2 Chronicles 30

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.