2 Paralipomenon 30
30
1And Ezechias sent to all Israel and Juda. And he wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasses, that they should come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of Israel.
2For the king, taking counsel, and the princes, and all the assembly of Jerusalem, decreed to keep the phase the second month.
3For they could not keep it in its time; because there were not priests enough sanctified, and the people was not as yet gathered together to Jerusalem.
4And the thing pleased the king, and all the people.
5And they decreed to send messengers to all Israel from Bersabee even to Dan; that they should come, and keep the phase to the Lord the God of Israel in Jerusalem: for many had not kept it as it is prescribed by the law.
6And the posts went with letters by commandment of the king, and his princes, to all Israel and Juda, proclaiming according to the king's orders: Ye children of Israel, turn again to the Lord the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel. And he will return to the remnant of you that have escaped the hand of the king of the Assyrians.
7Be not like your fathers, and brethren, who departed from the Lord the God of their fathers: and he hath given them up to destruction, as you see.
8Harden not your necks, as your fathers did: Yield yourselves to the Lord, and come to his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever. Serve the Lord the God of your fathers; and the wrath of his indignation shall be turned away from you.
9For if you turn again to the Lord, your brethren, and children shall find mercy before their masters, that have led them away captive. And they shall return into this land: for the Lord your God is merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.
10So the posts went speedily from city to city, through the land of Ephraim, and of Manasses, even to Zabulon, whilst they laughed at them and mocked them.
11Nevertheless some men of Aser, and of Manasses, and of Zabulon, yielding to the counsel, came to Jerusalem.
12But the hand of God was in Juda, to give them one heart to do the word of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king, and of the princes.
13And much people were assembled to Jerusalem to celebrate the solemnity of the unleavened bread in the second month.
14And they arose and destroyed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and took sway all things in which incense was burnt to idols, and cast them into the torrent Cedron.
15And they immolated the phase on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites being at length sanctified offered holocausts in the house of the Lord.
16And they stood in their order, according to the disposition and law of Moses the man of God. But the priests received the blood which was to be poured out from the hands of the Levites,
17Because a great number was not sanctified. And therefore the Levites immolated the phase for them that came not in time to be sanctified to the Lord.
18For a great part of the people from Ephraim, and Manasses, and Issachar, and Zabulon, that had not been sanctified, ate the phase otherwise than it is written. And Ezechias prayed for them, saying: The Lord who is good will shew mercy,
19To all them, who with their whole heart, seek the Lord the God of their fathers: and will not impute it to them that they are not sanctified.
20And the Lord heard him, and was merciful to the people.
21And the children of Israel, that were found at Jerusalem, kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy, praising the Lord every day: the Levites also, and the priests, with instruments that agreed to their office.
22And Ezechias spoke to the heart of all the Levites that had good understanding, concerning the Lord. And they ate during the seven days of the solemnity, immolating victims of peace-offerings, and praising the Lord the God of their fathers.
23And it pleased the whole multitude to keep other seven days: which they did with great joy.
24For Ezechias the king of Juda had given to the multitude a thousand bullocks, and seven thousand sheep: and the princes had given the people a thousand bullocks, and ten thousand sheep. And a great number of priests was sanctified.
25And all the multitude of Juda with the priests and Levites; and all the assembly, that came out of Israel; and the proselytes of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Juda, were full of joy.
26And there was a great solemnity in Jerusalem, such as had not been in that city since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel.
27And the priests and the Levites rose up and blessed the people. And their voice was heard: and their prayer came to the holy dwelling-place of heaven.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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.