^30:13A huge crowd assembled in Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month.¹⁹^30:14They removed the altars in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.²⁰

^30:15They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt sacrifices to the Lord’s temple. ^30:16They stood at their posts according to the regulations outlined in the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests were splashing the blood as the Levites handed it to them.²¹^30:17Because many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites slaughtered²² the Passover lambs of all who were ceremonially unclean and could not consecrate their sacrifice to the Lord.²³^30:18The majority of the many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were ceremonially unclean, yet they ate the Passover in violation of what is prescribed in the law.²⁴ For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the Lord, who is good, forgive²⁵^30:19everyone who has determined to follow God,²⁶ the Lord God of his ancestors, even if he is not ceremonially clean according to the standards of the temple.”²⁷^30:20The Lord responded favorably²⁸ to Hezekiah and forgave²⁹ the people.

^30:21The Israelites who were in Jerusalem observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests were praising the Lord every day with all their might.³⁰^30:22Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites,³¹ who demonstrated great skill in serving the Lord.³² They feasted for the seven days of the festival,³³ and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their ancestors.

^30:23The entire assembly then decided to celebrate for seven more days; so they joyfully celebrated for seven more days. ^30:24King Hezekiah of Judah supplied 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep³⁴ for the assembly, while the officials supplied them³⁵ with 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. Many priests consecrated themselves. ^30:25The celebration included³⁶ the entire assembly of Judah, the priests, the Levites, the entire assembly of those who came from Israel, the resident foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and the residents of Judah. ^30:26There was a great celebration in Jerusalem, unlike anything that had occurred in Jerusalem since the time of King Solomon son of David of Israel.³⁷^30:27The priests and Levites got up and pronounced blessings on the people. The Lord responded favorably to them³⁸ as their prayers reached his holy dwelling place in heaven.

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Footnotes

19 The Hebrew text adds here, “a very large assembly.” This has not been translated to avoid redundancy with the expression “a huge crowd” at the beginning of the verse.
20 Heb “and they arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem, and all the incense altars they removed and threw into the Kidron Valley.”
21 Heb “from the hand of the Levites.”
22 Heb “were over the slaughter of.”
23 Heb “of everyone not pure to consecrate to the Lord.”
24 Heb “without what is written.”
25 Heb “make atonement for.”
26 Heb “everyone [who] has prepared his heart to seek God.”
27 Heb “and not according to the purification of the holy place.”
28 Heb “listened.”
29 Heb “healed.”
30 Heb “and they were praising the Lord day by day, the Levites and the priests with instruments of strength to the Lord.” The phrase בִּכְלֵי־עֹז (bikhley-’oz, “with instruments of strength”) might refer to loud sounding musical instruments ( “with loud instruments”; “with unrestrained fervour”). The present translation assumes an emendation to בְּכָל־עֹז (békhol-’oz, “with all strength”); see 1 Chr 13:8, as well as I עֹז and 739 עֹז).
31 Heb “and Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites.” On the meaning of the idiom “speak to the heart of” here, see II דבר 8.d.
32 Heb “who demonstrated skill [with] good skill for the Lord.”
33 Heb “and they ate [during] the appointed time [for] seven days.” מוֹעֵד (mo’ed, “appointed time”) is probably an adverbial accusative of time referring to the festival. However, some understand it as metonymically referring to the food eaten during the festival. See 417
34 The Hebrew term צֹאן (ts’on, translated “sheep” twice in this verse) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
35 Heb “the assembly.” The pronoun “them” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
36 Heb “they rejoiced.”
37 Heb “and there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing like this in Jerusalem.”
38 Heb “and it was heard with their voice.” 1034 שָׁמַע Niph.4 interprets this to mean “hearing was granted to their voice.” It is possible that the name יְהוָה (yéhvah, “the Lord”) has been accidentally omitted.