Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover Feast
1Hezekiah sent a message to all the people of Israel and Judah. He also wrote letters to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. He invited everyone to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. He wanted them to celebrate the Passover Feast to honor the Lord. He is the God of Israel. 2The king, his officials and the whole community in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover Feast in the second month. 3They hadn’t been able to celebrate it at the regular time. That’s because there weren’t enough priests who had set themselves apart to the Lord. Also, the people hadn’t gathered together in Jerusalem. 4The plan seemed good to the king and the whole community. 5They decided to send a message all through Israel. It was sent out from Beersheba all the way to Dan. The message invited the people to come to Jerusalem. It invited them to celebrate the Passover Feast to honor the Lord, the God of Israel. The Passover Feast hadn’t been celebrated by large numbers of people for a long time. It hadn’t been done in keeping with what was written in the law.
6Messengers went all through Israel and Judah. They carried letters from the king and his officials. The king had ordered them to do that. The letters said,
“People of Israel, return to the Lord. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Return to him. Then he will return to you who are left in the land. You have escaped from the power of the kings of Assyria. 7Don’t be like your parents and the rest of your people. They weren’t faithful to the Lord, the God of their people. That’s why he punished them. He made them look so bad that everyone was shocked when they saw them. You can see it for yourselves. 8Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be as your people were. Obey the Lord. Come to his temple. He has set it apart to himself forever. Serve the Lord your God. Then he’ll stop being angry with you. 9Suppose you return to the Lord. Then those who captured your relatives and children will be kind to them. In fact, your relatives and children will come back to this land. The Lord your God is kind and tender. He won’t turn away from you if you return to him.”
10The messengers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh. They went all the way to Zebulun. But people laughed and made fun of them. 11In spite of that, some people from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun made themselves humble. They went to Jerusalem. 12God helped the people of Judah. He helped them agree with one another. So they did what the king and his officials had ordered. They did what the Lord told them to do.
13A very large crowd of people gathered together in Jerusalem. They went there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It took place in the second month. 14They removed the altars in Jerusalem. They cleared away the altars for burning incense. They threw all the altars into the Kidron Valley.
15They killed the Passover lamb on the 14th day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed of how they had lived. They set themselves apart to the Lord. They brought burnt offerings to his temple. 16Then they did their regular tasks just as the Law of Moses, the man of God, required. The Levites gave the blood of the animals to the priests. The priests splashed it against the altar. 17Many people in the crowd hadn’t set themselves apart to the Lord. They weren’t “clean.” They couldn’t set apart their lambs to him. So the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all of them. 18Many people came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun. Most of them hadn’t made themselves pure and “clean.” But they still ate the Passover meal. That was against what was written in the law. But Hezekiah prayed for them. He said, “The Lord is good. May he forgive everyone 19who wants to worship God with all their heart. God is the Lord, the God of their people. May God forgive them even if they aren’t ‘clean’ in keeping with the rules of the temple.” 20The Lord answered Hezekiah’s prayer. He healed the people.
21The people of Israel who were in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They celebrated for seven days with great joy. The Levites and priests praised the Lord every day. They praised the Lord with loud musical instruments. The instruments had been set apart to the Lord.
22Hezekiah spoke words that gave hope to all the Levites. They understood how to serve the Lord well. For the seven days of the feast they ate the share given to them. They also sacrificed friendship offerings. They praised the Lord, the God of their people.
23Then the whole community agreed to celebrate the feast for seven more days. So for another seven days they celebrated with joy. 24Hezekiah, the king of Judah, provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for the community. The officials provided 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats for them. A large number of priests set themselves apart to the Lord. 25The entire community of Judah was filled with joy. So were the priests and Levites. And so were all the people who had gathered together from Israel. That included the outsiders who had come from Israel. It also included those who lived in Judah. 26There was great joy in Jerusalem. There hadn’t been anything like it in Israel since the days of Solomon, the son of David. Solomon had been king of Israel. 27The priests and Levites gave their blessing to the people. God heard them. Their prayer reached all the way to heaven. It’s the holy place where God lives.
Celebración de la Pascua
1Ezequías escribió cartas a todo Israel y Judá, incluyendo a las tribus de Efraín y Manasés, y se las envió, para que acudieran al templo del Señor en Jerusalén a celebrar la Pascua del Señor, Dios de Israel. 2El rey, los jefes y toda la asamblea habían decidido celebrar la Pascua en el mes segundo. 3No pudieron hacerlo en la fecha correspondiente porque muchos de los sacerdotes aún no se habían purificado, y el pueblo no se había reunido en Jerusalén. 4Como la propuesta les agradó al rey y a la asamblea, 5acordaron pregonar por todo Israel, desde Dan hasta Berseba, que todos debían acudir a Jerusalén para celebrar la Pascua del Señor, Dios de Israel, pues muchos no la celebraban como está prescrito.
