¹Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to make the passover to Yahweh the God of Israel.

²The king and his officials and all the company in Jerusalem took counsel together to make the passover in the second month.

³For they were not able to make it at that time, because the priests had not set themselves apart in sufficient number, and the people had not gathered to Jerusalem.

⁴The word seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the company.

⁵So they set a word to cause a voice to pass through all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to make the passover to Yahweh the God of Israel in Jerusalem; for they had not made it in great numbers, as it is written.

⁶So the runners went with the letters from the hand of the king and his officials throughout all Israel and Judah, and by the command of the king, saying, children of Israel, return to Yahweh the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to the escaped remnant that is left to you, from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

⁷And do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who acted unfaithfully against Yahweh the God of their fathers, so that he gave them over to desolation, as you see.

⁸Now do not stiffen your necks like your fathers; give your hand to Yahweh, and come to his sanctuary, which he has set apart forever, and serve Yahweh your God, so that the burning of his anger may turn back from you.

⁹For when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your sons will receive compassion before their captors and will return to this land; for Yahweh your God is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.

¹⁰So the runners were passing from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but people were laughing at them and mocking them.

¹¹Only men from Asher and Manasseh and from Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

¹²The hand of God was also in Judah, giving them one heart to do the command of the king and the officials by the word of Yahweh.

¹³And a numerous people gathered at Jerusalem to make the festival of the unleavened bread in the second month, a company very great in number.

¹⁴They rose and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the places of smoke-offering they removed and threw them into the wadi Kidron.

¹⁵Then they slaughtered the passover on the fourteenth of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and they set themselves apart and brought burnt offerings to the house of Yahweh.

¹⁶And they took their stand at their place, according to the justice due them, according to the instruction of Moses the man of God; the priests were sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites.

¹⁷For there were many in the company who had not set themselves apart; so the Levites were over the slaughter of the passovers for everyone who was not clean, to set it apart to Yahweh.

¹⁸For a great number of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not purified themselves, yet they ate the passover not as it is written. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, May the good Yahweh cover over on behalf of

¹⁹every one who has directed his heart to seek God, Yahweh the God of his fathers, though not according to the purification of the holy place.

²⁰And Yahweh listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

²¹So the children of Israel, who were present in Jerusalem made the festival of the unleavened bread for seven days with great gladness; and day by day the Levites and the priests were praising Yahweh with instruments of strength for Yahweh.

²²And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites, those who acted wisely with good insight for Yahweh; and they ate during the appointed time, the seven days, sacrificing sacrifices of peace offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh the God of their fathers.

²³All the company took counsel together to make another seven days; and they made the seven days with gladness.

²⁴For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed to the company a thousand bulls and seven thousand of the flock; and the officials contributed to the company a thousand bulls and ten thousand of the flock; and priests set themselves apart in great numbers.

²⁵All the company of Judah rejoiced, and the priests and the Levites, and all the company, those who came from Israel, and the sojourners, those who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah.

²⁶There was great gladness in Jerusalem; for since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like of this in Jerusalem.

²⁷Then the priests the Levites rose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to the dwelling place of his holiness, to the heavens.