2 Chronicles 30 Then Ezekias sent to all Israel and Juda, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasses, to come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to celebrate the passover to the Lord God of Israel.

Thomson⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Then Ezekias sent to all Israel and Juda, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasses, to come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to celebrate the passover to the Lord God of Israel. ² Now the king, and the chiefs, and all the congregation at Jerusalem, had come to a determination to keep the passover in the second month; ³ for they could not keep it at that time, because a sufficient number of priests was not purified, nor were the people assembled at Jerusalem. ⁴ And as this was agreed on by the king and the whole congregation, ⁵ therefore they determined to make proclamation, throughout all Israel, from Bersabee to Dan, that they might come and keep the passover, to the Lord God of Israel, at Jerusalem, because a multitude had not done it according to the scripture. ⁶ So the expresses went with letters from the king, and the chiefs, to all Israel and Juda, according to the decree of the king, saying, Children of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham and Isaak and Israel, and bring back the remnant who have escaped from the hand of the king of Assur. ⁷ And be not like your fathers and your brethren, who apostatised from the Lord God of their fathers, and whom he delivered up to desolation, as you yourselves see. ⁸ Now therefore be not stubborn as your fathers were. Give glory to the Lord God, and come to his sanctuary, which he hath hallowed forever, and serve the Lord your God, and he will turn away his fierce indignation from you. ⁹ For by your turning to the Lord, your brethren and your children will find compassion in the sight of all those who have captivated them; and he will bring them back to this land. For the Lord our God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from us, if we return to him. ¹⁰ But while the expresses were passing from city to city, through mount Ephraim, and Manasses, till they came to Zabulon, they were treated as deriders and mockers. ¹¹ But the men of Aser, and some of Manasses and Zabulon were humbled, and came to Jerusalem, and to Juda. ¹² Now to these the hand of the Lord had given one heart to come and do what the king and the chiefs had commanded by a word of the Lord. ¹³ So there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the festival of unleavened bread in the second month; a very great congregation. ¹⁴ And after they had arisen, and demolished the altars which were in Jerusalem, and torn to pieces all on which they had burned incense to vanities, and thrown them into the brook Kedron, ¹⁵ they killed the paschal lamb on the fourteenth of the second month. And as the priests and the Levites were humbled, and had purified themselves, they offered whole burnt offerings in the house of the Lord, ¹⁶ and stood in their station according to the disposition made of them by the command of Moses, the man of God; and the priests received the blood from the hands of the Levites. ¹⁷ Because there were many of the congregation who were not purified, therefore the Levites had it in charge to kill the paschal lamb, for every one who had not been able to purify himself to the Lord. ¹⁸ And because most of the people from Ephraim, and Manasses, and Issachar, and Zabulon, had not purified themselves, but ate the passover contrary to the scripture, therefore Ezekias prayed for them on this account and said, The good Lord make atonement for every heart ¹⁹ which hath directed its course to seek the Lord the God of their fathers, although not according to the purification of the sanctuary. ²⁰ And the Lord hearkened to Ezekias, and healed the people. ²¹ So the Israelites who were at Jerusalem, kept the festival of unleavened bread seven days, with great joy, joining in the hymns of praise to the Lord, which the priests and the Levites performed day by day to the Lord, on musical instruments. ²² And when Ezekias had spoken comfortably to the Levites, and them whose understanding was well disposed to the Lord, and they had finished the festival of unleavened bread, which lasted seven days, offering sacrifices of thanksgiving, and singing praises to the Lord God of their fathers; ²³ the congregation took counsel together to keep other seven days, and kept other seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Ezekias, in behalf of Juda, set apart for the congregation, a thousand beeves, and seven thousand sheep; and the chiefs, in behalf of the people, set apart a thousand beeves, and ten thousand sheep; and the dedications of the priests were abundant. ²⁵ So the whole congregation, the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation of Juda, and all who were in Jerusalem, and the proselytes who came from Israel, and the inhabitants of Judea were filled with joy. ²⁶ And the joy in Jerusalem was great. From the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there had not been such a festival in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests, the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer reached his holy was heard, and their prayer reached his holy habitation, even heaven.