II Chronicles 30
30
Hezekiah Keeps the Passover
1And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. 2For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second #Num. 9:10, 11; 2 Chr. 30:13, 15month. 3For they could not keep it #Ex. 12:6, 18at the regular time, #2 Chr. 29:17, 34because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. 4And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. 5So they resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.
6Then the #Esth. 8:14; Job 9:25; Jer. 51:31runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: “Children of Israel, #(Jer. 4:1; Joel 2:13)return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of #2 Kin. 15:19, 29the kings of #2 Chr. 28:20Assyria. 7And do not be #Ezek. 20:18like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He #Is. 1:9gave them up to #2 Chr. 29:8desolation, as you see. 8Now do not be #Ex. 32:9; Deut. 10:16; Acts 7:51stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, #2 Chr. 29:10that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 9For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with #Ps. 106:46compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is #(Ex. 34:6; Mic. 7:18)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you #(Is. 55:7)return to Him.”
10So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but #2 Chr. 36:16they laughed at them and mocked them. 11Nevertheless #2 Chr. 11:16; 30:18, 21some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12Also #(2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13; Heb. 13:20, 21)the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, #2 Chr. 29:25at the word of the Lord.
13Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of #Lev. 23:6; Num. 9:11Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14They arose and took away the #2 Chr. 28:24altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook #2 Chr. 29:16Kidron. 15Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were #2 Chr. 29:34ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. 16They stood in their #2 Chr. 35:10, 15place according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. 17For there were many in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves; #2 Chr. 29:34therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. 18For a multitude of the people, #2 Chr. 30:1, 11, 25many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, #Ex. 12:43–49; (Num. 9:10)yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone 19who #2 Chr. 19:3prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” 20And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
21So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept #Ex. 12:15; 13:6; 1 Kin. 8:65the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. 22And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites #(Deut. 33:10); 2 Chr. 17:9; 35:3who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and #Ezra 10:11making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.
23Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast #1 Kin. 8:65; 2 Chr. 35:17, 18another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. 24For Hezekiah king of Judah #2 Chr. 35:7, 8gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests #2 Chr. 29:34sanctified themselves. 25The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners #2 Chr. 30:11, 18who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. 26So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of #2 Chr. 7:8–10Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27Then the priests, the Levites, arose and #Num. 6:23blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to #Deut. 26:15; Ps. 68:5His holy dwelling place, to heaven.
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II Chronicles 30: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
2 Chronicles 30
30
1-5Then Hezekiah invited all of Israel and Judah, with personal letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to The Temple of God in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to Israel’s God. The king and his officials and the congregation in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month. They hadn’t been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough of the priests were yet personally prepared and the people hadn’t had time to gather in Jerusalem. Under these circumstances, the revised date was approved by both king and people and they sent out the invitation from one end of the country to the other, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north: “Come and celebrate the Passover to Israel’s God in Jerusalem.” No one living had ever celebrated it properly.
6-9The king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: “O Israelites! Come back to God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he can return to you who have survived the preying kings of Assyria. Don’t repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God, the God of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin—you can see the ruins all around you. Don’t be bullheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God’s outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve God, your God. You’ll no longer be in danger of his hot anger. If you come back to God, your captive relatives and children will be treated compassionately and allowed to come home. Your God is gracious and kind and won’t snub you—come back and he’ll welcome you with open arms.”
10-12So the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them, treated them as a joke. But not all; some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun weren’t too proud to accept the invitation and come to Jerusalem. It was better in Judah—God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous, responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed up by the word of God.
13-17It turned out that there was a tremendous crowd of people when the time came in the second month to celebrate the Passover (sometimes called the Feast of Unraised Bread). First they went to work and got rid of all the pagan altars that were in Jerusalem—hauled them off and dumped them in the Kidron Valley. Then, on the fourteenth day of the second month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites weren’t ready; but now, embarrassed in their laziness, they consecrated themselves and brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings to The Temple of God. Ready now, they stood at their posts as designated by The Revelation of Moses the holy man; the priests sprinkled the blood the Levites handed to them. Because so many in the congregation had not properly prepared themselves by consecration and so were not qualified, the Levites took charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs so that they would be properly consecrated to God.
18-19There were a lot of people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately. Hezekiah prayed for these as follows: “May God who is all good, pardon and forgive everyone who sincerely desires God, the God of our ancestors. Even—especially!—these who do not meet the literal conditions stated for access to The Temple.”
20 God responded to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed the people.
21-22a All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God.
22b-23 When the feast and festival—that glorious seven days of worship, the making of offerings, and the praising of God, the God of their ancestors—were over, the tables cleared and the floors swept, they all decided to keep going for another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they began.
24-26Hezekiah king of Judah gave one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation’s worship; the officials gave an additional one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And there turned out to be plenty of consecrated priests—qualified and well-prepared. The whole congregation of Judah, the priests and Levites, the congregation that came in from Israel, and the resident aliens from both Israel and Judah, were all in on the joyous celebration. Jerusalem was bursting with joy—nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since Solomon son of David king of Israel had built and dedicated The Temple.
27The priests and Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened, listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.