Second Book of Chronicles 30

¹ Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, bidding them come to the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem to celebrate a Passover in honour of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

² The king and his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate it in the second month,

³ being unable to celebrate it at the proper time, since the priests had not purified themselves in sufficient number, and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.

⁴ This arrangement seemed fitting to the king and to all the assembly.

⁵ It was resolved to send a proclamation throughout Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, calling on the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate a Passover in honour of Yahweh, the God of Israel, for few had observed the prescribed regulations.

⁶ Couriers set out with letters from the hands of the king and his officials for every part of Israel and Judah. They had orders from the king to say, ‘Sons of Israel, come back to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Israel, and he will come back to those of you who are left and have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

⁷ Do not be like your fathers and brothers who were unfaithful to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and whom he handed over to destruction, as you can see.

⁸ Do not be stubborn now as your ancestors were. Yield to Yahweh, come to his sanctuary which he has consecrated for ever, serve Yahweh your God and he will turn his fierce anger from you.

⁹ If you come back sincerely to Yahweh, your brothers and your sons will win favour with their conquerors and return to this land, for Yahweh your God is gracious and merciful. If you come back to him, he will not turn his face from you.’

¹⁰ The couriers went from town to town through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, but the people laughed and scoffed at them,

¹¹ though a few men from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun were humble enough to come to Jerusalem.

¹² It was in Judah, rather, that the hand of God worked to inspire them with a united will to obey the order of the king and the officials as contained in the word of Yahweh.

¹³ A great number of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. A very great assembly

¹⁴ set to work removing the altars that were in Jerusalem and all the altars for burning incense, and throwing them into the wadi Kidron.

¹⁵ They slaughtered the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed; they sanctified themselves and so were able to bring holocausts into the Temple of Yahweh.

¹⁶ Then they took up their positions as ordained for them according to the Law of Moses, the man of God. The priests poured out the blood handed to them by the Levites,

¹⁷ since there were many people in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; the Levites were given the task of slaughtering the Passover victims on behalf of those who lacked the requisite purity to consecrate their victims to Yahweh.

¹⁸ In point of fact, most of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves; they had eaten the Passover without observing the prescribed regulations. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, ‘May Yahweh in his goodness cover up the fault of

¹⁹ anyone who sets his heart to seeking God, Yahweh the God of his ancestors, even if he lacks the purity requisite for holy things’.

²⁰ Yahweh heard Hezekiah and left the people unharmed.

²¹ For seven days and with great rejoicing the Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the feast of Unleavened Bread, while each day the Levites and the priests praised Yahweh with all their might.

²² The words of Hezekiah encouraged the Levites who all showed how versed they were in the things of Yahweh, and for seven days they ate their portion in the feast, offering communion sacrifices with praise to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

²³ Then all the assembly agreed to continue the celebrations for a further seven days and made of them seven days of rejoicing,

²⁴ since Hezekiah king of Judah had provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials another thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. The priests sanctified themselves in great numbers,

²⁵ and the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, the priests too, and the Levites, and all who had come from Israel, the refugees who came from Israel and those who lived in Judah.

²⁶ There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, nothing comparable had ever occurred in Jerusalem.

²⁷ The levitical priests began to bless the people. Their voices were heard and their prayer received in heaven, his holy dwelling place.