.
8:h.
Thei praiſed the Lord, and praied for all proſperitie to his people.
10:i.
He ſheweth that this plẽteous liberalitie is expediẽt for ye maintenance of the miniſters, and that God therefore proſpereth his people, & increaſeth by his bleſsing that which is giué.
13:".
Ebr. by the hand.
16:k.
Who had alſo a porcion & alowance in this diſtribucion.
18:l.
Meaning, that either by the faithful diſtribucions of the officers, euerie one had their parte in the thĩgs that were offred, or els that their wiues & childré were relieued, becauſe the Leuites were faithful in their office, and ſo depended on them.