2 Chronicles 30

Hezekiah Calls a Massive Passover

1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, telling them to roll up to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel.

2 Because the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month.

3 They could not celebrate it at the right time, because not enough priests had made themselves holy, and the people had not gathered in Jerusalem.

4 The idea was straight with the king and the whole assembly.

5 So they decided to send out a message throughout all Israel, from Beersheba all the way to Dan, that everyone should come to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem, because they had not celebrated it properly in a long time, not according to what was written.

6 So the couriers went with the letters from the king and his officials throughout all Israel and Judah, by the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, turn back to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so He can turn back to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.”

7 “Do not be like your pops and your brothers, who acted unfaithfully against the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so He made them a shock, as you all can see.”

8 “Do not be hard-headed now, like your pops was! Give yourselves to the Lord, come to His sanctuary, which He made holy forever, and serve the Lord your God, so His fierce anger can turn away from you.”

9 “For if you turn back to the Lord, your brothers and your kids will find compassion from those who took them captive and they will be able to come back to this land. Because the Lord your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face from you if you turn back to Him.”

10 So the couriers went from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the way to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and clowned them.

11 However, some dudes from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do the command of the king and the officials, by the word of the Lord.

Passover Celebration

13 A huge crowd of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly.

14 They got rid of the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they removed all the incense altars and tossed them into the Kidron Valley.

15 Then they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they made themselves holy and brought burnt offerings to the Lord’s temple.

16 They stood in their assigned places, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed the blood received from the Levites.

17 For many in the assembly had not made themselves holy. So the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to make them holy for the Lord.

18 Because a large number of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not made themselves clean, but they still ate the Passover lamb, not according to what was written. So Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord forgive everyone,”

19 “Who sets their heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”

20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

21 So the Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, while the Levites and priests praised the Lord day after day, singing loudly to the Lord.

22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the service of the Lord. So they ate the festival food for seven days, offering peace offerings and praising the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

23 The whole assembly decided to celebrate for another seven days, and they celebrated for another seven days with joy.

24 Because Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials gave the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And a large number of priests made themselves holy.

25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites, and all the assembly that came from Israel, and the foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and those who lived in Judah.

26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, because nothing like this had happened in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.

27 Then the Levitical priests got up and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place, into heaven.