Judaism Unbound - Passover in the Bible

(1) YHWH [this is God's name, sometimes also translated/transliterated as Yahweh or Jehovah or Adonai or The LORD] said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: (2) This month [Nissan, the month in which Passover occurs] shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.

(3) Speak to the entire community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household. (4) But if the household is too small for a lamb, let it share one with a neighbor who dwells nearby, in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for the lamb according to what each household will eat. (5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. (6) You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month; and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight. (7) They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they are to eat it.

(8) They shall eat the flesh that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. (9) Do not eat any of it raw, or cooked in any way with water, but roasted—head, legs, and entrails—over the fire. (10) You shall not leave any of it over until morning; if any of it is left until morning, you shall burn it. (11) This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly: it is a passover offering to YHWH. (12) For that night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, both human and beast; and I will mete out punishments to all the gods of Egypt, I YHWH. (13) And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood I will pass over you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

(14) This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to YHWH throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. (15) Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. (16) You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them; only what every person is to eat, that alone may be prepared for you. (17) You shall observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread [matzot], for on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day throughout the ages as an institution for all time.

(18) In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. (19) No leaven [se'or] shall be found in your houses for seven days. For whoever eats what is leavened [machmetzet], that person—whether a stranger or a citizen of the land—shall be cut off from the community of Israel. (20) You shall eat nothing leavened [machmetzet]; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread [matzot].

(21) Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering. (22) Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. (23) For YHWH, when going through to smite the Egyptians, will see the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, and YHWH will pass over the door and not let the Destroyer enter and smite your home. (24) “You shall observe this as an institution for all time, for you and for your descendants. (25) And when you enter the land that YHWH will give you, as promised, you shall observe this rite.

(26) And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this rite?’ (27) you shall say, ‘It is the passover sacrifice to YHWH, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when smiting the Egyptians, but saved our houses.’”Those assembled then bowed low in homage. (28) And the Israelites went and did so; just as YHWH had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

(29) In the middle of the night YHWH struck down all the [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle. (30) And Pharaoh arose in the night, with all his courtiers and all the Egyptians—because there was a loud cry in Egypt; for there was no house where there was not someone dead.

(31) He summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Up, depart from among my people, you and the Israelites with you! Go, worship YHWH as you said! (32) Take also your flocks and your herds, as you said, and begone! And may you bring a blessing upon me also!” (33) The Egyptians urged the people on, impatient to have them leave the country, for they said, “We shall all be dead.”

(34) So the people took their dough before it was leavened [yechmatz], their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks upon their shoulders.

(35) The Israelites had done Moses’ bidding and borrowed from the Egyptians objects of silver and gold, and clothing. (36) And YHWH had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people, and they let them have their request; thus they stripped the Egyptians. (37) The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkot [place names], about six hundred thousand fighting men on foot, aside from noncombatants. (38) Moreover, a mixed multitude went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.

(39) And they baked unleavened cakes [matzot] of the dough that they had taken out of Egypt, for it was not leavened [lo chametz], since they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay; nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

(40) The length of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years; (41) at the end of the four hundred and thirtieth year, to the very day, all the ranks of YHWH departed from the land of Egypt. (42) That was for YHWH a night of vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt; that same night is YHWH's, one of vigil for all the children of Israel throughout the ages.

(43) YHWH said to Moses and Aaron: This is the law of the passover offering: No foreigner shall eat of it. (44) But any householder’s purchased male slave may eat of it once he has been circumcised. (45) No bound or hired laborer shall eat of it. (46) It shall be eaten in one house: you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house; nor shall you break a bone of it. (47) The whole community of Israel shall offer it. (48) If a male stranger who dwells with you would offer the passover to YHWH, all his males must be circumcised; then he shall be admitted to offer it; he shall then be as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. (49) There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you. (50) And all the Israelites did so; as YHWH had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (51) That very day YHWH freed the Israelites from the land of Egypt, troop by troop.

(3) And Moses said to the people,“Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how YHWH freed you from it with a mighty hand: no leavened bread [chametz] shall be eaten. (4) You go free on this day, in the month of Abib [the Biblical name of the months we now call Nissan -- Abib also mean Spring, as in the season].

(5) So, when YHWH has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which was sworn to your fathers to be given you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall observe in this month the following practice: (6) “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread [matzot], and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of YHWH. (7) Throughout the seven days unleavened bread [matzot] shall be eaten; no leavened bread [chametz] shall be found with you, and no leaven [se'or] shall be found in all your territory.