6Los mensajeros salieron por todo Israel y Judá con las cartas del rey y de sus oficiales, y de acuerdo con la orden del rey iban proclamando:
«Israelitas, volveos al Señor, Dios de Abraham, de Isaac y de Israel, para que él se vuelva al remanente de vosotros, que escapó del poder de los reyes de Asiria. 7No seáis como vuestros antepasados, ni como vuestros hermanos, que se rebelaron contra el Señor, Dios de vuestros antepasados. Por eso él los convirtió en objeto de burla, como ahora lo podéis ver. 8No seáis tercos, como vuestros antepasados. Someteos al Señor, y entrad en su santuario, que él consagró para siempre. Servid al Señor vuestro Dios, para que él retire su ardiente ira. 9Si os volvéis al Señor, vuestros hermanos y vuestros hijos serán tratados con benevolencia por aquellos que los tienen cautivos, y podrán regresar a esta tierra. El Señor vuestro Dios es compasivo y misericordioso. Si os volvéis a él, jamás os abandonará».
10Los mensajeros recorrieron toda la región de Efraín y Manasés de ciudad en ciudad, hasta llegar a la región de Zabulón, pero todos se reían y se burlaban de ellos. 11No obstante, algunos de las tribus de Aser, Manasés y Zabulón se humillaron y fueron a Jerusalén. 12También los habitantes de Judá, movidos por Dios, cumplieron unánimes la orden del rey y de los jefes, conforme a la palabra del Señor.
13En el mes segundo, una inmensa muchedumbre se reunió en Jerusalén para celebrar la fiesta de los Panes sin levadura. 14Quitaron los altares que había en Jerusalén y los altares donde se quemaba incienso, y los arrojaron al arroyo de Cedrón.
15El día catorce del mes segundo celebraron30:15 celebraron. Lit. sacrificaron. la Pascua. Los sacerdotes y los levitas, compungidos, se purificaron y llevaron holocaustos al templo del Señor, 16después de lo cual ocuparon sus respectivos puestos, conforme a la ley de Moisés, hombre de Dios. Los levitas entregaban la sangre a los sacerdotes, y estos la rociaban. 17Como muchos de la asamblea no se habían purificado, para consagrarlos al Señor los levitas tuvieron que matar por ellos los corderos de la Pascua. 18En efecto, mucha gente de Efraín, de Manasés, de Isacar y de Zabulón participó de la comida pascual sin haberse purificado, con lo que transgredieron lo prescrito. Pero Ezequías oró así a favor de ellos: «Perdona, buen Señor, 19a todo el que se ha empeñado de todo corazón en buscarte a ti, Señor, Dios de sus antepasados, aunque no se haya purificado según las normas de santidad». 20Y el Señor escuchó a Ezequías y perdonó30:20 perdonó. Lit. sanó. al pueblo.
21Los israelitas que se encontraban en Jerusalén celebraron con mucho gozo, y durante siete días, la fiesta de los Panes sin levadura. Los levitas y los sacerdotes alababan al Señor todos los días, y le entonaban cantos al son de sus instrumentos musicales.30:21 sus instrumentos musicales. Lit. los instrumentos poderosos del Señor. 22Y Ezequías felicitó a los levitas que habían tenido una buena disposición para servir al Señor.
Durante siete días celebraron la fiesta y participaron de la comida pascual, ofreciendo sacrificios de comunión y alabando al Señor, Dios de sus antepasados. 23Pero toda la asamblea acordó prolongar la fiesta siete días más, y llenos de gozo celebraron esos siete días. 24Ezequías, rey de Judá, le obsequió a la asamblea mil bueyes y siete mil ovejas, y también los jefes regalaron mil bueyes y diez mil ovejas. Y muchos más sacerdotes se purificaron. 25Toda la asamblea de Judá estaba alegre, lo mismo que todos los sacerdotes, levitas y extranjeros que habían llegado de Israel, así como los que vivían en Judá. 26Desde la época de Salomón hijo de David, rey de Israel, no se había celebrado en Jerusalén una fiesta tan alegre. 27Después los sacerdotes y los levitas se pusieron de pie y bendijeron al pueblo, y el Señor los escuchó; su oración llegó hasta el cielo, el santo lugar donde Dios habita.
