1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel.
2 The king, his officials, and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month,
3 since they had not been able to celebrate it at the regular time, because not enough priests had sanctified themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem.
4 The plan seemed right to the king and the whole assembly.
5 So they decided to send a proclamation through all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, calling the people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD God of Israel, for they had not kept it as written with the people gathered in large numbers.
6 At the king's order, runners went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which said, "Children of Israel, turn back to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn back to those of you who are left, who escaped the hand of the kings of Assyria.
7 Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see.
8 Do not be stiff-necked now, as your fathers were. Give your hand to the LORD, come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, so that his burning anger may turn away from you.
9 If you turn back to the LORD, your brothers and sons will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful. He will not turn his face away from you if you return to him."
10 The runners went from town to town through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but people laughed at them and ridiculed them.
11 Still, some men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
12 In Judah, too, God's hand was on the people to give them a united heart to carry out what the king and officials had ordered by the word of the LORD.
13 A large crowd of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly.
14 They set to work and removed the altars in Jerusalem; they took away all the incense altars too and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed; they sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.
16 They stood at their regular posts as the law of Moses the man of God prescribed. The priests splashed the blood handed to them by the Levites.
17 Since many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, the Levites took charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for all who were unclean, to sanctify them to the LORD.
18 Most of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, and yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, "May the good LORD make atonement for
19 everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, even if he is not clean by the rules of the sanctuary."
20 The LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 The children of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, while the Levites and priests praised the LORD every day, singing to the LORD with instruments of strength.
22 Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites who showed good insight in the LORD's service. For the seven days of the feast they ate their portion, offered peace offerings, and gave thanks to the LORD God of their fathers.
23 Then the whole assembly agreed to celebrate seven more days, and so they celebrated seven more days joyfully.
24 Hezekiah king of Judah provided the assembly with a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials provided the assembly with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a large number of priests sanctified themselves.
25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites, the whole assembly that had come from Israel, and the foreigners who had come from the land of Israel or were living in Judah.
26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for nothing like it had happened in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.
27 The Levitical priests stood and blessed the people, and God heard their voice; their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling.