¹³A very large crowd of people gathered together in Jerusalem. They went there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It took place in the second month. ¹⁴They removed the altars in Jerusalem. They cleared away the altars for burning incense. They threw all of the altars into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵They killed the Passover lamb on the 14th day of the second month. The priests and Levites were filled with shame. They set themselves apart to the Lord. They brought burnt offerings to his temple. ¹⁶Then they went to their regular positions. They did it just as the Law of Moses, the man of God, required. The Levites gave the blood of the animals to the priests. The priests sprinkled it on the altar.

¹⁷Many people in the crowd hadn’t set themselves apart to the Lord. They weren’t “clean.” They couldn’t set their lambs apart to him. So the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all of them.

¹⁸Many people came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun. Most of them hadn’t made themselves pure and clean. But they still ate the Passover meal. That was against what was written in the law. But Hezekiah prayed for them. He said, “The Lord is good. May he forgive everyone ¹⁹who wants to worship God with all his heart. God is the Lord, the God of their people. May God forgive them even if they aren’t ‘clean’ in keeping with the rules of the temple.”

²⁰The Lord answered Hezekiah’s prayer. He healed the people.

²¹The people of Israel who were in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They celebrated for seven days with great joy.

The Levites and priests sang to the Lord every day. Their singing was accompanied by musical instruments. The instruments were used to praise the Lord.

²²Hezekiah spoke words that gave hope to all of the Levites. They understood how to serve the Lord well. For the seven days of the Feast they ate the share that was given to them. They also sacrificed friendship offerings. They praised the Lord, the God of their people.

²³Then the whole community agreed to celebrate the Feast for seven more days. So for another seven days they celebrated with joy.

²⁴Hezekiah, the king of Judah, provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for the community. The officials provided 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats for them. A large number of priests set themselves apart to the Lord.

²⁵The entire community of Judah was filled with joy. So were the priests and Levites. And so were all of the people who had gathered together from Israel. That included the outsiders who had come from Israel. It also included those who lived in Judah.

²⁶There was great joy in Jerusalem. There hadn’t been anything like it in Israel since the days of Solomon, the son of David. Solomon had been king of Israel.

²⁷The priests and Levites gave their blessing to the people. God heard them. Their prayer reached all the way to heaven. It’s the holy place where he lives.

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