2 Chronicles 30–33

Hezekiah Celebrates Passover

30Then Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. ²Now the king and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to make the Passover feast in the second month—³but they were not able to make it at that time, for the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers,^a and the people had not been assembled in Jerusalem—⁴and the plan seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly. ⁵So they let the decree stand, to make a proclamation^b throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed.^{c 6}And the runners went with the letter from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah according to the command of the king, saying, “O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. ⁷Do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who acted unfaithfully before Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,^d so that he made them as a desolation, as you see. ⁸Now, do not stiffen your neck as your fathers,^e but give a hand to Yahweh and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve Yahweh your God that his fierce anger may turn away from you. ⁹For when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your children will find compassion before their captors and return to this land, for Yahweh your God is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰And it happened that the runners were passing from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and up to Zebulun, but they were laughing at them and mocking them. ¹¹Only men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹²The hand of God was also upon Judah, to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and the princes concerning the word of Yahweh.

¹³So many people gathered in Jerusalem to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; it was a very great assembly. ¹⁴And they rose up and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem. And they removed all the incense altars and threw them away in the Wadi^f Kidron. ¹⁵And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were disgraced, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of Yahweh. ¹⁶Then they stood at their positions according to custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests were sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷For there were many in the assembly who did not consecrate themselves, so the Levites were over the killing of the Passover sacrifices for all who were not clean, to consecrate them to Yahweh. ¹⁸For a majority of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. But they ate the Passover sacrifice otherwise than prescribed,^g but Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Yahweh make atonement unto ¹⁹everyone whose heart is set to seek God, Yahweh the God of his ancestors,^h though not according to the cleansing for the sanctuary.” ²⁰And Yahweh listened to Hezekiah, and he healed the people. ²¹And the Israelitesⁱ who were found in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy. And the Levites and the priests were offering praise to Yahweh day by day, with powerful instruments to Yahweh. ²²And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites who were skilled at service^j to Yahweh. So they ate the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.^k

²³Then the whole assembly decided to make seven more days of feasting, so they made seven more days with joy, ²⁴for Hezekiah the king of Judah had provided^l one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the princes provided^m one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly. And many priests consecrated themselves. ²⁵And the whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites and all the assembly who had come from Israel, and the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing such as this in Jerusalem. ²⁷Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy dwelling place in the heavens.

Hezekiah Organizes the Priesthood

31And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh to the very last one.^a Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property and to their cities.

²And Hezekiah appointed working groups of the priests and the Levites, each according to their divisions, according to the service for priests and Levites,^b for burnt offerings, for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camps of Yahweh. ³And the gift of the king was out of his own possessions for the burnt offerings—the burnt offerings for the morning and the evening and for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and appointed feasts, as is written in the law of Yahweh. ⁴Then he said to the people, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to give a gift for the priests and the Levites, so that they might be strong in the law of Yahweh. ⁵And the word spread. The Israelites gave abundantly from the firstfruits of grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all kinds of grains from the field. And they brought tithes of everything in abundance. ⁶Then the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps upon heaps. ⁷In the third month the heaps began to pile up, and in the seventh month they ceased. ⁸When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel. ⁹And Hezekiah questioned^c the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, saying, “Since the offerings began to be brought to the house of Yahweh, we have eaten and been satisfied, and have much to spare, for Yahweh has blessed his people. Now see this abundant remainder!”

¹¹And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Yahweh, and they were prepared. ¹²Then they brought the offerings and tithes and holy objects faithfully. And over them as leader was Conaniah the Levite. And Shimei his brother was second in rank. ¹³And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nathan, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were chief officers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah. And Azaraiah was leader of the house of God. ¹⁴Now Kore the son of Imlah, the Levite, the gatekeeper of the east gate was over the freewill offerings of God, to give offerings to Yahweh and the most holy things. ¹⁵And at his hand were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests and entrusted^d to give to their brothers by working groups, according to the eldest to the youngest, ¹⁶besides their enrollment by genealogy, to males from three years old^e and above, to all who came into the house of Yahweh, as each day required^f for their service in their posts according to their working groups. ¹⁷And the enrollment of the priests was according to the house of their fathers, and the Levites, from twenty years old^g and above, according to their posts by their working groups. ¹⁸And they were enrolled with all their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters for the whole assembly because of their faithfulness. And they sanctified themselves in holiness. ¹⁹And for the descendants^h of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of the pasturelands of their cities, in each and every one of their citiesⁱ were men who were designated by name to give shares to every male among the priests and to everyone enrolled among the Levites.

²⁰And Hezekiah did according to this throughout all Judah. And he did what is good and what is right and what is faithful before Yahweh his God. ²¹And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God or with respect to the law and the commandment to seek his God, he did with all his heart, and he prospered.

Sennacherib’s Invasion of Judah

32After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib the king of Assyria came, and he came against Judah. And he encamped against the fortified cities and planned to break them down for himself. ²When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that his face was set for battle against Jerusalem, ³he took counsel with his commanders and his mighty warriors to block off the waters of the springs that came from outside the city, and they helped him. ⁴Then many people were gathered, and they blocked off all the springs and the river that flowed through the midst of the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” ⁵Then he strengthened himself and built up all the walls that were broken down, and raised towers upon them and another wall outside.^a And he strengthened the Millo of the city of David and made much weaponry and small shields. ⁶And he appointed commanders for battle over the people and gathered them to himself into the public square of the gate of the city. And he spoke to their hearts, saying, ^7 …