And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron.

2 CHRONICLES 29:16KJV
Know the Bible

2 Chronicles 29:16 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 29:16 mean?

2 Chronicles 29:16 describes how the priests entered the inner part of the temple to clean it, removing everything considered unclean and bringing it out to the temple courtyard, where the Levites then carried it away to be disposed of in the brook Kidron. This verse shows the careful process of purifying the temple during King Hezekiah’s reforms.

King Hezekiah had just begun a major effort to restore proper worship in Jerusalem after a period of neglect and idolatry. The priests and Levites, who were responsible for the temple’s care, are shown working together: the priests go into the most sacred areas to remove defilement, and the Levites handle the disposal. The verse highlights the seriousness with which they approached cleansing God’s house and restoring its holiness.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 29:16

  • "Uncleanness" (נִדָּה, niddah): This word often refers to ritual impurity or things that make a place or person unfit for worship. Its use here shows that the temple was not just dirty, but had been defiled in a way that broke Israel’s religious laws.
  • "Cleanse" (טָהֵר, taher): This verb means to purify or make clean, especially in a ritual sense. The priests’ actions were not just about physical cleaning, but about restoring the temple’s spiritual readiness for worship.
  • "Brook" (נַחַל, nachal) "Kidron" (קִדְרוֹן, Kidron): The Kidron Valley was east of Jerusalem and often used as a place to dispose of things removed from the temple. Mentioning it here shows that the impurity was taken completely away from the holy area.

Why 2 Chronicles 29:16 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the temple’s defilement was taken seriously and addressed in a thorough, organized way, not just by one group but through cooperation between priests and Levites.
  • It connects to the wider chapter, which describes Hezekiah’s reforms and the restoration of proper worship, showing that renewal began with removing what was unclean.
  • The mention of the brook Kidron links this event to other times in Israel’s history when idols or impurities were destroyed or removed there, underlining a pattern of cleansing and renewal.

Where else these words appear

“Kidron” Hebrew H6939 · used in 10 verses

  • 2 Samuel 15:23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
  • 2 Kings 23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
  • 2 Chronicles 15:16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

“took” Hebrew H6901 · used in 12 verses

  • Exodus 26:5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee
  • Esther 9:23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;

“part” Hebrew H6441 · used in 13 verses

  • Leviticus 10:18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
  • 1 Kings 6:29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.
  • 2 Chronicles 29:18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof.

“uncleanness” Hebrew H2932 · used in 31 verses

  • Leviticus 5:3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
  • Leviticus 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
  • Ezra 9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.