2 Chronicles 30

¹And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.

²And the king and his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem took counsel to keep the Passover in the second month.

³For they were not able to keep it at that time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers, and the people had not assembled at Jerusalem.

⁴And the plan seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly.

⁵And they established a decree to send a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come and keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel in Jerusalem — for they had not kept it in great numbers as prescribed.

⁶And the runners went with the letters from the hand of the king and his officials throughout all Israel and Judah, according to the commandment of the king, saying: 'Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may return to the survivors left to you all from the hand of the kings of Assyria.'

⁷Do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who acted unfaithfully against the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you yourselves see.

⁸Now do not stiffen the neck of you all like the fathers of you all; give the hand to the LORD and come to his sanctuary which he consecrated forever, and serve the LORD the God of you all, so that the burning of his anger may turn from you.

⁹For in the returning of you all to the LORD, the brothers of you all and the sons of you all will find compassion before their captors and return to this land, for the LORD the God of you all is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn his face from you if you return to him.

¹⁰And the runners were going from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun; but they mocked them and ridiculed them.

¹¹But some men from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹²And in Judah also the hand of God was present to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and the officials by the word of the LORD.

¹³And they assembled to Jerusalem, a great multitude, to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month — an exceedingly great assembly.

¹⁴And they arose and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the incense stands they removed and threw into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵And they slaughtered the Passover offering on the fourteenth of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.

¹⁶And they stood at their posts according to their practice, according to the law of Moses the man of God, the priests sprinkling the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites.

¹⁷For many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, and the Levites were in charge of the slaughtering of the Passover lambs for all who were not pure, to consecrate them to the LORD.

¹⁸For a great multitude of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, for they ate the Passover not as it is written; for Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, 'May the LORD who is good make atonement for'

¹⁹Everyone who has prepared his heart to seek the LORD God, the God of his fathers, even if not according to the purification of the sanctuary.

²⁰And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹And the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy, praising the LORD day by day — the Levites and the priests with instruments of strength to the LORD.

²²And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. And they ate the festival for seven days, offering peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their fathers.

²³And all the assembly resolved to keep another seven days, and they kept seven days with joy.

²⁴For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand of the flock, and the officials contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand of the flock; and priests consecrated themselves in great numbers.

²⁵And all the assembly of Judah rejoiced, and the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly who came from Israel, and the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah.

²⁶And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

²⁷And the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy dwelling place, to the heavens.