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, [so] that they should come to the [Lord’s] house [in] Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. |
For king [Hezekiah] & his princes, [a.k.a. 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 & neither had the people gathered themselves together [in] Jerusalem, so they couldn’t keep [the Passover,] at that time. |
And [it] pleased the king & all the congregation. So, they [decreed] 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, [return back] again to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac & Israel, [a.k.a. Jacob.] And [the Lord God] will return to the [rest] of you, [who] escaped from the [hands of Assyria’s] kings. |
[Don’t] be like your [forefathers & relatives, who sinned] against the Lord God of their [forefathers] Who [for this reason] gave them up to desolation, as you see. [Ezekiel 20:18-19 But I said to their children in the wilderness, [Don’t follow] in the [mandates] of your fathers & neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God. [Follow] in My [mandates] & keep My judgments & do them.] |
Now, [don’t] you be stiff necked, [a.k.a. stubborn, like] your [forefathers] were, but yield yourselves to the Lord & enter into His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever. And serve the Lord your God, [so] that the fierceness of His [anger] may turn away from you. |
For if you [return] again to the Lord, your brethren & your children shall find compassion before [those who] lead them [away] 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 Zebulun: but they laughed [at] them [disrespectfully] & mocked them. |
[Still some various people] 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. And 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. And [they] brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. |
And 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 [from] the [hands] of the Levites. For there were many in the congregation, [who] weren’t sanctified. |
Therefore, the Levites [were in] charge of the killing of 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, [who] prepares [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. And the children [people] of Israel, [who] were present at Jerusalem, kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for 7 days with great gladness. |
And the Levites & the priests praised the Lord [each] day, singing [& playing] loud instruments to the Lord. And Hezekiah [spoke & encouraged] all the Levites, [who] taught [providing] the good knowledge of the Lord. |
And they [ate] the feast throughout the 7 days, offering Peace Offerings & making confession to the Lord God of their [forefathers.] And the whole assembly [got advice & decided] to keep [the Passover another] 7 days with gladness. |
For 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. |
And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests & the Levites & all the congregation, [who] came out of Israel & the strangers, [who] came out of the land of Israel & [lived] in Judah, rejoiced. |
So, there was great joy in Jerusalem. For there was [nothing] like [this] since the time of Solomon, [David’s] son, [Israel’s] king. Then, the priests & Levites arose & blessed the people. And their voice & their [prayers] came up to heaven & was heard in [the Lord God’s] holy dwelling place. |