2 Chronicles 30
1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, telling them to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.
2 The king, his officials, and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month.
3 They had not been able to celebrate it at that time because not enough priests had consecrated themselves, and the people had not gathered in Jerusalem.
4 The plan seemed right to the king and to the whole assembly.
5 So they decided to send word throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, inviting the people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. For it had not been celebrated in large numbers as prescribed.
6 The couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials. At the king’s command, they said, “Israelites, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.
7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he made them a horror, as you can see.
8 Now do not be stubborn, as your fathers were. Submit to the LORD, come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger may turn away from you.
9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with those who took them captive, and they will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate; he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”
10 The couriers went from town to town through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people laughed at them and mocked them.
11 However, some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
12 The hand of God was also at work in Judah, giving them one heart to carry out the command of the king and his officials, in accordance with the word of the LORD.
13 A great many people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month—a very large assembly.
14 They set to work and removed the altars in Jerusalem. They also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
15 They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.
16 They took their assigned places, as prescribed by their regulations and by the Law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood they received from the Levites.
17 There were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, so the Levites were responsible for slaughtering the Passover offerings for everyone who was not ceremonially clean, in order to consecrate them to the LORD.
18 Most of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was prescribed. So Hezekiah prayed for them: “May the good LORD make atonement for them.
19 They have set their whole heart on seeking God, the LORD, the God of their fathers, even though they are not purified according to the sanctuary’s requirements.”
20 The LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 The Israelites who were in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. Day after day, the Levites and priests praised the LORD with loud instruments dedicated to the LORD.
22 Hezekiah spoke warmly to all the Levites who showed good understanding in the service of the LORD. They ate throughout the seven days of the festival, offering fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
23 The whole assembly decided to celebrate for another seven days, and they celebrated seven days with joy.
24 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. Many priests consecrated themselves.
25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that had come from Israel, the resident foreigners who had come from the land of Israel, and those living in Judah.
26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.
27 The Levitical priests stood up and blessed the people. Their voices were heard, and their prayer reached his holy dwelling in heaven.
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