2 Chronicles 30

2 Chronicles 30

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

1And Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah. He even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel.

2The king counseled with his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month.[#Nu 9:10–11]

3For they were not able to have it at the appropriate time of the first month because a sufficient amount of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people assembled yet in Jerusalem.[#Ex 12:6; #2Ch 29:34]

4And this matter was pleasing in the eyes of the king and all the assembly.

5So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, that they come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for the multitude of people did not do as it was written.[#Jdg 20:1]

6So couriers ran throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, as the king had commanded, which read:[#Est 8:14; Jer 51:31]

10So the couriers ran from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and up to Zebulun, but the people laughed at them and mocked them.[#2Ch 30:6; #2Ch 36:16]

11However some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and journeyed to Jerusalem.[#2Ch 30:18, 21]

12Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and officials by the word of the Lord .[#Jer 32:39; #Php 2:13]

13And many people assembled in Jerusalem to have the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. There was a very large assembly.

14They went out and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.[#2Ch 28:24; #2Sa 15:23]

15They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought in burnt offerings to the house of the Lord .[#2Ch 29:34]

16They stood at their places according to the Law of Moses, the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood they received from the hands of the Levites.[#2Ch 35:15; #Dt 33:1]

17For there were many in the assembly who had consecrated themselves, so the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for those who were not clean in order to consecrate the people to the Lord .[#2Ch 29:34]

18For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “The Lord is good, and may He pardon everyone

19who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not pure according to the rules of the holy sanctuary.”[#2Ch 19:3]

20So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

21Then the Israelites present in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the Lord every day, singing with loud instruments to the Lord .[#Ex 12:15; 13:6]

22Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the Lord . So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their fathers.[#2Ch 32:6]

23Then the whole assembly counseled to have the feast for another seven days, so they had seven more days of gladness.[#1Ki 8:65; 2Ch 7:9]

24For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep. And the officials offered up for the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And a multitude of priests consecrated themselves.[#2Ch 35:7–8; #2Ch 29:34]

25So all the assembly of Judah and the priests and Levites and all the assembly who came from Israel rejoiced, even the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those who resided in Judah.[#2Ch 30:11, 18]

26And there was a great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had not been anything like this.[#2Ch 7:8–10]

27Then the priests and Levites went out and blessed the people, and their voices were heard. And their prayers came up to His holy habitation in the heavens.[#Dt 26:15; Ps 68:5]

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