2 Chronicles 30
30
Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover
1Hezekiah sent a message to all Israel and Judah and wrote letters to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. He invited them to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord God of Israel.
2The king, his officials, and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month. 3They couldn’t celebrate it at the regular time because not enough priests had performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy and the people hadn’t gathered in Jerusalem. 4The king and the whole assembly considered their plan to be the right thing to do. 5So they decided to send an announcement throughout Israel from Beersheba to Dan. They summoned everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord God of Israel. These people had not celebrated it in large numbers as the written instructions said they should.
6Messengers took letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. The king’s order said, “Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Then he will return to the few of you who escaped from the power of the kings of Assyria. 7Don’t be like your ancestors and your relatives who were unfaithful to the Lord God of their ancestors. He made them something that shocks people, as you have seen. 8Don’t be impossible to deal with like your ancestors. Reach out for the Lord. Come to his holy place that he made holy forever. Serve the Lord your God, and he will turn his burning anger away from you. 9When you return to the Lord, your relatives and children will find compassion from those who captured them. They will return to this land. The Lord your God is merciful and compassionate. He will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”
10So the messengers went from city to city in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun. But the people ridiculed them. 11However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12Also, God guided the people of Judah so that they united to carry out the command which the king and the leaders gave from the Lord’s word.
13Many people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month. They formed a large assembly.
14Then the people got rid of the ⌞idols’⌟ altars in Jerusalem. They got rid of all the altars for incense by dumping them in the Kidron Valley.
15They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy. Then they brought burnt offerings to the Lord’s temple. 16They stood in their regular places as instructed by Moses’ Teachings. (Moses was a man of God.) The priests sprinkled the blood they received from the Levites. 17Many people in the assembly had not made themselves holy. So the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all who weren’t clean #30:17 “Clean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is presentable to God. and couldn’t make their lambs holy for the Lord.
18Many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean. So they ate the Passover, but not in the way the written instructions said they should. Hezekiah prayed for them: “May the good Lord forgive 19those who have their hearts set on dedicating their lives to serving God. May the Lord God of their ancestors do this for those who are not clean as required for the holy place.” 20The Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
21So the Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy. Each day the Levites and priests praised the Lord in song. They played the Lord’s instruments loudly. 22Hezekiah spoke encouraging words to all the Levites who had the skills to serve the Lord. They ate the festival meals for seven days, sacrificed fellowship offerings, and confessed their sins to the Lord God of their ancestors.
23Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the festival for seven more days. So they joyfully celebrated for seven more days. 24King Hezekiah of Judah provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep as sacrifices for the assembly. The leaders provided 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep for the assembly. So a large number of priests were able to perform the ceremonies to make themselves holy.
25The whole assembly from Judah, the priests, the Levites, the whole assembly from Israel, the foreigners who came from Israel, and those who lived in Judah rejoiced. 26The city of Jerusalem was filled with joy. Nothing like this had happened in Jerusalem since the days of King Solomon of Israel.
27Then the Levitical priests blessed the people. Their voices were heard, and their prayers went to God’s holy place in heaven.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. 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.