2 Chronicles 30–33

Celebration of the Passover

30Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ⁱ²For the king and his officials and the entire congregation in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover of the Lord in the second month, ^j3because they were not able to observe it at the appropriate time. Not enough of the priests had consecrated themselves ^kand the people hadn’t been gathered together in Jerusalem. ⁴The proposal pleased the king and the congregation, ⁵so they affirmed the proposal and spread the message throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, ^lto come to observe the Passover of Yahweh, the God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they hadn’t observed it often, ^mas prescribed. ⁿ

⁶So the couriers ^owent throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped from the grasp of the kings of Assyria. ^p7Don’t be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors ^qso that He made them an object of horror ^ras you yourselves see. ⁸Don’t become obstinate ^stnow like your fathers did. Give your allegiance ^uto Yahweh, and come to His sanctuary that He has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that He may turn His burning anger away from you, ^v9for when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. ^wFor Yahweh your God is gracious and merciful; ^xHe will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

¹⁰The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants ^ylaughed at them and mocked them. ^z11But some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ^a12Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them ^bto carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord.

¹³A very large assembly of people was gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. ¹⁴They proceeded to take away the altars that were in Jerusalem, ^cand they took away the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley. ^d15They slaughtered the Passover lamb ^eon the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Lord’s temple. ¹⁶They stood at their prescribed posts, ^faccording to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites, ¹⁷for there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, and so the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the Lord. ^g18A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover ^hcontrary to what was written. ⁱBut Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement on behalf of ¹⁹whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, ^jYahweh, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. ^k21The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy, ^land the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day after day with loud instruments. ²²Then Hezekiah encouraged ^mnall the Levites who performed skillfully before the Lord. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. ^o

²³The whole congregation decided to observe ^pseven more days, so they observed seven days with joy, ²⁴for Hezekiah king of Judah contributed 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for the congregation. Also, the officials contributed 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep for the congregation, ^qand many priests consecrated themselves. ^r25Then the whole assembly of Judah with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that came from Israel, the foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and those who were living in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. ^s

²⁷Then the priests and the Levites ^tstood to bless the people, ^uand God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place ^vin heaven.

Removal of Idolatry

31When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars ^wthroughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one. ^xThen all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possession.

Offerings for Levites

²Hezekiah reestablished the divisions ^yof the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord, ^zeach division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites. ³The king contributed ^afrom his own possessions ^bfor the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of the Lord. ^c4He told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give a contribution ^dfor the priests and Levites so that they could devote their energy to the law of the Lord. ⁵When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the best of the grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance, a tenth ^eof everything. ⁶As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the cattle and sheep, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the Lord their God. ^fThey gathered them into large piles. ⁷In the third month they began building up the piles, and they finished in the seventh month. ⁸When Hezekiah and his officials came and viewed the piles, they praised the Lord and His people Israel.

⁹Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. ¹⁰Azariah, the chief priest of the household of Zadok, ^ganswered him, “Since they began bringing the offering to the Lord’s temple, we eat and are satisfied and there is plenty left over because the Lord has blessed His people; this abundance is what is left over.” ^h

¹¹Hezekiah told them to prepare chambers ⁱin the Lord’s temple, and they prepared them. ¹²The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully. Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge of them, and his brother Shimei was second. ^j13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were deputies under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah the chief official of God’s temple.

¹⁴Kore son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the freewill offerings to God to distribute the contribution to the Lord and the consecrated things. ^k15Eden, ^lMiniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests ^mwere to faithfully distribute it under his authority to their brothers by divisions, whether large or small. ¹⁶In addition, they distributed it to males registered by genealogy three ^noyears old and above; to all who would enter the Lord’s temple for their daily duty, ^pfor their service in their responsibilities according to their divisions. ¹⁷They distributed also to those recorded by genealogy of the priests by their ancestral families and the Levites 20 years old and above, ^qby their responsibilities in their divisions; ¹⁸to those registered by genealogy—with all their infants, wives, sons, and daughters—of the whole assembly (for they had faithfully consecrated themselves as holy); ¹⁹and to the descendants of Aaron, the priests, in the common fields of their cities, ^rin each and every city. There were men who were registered by name ^sto distribute a portion to every male among the priests and to every Levite recorded by genealogy.

²⁰Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the Lord his God. ^t21He was diligent in every deed that he began in the service of God’s temple, in the instruction and the commands, in order to seek his God, and he prospered.

Sennacherib’s Invasion

32After these faithful deeds, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities and intended ^uto break into them. ^v2Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he planned ^wwar on Jerusalem, ³so he consulted with his officials and his warriors about stopping up the waters of the springs that were outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴Many people gathered and stopped up all the springs ^xand the stream that flowed through the land; ^ythey said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?” ⁵Then Hezekiah strengthened his position by rebuilding the entire broken-down wall ^zand heightening the towers and the other outside wall. ^aHe repaired the supporting terraces ^bof the city of David, and made an abundance of weapons and shields.

⁶He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, ^cdsaying, ⁷“Be strong and courageous! ^eDon’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. ^f8He has only human strength, ^gbut we have Yahweh our God to help us and to…