3. They could not celebrate it at the normal time. This was because not enough priests had made themselves ready to serve the Lord. And the people had not gathered yet in Jerusalem.
4. This plan satisfied King Hezekiah and all the people.
5. So they made an announcement everywhere in Israel, from Beersheba to Dan. They told the people to come to Jerusalem. There they would celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. For a long time most of the people had not celebrated the Passover as the law commanded.
6. So the messengers took letters from the king and his officers all through Israel and Judah. This is what the letters said:People of Israel, come back to obeying the Lord. He is the God that Abraham, Isaac and Israel obeyed. Then God will come back to you who are still alive. You have escaped from the kings of Assyria.
7. Don’t be like your ancestors or your relatives. They turned against the Lord, the God their fathers obeyed. So the Lord caused other people to be disgusted with them. You know this is true.
8. Don’t be stubborn as your ancestors were. Obey the Lord willingly. Come to the Temple, which the Lord has made holy for his service forever. Serve the Lord your God. Then he will not be angry with you.
9. Come back and obey the Lord. Then the people who captured your relatives and children will be kind to them. They will let them return to this land. The Lord your God is kind and merciful. He will not turn away from you if you come back to him.
10. The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and Manasseh. They went all the way to Zebulun. But the people laughed at the messengers and made fun of them.
11. But some men from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun were sorry for what they had done and went to Jerusalem.
12. And God caused all the people of Judah to agree to obey King Hezekiah and his officers. Their command had come from the Lord.
13. A large crowd came together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was in the second month.
14. The people removed the altars and incense altars to false gods in Jerusalem. And they threw them into the Kidron Valley.
15. They killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed. So they made themselves holy for the Lord. They brought burnt offerings into the Temple of the Lord.
16. They took their regular places in the Temple as the Teachings of Moses the man of God commanded. The Levites gave the blood of the sacrifices to the priests. Then the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar.