Hezekiah Holds a Passover |
2 Chronicles 30:1-27 2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks] |
[King] Hezekiah sent [a letter] to all [the people of] Israel, Judah & also Ephraim & Manasseh, that they should come to the [Lord’s] house [in] Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. |
King [Hezekiah] & his princes [officials] & all the congregation in Jerusalem had [gotten advice,] to keep the Passover in the 2nd month, because the priests hadn’t sanctified themselves sufficiently & the people [hadn’t] gathered themselves together [in] Jerusalem, so they couldn’t keep [the Passover,] at that time. |
[It] pleased the king & all the congregation. So, they [created] a decree to make [a] proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba, even to Dan, so that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel [in] Jerusalem, [because] they hadn’t done it, [according to what] was written, [in] a long time. |
So the [mail runners] went with the letters from the king & his princes throughout all Israel & Judah, according to the [king’s command.] |
[It said,] You children [people] of Israel, turn [back] to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac & Israel & [the Lord God] will return to the [rest] of you [who] escaped from [Assyria’s king’s hands.] |
[Don’t] be like your [forefathers & relatives who sinned] against the Lord God of their [forefathers,] Who gave them up to desolation, as you see. Now [don’t] be stiff necked [stubborn like] your [forefathers] were, but yield to the Lord & enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever. |
Serve the Lord, your God, [so] that the fierceness of His [anger] may turn away from you. If you [return] to the Lord, your brethren & your children shall find compassion before [those who] lead them captive, so that they may come [back] again into this land. |
For the Lord, your God, is gracious & merciful & won’t turn away His face from you, if you return to Him. So, the [mail runners] passed from city to city, through the country of Ephraim & Manasseh, even to Zebulon: but they laughed & mocked them. |
[Still some] of Asher, Manasseh & Zebulun humbled themselves & came to Jerusalem. Also, in Judah, the hand of God [gave] them [a united] heart to do the [command] of king [Hezekiah] & the princes, by the word of the Lord. |
Many people assembled [in] Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the 2nd month. [It was] a very large congregation. They arose & took away the altars that were in Jerusalem & all the altars for incense & [threw] them into the Brook Kidron. |
[2 Chronicles 28:24-25 And [king] Ahaz gathered together the vessels [from] the house of God & shut up the doors to the [Lord's] house & [Ahaz] made [himself] altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every [single] city of Judah, he made high places to burn incense to other gods & provoked the Lord God of his [forefathers] to anger.] |
Then, they killed the Passover [animals] on the 14th day of the 2nd month. The priests & the Levites were ashamed & sanctified themselves. [They] brought the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. |
They stood in their [assigned] place, according to the Law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood [that] they had received at the hands of the Levites. There were many in the congregation [who weren’t] sanctified. |
Therefore, the Levites [were in] charge of killing the [Passover animals] for everyone [who] wasn’t clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. |
For a multitude of the people, many of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar & Zebulun [hadn’t] cleansed themselves, [but] still ate the Passover, which was against [what] was written. |
But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, [May] the good Lord pardon everyone. [Those who prepare their] heart to seek God, the Lord God of his [forefathers, even though] he [isn’t] cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. |
The Lord [paid attention] to Hezekiah & healed the people. The children [people] of Israel [who] were present at Jerusalem, kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for 7 days with great gladness. |
The Levites & the priests praised the Lord [each] day, singing [& playing] loud instruments to the Lord. Hezekiah [spoke & encouraged] all the Levites [who] taught [providing] good [understanding] of the Lord. |
They ate the feast throughout the 7 days, offering peace offerings & making confession to the Lord God of their [forefathers.] The whole assembly [got advice & decided] to keep [the Passover] another 7 days with gladness. |
Hezekiah, [Judah’s] king, [gave] the congregation: 1,000 bulls & 7,000 sheep. The princes gave the congregation 1,000 bulls & 10,000 sheep. A [large] number of priests sanctified themselves. |
All [who] came out of the land of Israel & Judah rejoiced. All the congregation of Judah & Israel, the priests, Levites, strangers & [those who lived] in Judah. There was great joy in Jerusalem. |
There was [nothing like this] since the time of Solomon, [David’s] son, [Israel’s] king. The priests & Levites arose & blessed the people. Their voice & their prayers came up to heaven & was heard in the [Lord God’s] dwelling place. |