12. In Judah, however, the hand of God brought it about that the people were of one heart to carry out the command of the king and the princes by the word of the Lord.
13. Thus many people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; it was a very great assembly.
14. They proceeded to remove the altars that were in Jerusalem as well as all the altars of incense, and cast them into the Wadi Kidron.
15. They slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were shamed into sanctifying themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.
16. They stood in the places prescribed for them according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests splashed the blood given them by the Levites;
17. for many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, and the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover victims for all who were unclean so as to consecrate them to the Lord.
18. The greater part of the people, in fact, chiefly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. Nevertheless they ate the Passover, contrary to the prescription; because Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord grant pardon to
19. all who have set their heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not clean as holiness requires.”
20. The Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
21. Thus the Israelites who were in Jerusalem celebrated the feast of Unleavened Bread with great rejoicing for seven days, and the Levites and the priests sang the praises of the Lord day after day with all their strength.
22. Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves well skilled in the service of the Lord. And when they had completed the seven days of festival, sacrificing communion offerings and singing praises to the Lord, the God of their ancestors,
23. the whole assembly agreed to celebrate another seven days. So with joy they celebrated seven days more.
24. King Hezekiah of Judah had contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to the assembly, and the princes a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. The priests sanctified themselves in great numbers,
25. and the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, together with the priests and Levites and the rest of the assembly that had come from Israel, as well as the resident aliens from the land of Israel and those that lived in Judah.
26. There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like it in the city.
27. Then the levitical priests rose and blessed the people; their voice was heard and their prayer reached heaven, God’s holy dwelling.