(8) And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what YHWH did for me when I went free from Egypt.’ (9) “And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead —in order that the Teaching of YHWH may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand YHWH freed you from Egypt. (10) You shall keep this institution at its set time from year to year.

(11) “And when YHWH has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as [God] swore to you and to your fathers, and has given it to you, (12) you shall set apart for YHWH every first issue of the womb: every male firstling that your cattle drop shall be YHWH's. (13) But every firstling ass you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every male first-born among your children. (14) And when, in time to come, a child of yours asks you, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall reply, ‘It was with a mighty hand that YHWH brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage. (15) When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, YHWH slew every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, the first-born of both human and beast. Therefore I sacrifice to YHWH every first male issue of the womb, but redeem every male first-born among my children.’ (16) “And so it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a symbol on your forehead that with a mighty hand YHWH freed us from Egypt.”

(14) Three times a year you shall hold a festival for Me:

(15) You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot]—eating unleavened bread [matzot] for seven days as I have commanded you—at the set time in the month of Abib, for in it you went forth from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty-handed;

(16) and the Feast of the Harvest, of the first fruits of your work, of what you sow in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in the results of your work from the field.

(17) Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Sovereign, YHWH. (18) You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with anything leavened [chametz]; and the fat of My festal offering shall not be left lying until morning.

(1) YHWH said to Moses: “Carve two tablets of stone like the first, and I will inscribe upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you shattered.

(12) Beware of making a covenant with the inhabitants of the land against which you are advancing, lest they be a snare in your midst. (13) No, you must tear down their altars, smash their pillars, and cut down their sacred posts; (14) for you must not worship any other god, because YHWH, whose name is Impassioned, is an impassioned God. (15) You must not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for they will lust after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and invite you, and you will eat of their sacrifices. (16) And when you take [wives into your households] from among their daughters for your sons, their daughters will lust after their gods and will cause your sons to lust after their gods. (17) You shall not make molten gods for yourselves.

(18) You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot]—eating unleavened bread [matzot] for seven days, as I have commanded you—at the set time of the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you went forth from Egypt.

(19) Every first issue of the womb is Mine, from all your livestock that drop a male as firstling, whether cattle or sheep. (20) But the firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every male first-born among your children. None shall appear before Me empty-handed

(4) These are the set times of YHWH, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time: (5) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover offering to YHWH, (6) and on the fifteenth day of that month YHWH's Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot]. You shall eat unleavened bread [matzot] for seven days. (7) On the first day you shall celebrate a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. (8) Seven days you shall make offerings by fire to YHWH. The seventh day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations.

(16) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, there shall be a passover sacrifice to YHWH, (17) and on the fifteenth day of that month a festival. Unleavened bread [matzot] shall be eaten for seven days. (18) The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations.

(19) You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering, to YHWH: two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven yearling lambs—see that they are without blemish. (20) The meal offering with them shall be of choice flour with oil mixed in: prepare three-tenths of a measure for a bull, two-tenths for a ram; (21) and for each of the seven lambs prepare one-tenth of a measure. (22) And there shall be one goat for a sin offering, to make expiation in your behalf. (23) You shall present these in addition to the morning portion of the regular burnt offering.

(24) You shall offer the like daily for seven days as food, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to YHWH; they shall be offered, with their libations, in addition to the regular burnt offering. (25) And the seventh day shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall not work at your occupations.

(1) Observe the month of Abib and offer a passover sacrifice to your God YHWH, for it was in the month of Abib, at night, that your God YHWH freed you from Egypt.

(2) You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for your God YHWH, from the flock and the herd, in the place where YHWH will choose to establish the divine name.

(3) You shall not eat anything leavened [chametz] with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread [matzot], bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. (4) For seven days no leaven [se'or] shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning.

(5) You are not permitted to slaughter the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that your God YHWH is giving you; (6) but at the place where your God YHWH will choose to establish the divine name [this came to be understood to mean the Temple in Jerusalem], there alone shall you slaughter the passover sacrifice, in the evening, at sundown, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. (7) You shall cook and eat it at the place that your God YHWH will choose; and in the morning you may start back on your journey home.

(8) After eating unleavened bread [matzot] six days, you shall hold a solemn gathering for your God YHWH on the seventh day: you shall do no work.

(1) When all the kings of the Amorites on the western side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites near the Sea, heard how YHWH had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the sake of the Israelites until they crossed over, they lost heart, and no spirit was left in them because of the Israelites.

