King James Version

1 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to make Passover to the LORD God of Israel. 2 And the king and his officials and all the congregation in Jerusalem were advised to make the Passover in the second month. 3 For they could not perform it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves enough and the people had not gathered in Jerusalem. 4 And the matter was right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly. 5 And they established a matter to send a voice throughout all Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan to come to perform Passover to the LORD God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they did not do it as it is written. 6 And the runners went with the letters from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the command of the king, saying, "People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant that has escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria." 7 And do not be like your fathers and like your brothers who acted treacherously against the Lord, the God of their fathers, and he gave them up to desolation as you see. 8 Now do not stiffen your necks like your fathers; give a hand to the Lord and come to His holy sanctuary that He has dedicated forever, and serve the Lord your God, and His fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 For when you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children, to mercy before their captors, and to return to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Me. 10 And the runners went from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and to Zebulun, and they mocked them and made fun of them. 11 But men from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun gathered and came to Jerusalem. 12 Also in Judah, the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the command of the king and the officials by the word of the Lord. 13 And Jerusalem gathered a great people to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very large assembly. 14 And they arose and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Kidron Valley. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth of the second month, and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and they sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. 16 And they stood upon their standing, according to their judgment, according to the Torah of Moses, the man of God; the priests were sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there are many in the congregation who have not consecrated themselves, and the Levites regarding the slaughter of the Passover offerings for everyone are not clean to sanctify to the Lord. 18 For many of the people, a large number from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not consecrated themselves, for they had eaten the Passover not as it is written. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, "May the good Lord pardon. 19 With all his heart, he prepared to seek the Lord God of his fathers, and not according to the purity of the holy. 20 And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the children of Israel who were found in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy, and they praised the Lord day by day, with instruments of strength to the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites who understood good sense for the Lord, and they ate the appointed feast seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and confessing to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 23 And all the assembly recommended to celebrate seven other days, and they made seven days of joy. 24 For King Hezekiah of Judah raised for the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders raised for the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, and the priests were consecrated in great number. 25 And all the assembly of Judah rejoiced, and the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel, and the foreigners who came from the land of Israel, and the inhabitants of Judah. 26 And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had not been the like in Jerusalem. 27 And the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to His holy dwelling in the heavens.