1. Then Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh as well, inviting them to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord God of Israel.
2. The king, his officials, and the entire Jerusalem congregation had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month.
3. They had been unable to celebrate it at the usual time because the priests had failed to make themselves holy in sufficient numbers, and the people hadn’t gathered at Jerusalem.
4. Since the plan seemed good to the king and the entire congregation,
5. they made arrangements to circulate an announcement throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord God of Israel, because they hadn’t often kept it as written.
6. Under the authority of the king, runners took letters from the king and his officials throughout all Israel and Judah, which read:People of Israel! Return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped capture by the Assyrian kings.
7. Don’t be like your ancestors and relatives, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror as you can see for yourselves.