(9) And YHWH said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” So that place was called Gilgal [Rolled], as it still is. (10) Encamped at Gilgal, in the steppes of Jericho, the Israelites offered the passover sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the month, toward evening. (11) On the day after the passover offering, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the country, unleavened bread [matzot] and parched grain [kalui]. (12) On that same day, when they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. The Israelites got no more manna; that year they ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

(1) At the king’s [Josiah] summons, all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem assembled before him. (2) The king went up to the House of YHWH, together with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and prophets—all the people, young and old. And he read to them the entire text of the covenant scroll which had been found in the House of YHWH [thought by modern scholars to be a version of the Book of Deuteronomy]. (3) The king stood by the pillar and solemnized the covenant before YHWH: that they would follow YHWH and observe His commandments, His injunctions, and His laws with all their heart and soul; that they would fulfill all the terms of this covenant as inscribed upon the scroll. And all the people entered into the covenant.

(21) The king commanded all the people, “Offer the passover sacrifice to YHWH your God as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” (22) Now the passover sacrifice had not been offered in that manner in the days of the chieftains who ruled Israel, or during the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. (23) Only in the eighteenth year of King Josiah was such a passover sacrifice offered in that manner to YHWH in Jerusalem.

(1) Josiah kept the Passover for YHWH in Jerusalem; the passover sacrifice was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. (2) He reinstated the priests in their shifts and rallied them to the service of the House of YHWH.

(6) Having sanctified yourselves, slaughter the passover sacrifice and prepare it for your kinsmen, according to the word of God given by Moses.” (7) Josiah donated to the people small cattle—lambs and goats, all for passover sacrifices for all present—to the sum of 30,000, and large cattle, 3,000—these from the property of the king. (8) His officers gave a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the chiefs of the House of God, donated to the priests for passover sacrifices 2,600 [small cattle] and 300 large cattle. (9) Conaniah, Shemaiah, and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated 5,000 [small cattle] and 500 large cattle to the Levites for passover sacrifices. (10) The service was arranged well: the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions, by the king’s command. (11) They slaughtered the passover sacrifice and the priests [received its blood] from them and dashed it, while the Levites flayed the animals. (12) They removed the parts to be burnt, distributing them to divisions of the people by clans, and making the sacrifices to the LORD, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses; they did the same for the cattle. (13) They roasted the passover sacrifice in fire, as prescribed, while the sacred offerings they cooked in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and conveyed them with dispatch to all the people. (14) Afterward they provided for themselves and the priests, for the Aaronite priests were busy offering the burnt offerings and the fatty parts until nightfall, so the Levites provided both for themselves and for the Aaronite priests. (15) The Asaphite singers were at their stations, by command of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the seer of the king; and the gatekeepers were at each and every gate. They did not have to leave their tasks, because their Levite brothers provided for them. (16) The entire service of YHWH was arranged well that day, to keep the Passover and to make the burnt offerings on the altar of YHWH, according to the command of King Josiah.

(17) All the Israelites present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot] for seven days. (18) Since the time of the prophet Samuel, no Passover like that one had ever been kept in Israel; none of the kings of Israel had kept a Passover like the one kept by Josiah and the priests and the Levites and all Judah and Israel there present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (19) That Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

(18) Thus said the Lord YHWH: On the first day of the first month, you shall take a bull of the herd without blemish, and you shall cleanse the Sanctuary. (19) The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and apply it to the doorposts of the Temple, to the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and to the doorposts of the gate of the inner court. (20) You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month to purge the Temple from uncleanness caused by unwitting or ignorant persons.

(21) On the fourteenth day of the first month you shall have the Passover; and during a festival of seven days unleavened bread [matzot] shall be eaten.

(22) On that day, the prince shall provide a bull of sin offering on behalf of himself and of the entire population; (23) and during the seven days of the festival, he shall provide daily—for seven days—seven bulls and seven rams, without blemish, for a burnt offering to YHWH, and one goat daily for a sin offering. (24) He shall provide a meal offering of an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, with a hin of oil to every ephah.

(1) Thereupon, at the order of King Darius, they searched the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon. (2) But it was in the citadel of Ecbatana, in the province of Media, that a scroll was found in which the following was written: “Memorandum: (3) In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued an order concerning the House of God in Jerusalem: ‘Let the house be rebuilt, a place for offering sacrifices, with a base built up high. Let it be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, (4) with a course of unused timber for each three courses of hewn stone. The expenses shall be paid by the palace. (5) And the gold and silver vessels of the House of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from the temple in Jerusalem and transported to Babylon shall be returned, and let each go back to the temple in Jerusalem where it belongs; you shall deposit it in the House of God.’

