⁵ He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves^(A) now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place. ⁶ For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place, and turned their backs on him.^{[a](B) 7} They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery,^[b](C) as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.^{(D) 10} It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel^(E) so that his burning anger may turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, don’t be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.”^(F)

Hezekiah’s Illness and Pride

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became sick to the point of death, so he prayed to the Lord, who spoke to him and gave him a miraculous sign.^{(A) 25} However, because his heart was proud,^(B) Hezekiah didn’t respond according to the benefit that had come to him. So there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem.^{(C) 26} Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart—he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—so the Lord’s wrath didn’t come^(D) on them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.^(E)

¹⁸ “Micah the Moreshite^(A) prophesied in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah^(B) and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: