There were many in the congregation that were not sanctified. — Comp. 2 Chronicles 35:6; 2 Chronicles 35:10-11, where the Levites are again represented as doing the same work, but not as an exception. The precedent of Hezekiah’s Passover would seem to have become the rule. (Comp. also Ezra 6:20.)
To sanctify them — i.e., the lambs, which would have been ceremonially unclean if slain by unclean hands. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 2:4, “to dedicate it unto Him;” the same verb.)