13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread rin the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed sthe altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away tand threw into the brook Kidron. 15 uAnd they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. vAnd the priests and the Levites were ashamed, wso that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 xThey took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses ythe man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. 18 For a majority of the people, zmany of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise athan as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone 19 bwho sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”1 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept cthe Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might2 to the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spoke dencouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing epeace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast ffor another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah ggave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests hconsecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, iand the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for jsince the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then kthe priests and the Levites arose and lblessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to mhis holy habitation in heaven.