1map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

2tn Heb “at that time.”

3tn Heb “and the thing was proper in the eyes of.”

4tn Heb “and they caused to stand a word to cause a voice to pass through.”

5tn The words “summoning the people” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

6tn Heb “because not for abundance had they done as written.”

7tn Heb “the runners.”

8tn Heb “and according to the command of the king, saying.”

9tn The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

10tn Heb “to the survivors who are left to you from the palm of the kings of Assyria.”

11tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 19, 22).

12tn Heb “and he made them a devastation” (or, perhaps, “an object of horror”).

13tn Heb “don’t stiffen your neck” (a Hebrew idiom for being stubborn).

14tn Heb “give a hand.” On the meaning of the idiom here, see HALOT 387 s.v. I יָד 2.

15tn Heb “so that the rage of his anger might turn from you.” The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

16tn Heb “turn [his] face from you.”

17tn Heb “and they were mocking them and ridiculing them.”

18tn Heb “also in Judah the hand of God was to give to them one heart to do the command of the king and the officials by the word of the Lord.”

19tn The Hebrew text adds here, “a very large assembly.” This has not been translated to avoid redundancy with the expression “a huge crowd” at the beginning of the verse.

20tn Heb “and they arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem, and all the incense altars they removed and threw into the Kidron Valley.”

21tn Heb “from the hand of the Levites.”

22tn Heb “were over the slaughter of.”

23tn Heb “of everyone not pure to consecrate to the Lord.”

24tn Heb “without what is written.”

25tn Heb “make atonement for.”

26tn Heb “everyone [who] has prepared his heart to seek God.”

27tn Heb “and not according to the purification of the holy place.”

28tn Heb “listened.”

29tn Heb “healed.”

30tn Heb “and they were praising the Lord day by day, the Levites and the priests with instruments of strength to the Lord.” The phrase בִּכְלֵי־עֹז (bikhley-oz, “with instruments of strength”) might refer to loud sounding musical instruments (NASB “with loud instruments”; NEB “with unrestrained fervour”). The present translation assumes an emendation to בְּכָל־עֹז (b˙khol-oz, “with all strength”); see 1 Chr 13:8, as well as HALOT 805 s.v. I עֹז and BDB 739 s.v. עֹז).

31tn Heb “and Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites.” On the meaning of the idiom “speak to the heart of” here, see HALOT 210 s.v. II דבר 8.d.

32tn Heb “who demonstrated skill [with] good skill for the Lord.”

33tn Heb “and they ate [during] the appointed time [for] seven days.” מוֹעֵד (moed, “appointed time”) is probably an adverbial accusative of time referring to the festival. However, some understand it as metonymically referring to the food eaten during the festival. See BDB 417 s.v.

34tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (tson, translated “sheep” twice in this verse) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.

35tn Heb “the assembly.” The pronoun “them” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

36tn Heb “they rejoiced.”

37tn Heb “and there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.”

38tn Heb “and it was heard with their voice.” BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Niph.4 interprets this to mean “hearing was granted to their voice.” It is possible that the name יְהוָה (y˙hvah, “the Lord”) has been accidentally omitted.