2 Chronicles 30 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to observe the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to observe the Passover in the second month,

because they hadn't been able to observe it at the regular time — not enough priests had set themselves apart for God's purposes, and the people hadn't gathered in Jerusalem yet.

The plan seemed right to the king and the whole assembly.

So they established a decree to send a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, for everyone to come observe the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem — because as a nation they hadn't been observing it in the large numbers that the written instructions required.

The runners went out with the letters from the king and his officials throughout all Israel and Judah, carrying the king's command: "People of Israel — come back to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will come back to the remnant of you who escaped the hand of the kings of Assyria.

Don't be like your fathers and your brothers who broke faith with Yahweh, the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you can see with your own eyes.

Don't be stiff-necked like your fathers were. Give yourselves over to Yahweh and come to his set-apart place that he has dedicated forever, and serve Yahweh your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.

Because if you come back to Yahweh, your brothers and your children will be treated with compassion by their captors and will return to this land. Yahweh your God is full of undeserved kindness and compassion, and he won't turn his face away from you if you come back to him."

So the runners went from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but people laughed at them and mocked them.

Still, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

The hand of God was also on Judah, giving them a united heart to carry out the command of the king and the officials, according to the word of Yahweh.

A huge crowd gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month — an extremely large assembly.

They got up and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem. They also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

Then they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed of themselves, so they set themselves apart for God's purposes and brought burnt offerings to the house of Yahweh.

They stood at their posts in their prescribed positions according to the instructions of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed the blood that they received from the hands of the Levites.

Since many in the assembly had not set themselves apart for God's purposes, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for everyone who wasn't ritually prepared to dedicate them to Yahweh.

A large portion of the people — many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun — had not made themselves ritually prepared, yet they ate the Passover anyway, not according to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May Yahweh, who is good, provide a cover for everyone who has set their heart on seeking God —

Yahweh, the God of their fathers — even if they haven't met the standard of ritual preparation required for approaching what is set apart."

Yahweh listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

The Israelites who were in Jerusalem observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with tremendous joy, while the Levites and the priests praised Yahweh day after day with powerful instruments dedicated to Yahweh.

Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed excellent skill in serving Yahweh. So they ate the festival food for the seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.

Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate for another seven days, so they celebrated for seven more days with joy.

King Hezekiah of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly. And a large number of priests set themselves apart for God's purposes.

The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced — along with the priests, the Levites, the entire assembly that came from Israel, the immigrants who came from the land of Israel, and those living in Judah.

There was tremendous joy in Jerusalem, because nothing like this had happened in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.

Then the priests, the Levites, stood and spoke good over the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his set-apart dwelling place — to heaven.