1 And Hezekiah sent letters to all Israel and Judah and to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the house of the LORD {YHWH, Worship Recipient} in Jerusalem to keep the Passover {pesach: commemorative feast} for the God of Israel.
2 And the king consulted with his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem to observe the Passover{pesach: festival commemorating deliverance} in the second month{chodesh: religious calendar period}.
3 For they were not able to do it at that time {ba'et: due season}, because the priests had not consecrated themselves enough {lemadai: required amount}, and the people had not been gathered at Jerusalem.
4 And the thing seemed right {vayyishar: deemed appropriate} in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly {qahal: gathered congregation}.
5 And they established a decree to send a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Redeemer} God of Israel {Elohei-Yisrael, National Protector} in Jerusalem, because for a long time they had not kept it as it is written.
6 And the couriers went with the letters from the hand of the king and his officers throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the command of the king, saying, “Sons of Israel, return to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Restorer}, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel {Elohei Avraham Yitzchak veYisrael, Ancestral Promise Keeper}, and He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.”
7 Do not be like your fathers or your brothers who trespassed against the LORD {YHWH, Faithful Judge}, the God of their fathers, and He gave them over to desolation {shammah: utter desolation}, just as you are seeing.
8 Now do not harden your necks as your fathers did; give your hand to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Restorer}, and come to His sanctuary {mikdash: sacred dwelling} which He has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheikhem, Divine Redeemer}, so that the fierceness of His anger may turn away from you.
9 For in your returning to the LORD {YHWH, Gracious Restorer}, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before their captors and will return to this land, for the LORD your God {YHWH Eloheichem, Covenant Protector} is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn away His face {panim: presence and favor} from you if you return to Him.
10 And the messengers {haratsim: official couriers} were passing from city to city in the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as Zebulun, but the people were mocking {maskhikim: public scorn} them and ridiculing them.
11 However, men {anashim: a remnant} from Asher, from Manasseh, and from Zebulun humbled themselves {nikhne'u: bowed down}, and they went to Jerusalem.
12 Also in Judah the hand of God {Elohim, Uniting Sovereign} was present to give them one heart to carry out the command of the king and the officials by the word of the LORD {YHWH, Authoritative Speaker}.
13 A great multitude{am-rav: large population} of people gathered in Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the second month, forming an assembly{kahal: organized gathering} of exceedingly great numbers.
14 And they arose and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem, and all the incense-altars {mekatterot: fragrant offerings} they removed, and they threw them into the Kidron Brook {nachal Kidron: eastern stream-bed}.
15 And they slaughtered the Passover {pesakh: festival sacrifice} on the fourteenth day of the second month, and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD {YHWH, Sacred Presence}.
16 And they stood in their places according to their custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God {Elohim, Divine Authority}. The priests sprinkled the blood, receiving it from the hand of the Levites {leviyim: ministering tribe}.
17 For many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves {hitkaddeshu: dedicated themselves to holiness}, the Levites were charged with slaughtering the Passover lambs for all who were unclean, in order to sanctify them to the LORD {YHWH, Worship Recipient}.
18 For a great number of the people—many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover {Pesach: sacrificial meal commemorating deliverance}, not according to what is written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD {YHWH, Merciful Pardoner}, who is good, pardon everyone.”
19 May the LORD {YHWH, Faithful Redeemer}, the God of his fathers {elohei avotav: Ancestral Protector}, pardon everyone who has prepared his heart to seek God, the LORD—even though not according to the purification of the sanctuary {kodesh: Set-Apart Place}.
20 And the LORD {YHWH, Merciful Healer} listened to Hezekiah and healed the people {ha’am: assembled nation}.
21 And the sons of Israel who were found in Jerusalem kept the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests were praising the LORD {YHWH, Worship Receiver} day by day with instruments {klei-oz: mighty instruments} to the LORD.
22 And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites who were acting wisely with good understanding in the service of the LORD {YHWH, Sanctuary Lord}, and they ate at the festival seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and making confession to the LORD, the God {Elohei avoteihem, Ancestral Covenant God} of their fathers.
23 And all the assembly {qahal: gathered community} took counsel to observe seven more days, and they observed those days with rejoicing {simchah: festive joy}.
24 For Hezekiah king of Judah offered to the assembly {qahal: gathered congregation} a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials offered to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And the priests sanctified themselves in abundance {larov: great multitude}.
25 And all the assembly {qahal: formal gathering} of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly that came from Israel, and the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who lived in Judah {Yehudah: tribal territory}.
26 And there was great joy {simchah: festival celebration} in Jerusalem, for since the days {mimei: appointed period} of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, there had not been anything like this in Jerusalem.
27 Then the priests and the Levites rose up and blessed the people, and He {Elohim, Prayer Hearer} heard their voice; their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to the heavens {shamayim: celestial realm}.