(19) The returned exiles celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, (20) for the priests and Levites had purified themselves to a man; they were all pure. They slaughtered the passover offering for all the returned exiles, and for their brother priests and for themselves. (21) The children of Israel who had returned from the exile, together with all who joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanliness of the nations of the lands to worship YHWH, God of Israel, ate of it. (22) They joyfully celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot] for seven days, for YHWH had given them cause for joy by inclining the heart of the Assyrian king toward them so as to give them support in the work of the House of God, the God of Israel.

(1) YHWH spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, on the first new moon of the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying: (2) Let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time: (3) you shall offer it on the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, at its set time; you shall offer it in accordance with all its rules and rites. (4) Moses instructed the Israelites to offer the passover sacrifice; (5) and they offered the passover sacrifice in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai. Just as YHWH had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.

(6) But there were some householders who were impure by reason of a corpse and could not offer the passover sacrifice on that day. Appearing that same day before Moses and Aaron, (7) those householders said to them, “Impure though we are by reason of a corpse, why must we be debarred from presenting YHWH's offering at its set time with the rest of the Israelites?” (8) Moses said to them, “Stand by, and let me hear what instructions YHWH gives about you.” (9) And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying: (10) Speak to the Israelite people, saying: When any party—whether you or your posterity—who is defiled by a corpse or is on a long journey would offer a passover sacrifice to YHWH, (11) they shall offer it in the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, (12) and they shall not leave any of it over until morning. They shall not break a bone of it. They shall offer it in strict accord with the law of the passover sacrifice. (13) But if any party who is pure and not on a journey refrains from offering the passover sacrifice, that person shall be cut off from kin, for YHWH's offering was not presented at its set time; that party shall bear the guilt.

(14) And when a stranger who resides with you would offer a passover sacrifice to YHWH, it must be offered in accordance with the rules and rites of the passover sacrifice. There shall be one law for you, whether stranger or citizen of the country.

(1) Hezekiah became king at the age of twenty-five, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. (2) He did what was pleasing to YHWH, just as his father David had done. (3) He, in the first month of the first year of his reign, opened the doors of the House of YHWH and repaired them. (4) He summoned the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the east square. (5) He said to them, “Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves and sanctify the House of YHWH, God of your fathers, and take the abhorrent things out of the holy place. (6) For our fathers trespassed and did what displeased YHWH our God; they forsook Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling-place of YHWH, turning their backs on it. (7) They also shut the doors of the porch and put out the lights; they did not offer incense and did not make burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. (8) The wrath of YHWH was upon Judah and Jerusalem; He made them an object of horror, amazement, and hissing as you see with your own eyes. (9) Our fathers died by the sword, and our sons and daughters and wives are in captivity on account of this. (10) Now I wish to make a covenant with YHWH God of Israel, so that His rage may be withdrawn from us.

(36) Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had enabled the people to accomplish, because it had happened so suddenly.

(1) Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah; he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the House of YHWH in Jerusalem to keep the Passover for YHWH, God of Israel.

(2) The king and his officers and the congregation in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month, (3) for at the time, they were unable to keep it, for not enough priests had sanctified themselves, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem.

(4) The king and the whole congregation thought it proper (5) to issue a decree and proclaim throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan that they come and keep the Passover for YHWH God of Israel in Jerusalem—not often did they act in accord with what was written. (6) The couriers went out with the letters from the king and his officers through all Israel and Judah, by order of the king, proclaiming, “O you Israelites! Return to YHWH God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. (7) Do not be like your fathers and brothers who trespassed against YHWH God of their fathers and He turned them into a horror, as you see. (8) Now do not be stiffnecked like your fathers; submit yourselves to YHWH and come to His sanctuary, which He consecrated forever, and serve YHWH your God so that His anger may turn back from you. (9) If you return to YHWH, your brothers and children will be regarded with compassion by their captors, and will return to this land; for YHWH your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” (10) As the couriers passed from town to town in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh till they reached Zebulun, they were laughed at and mocked. (11) Some of the people of Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun, however, were contrite, and came to Jerusalem. (12) The hand of God was on Judah, too, making them of a single mind to carry out the command of the king and officers concerning the ordinance of YHWH.

(13) A great crowd assembled at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot] in the second month, a very great congregation.

(14) They set to and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they removed all the incense stands and threw them into Wadi Kidron. (15) They slaughtered the paschal sacrifice on the fourteenth of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the House of YHWH. (16) They took their stations, as was their rule according to the Teaching of Moses, man of God. The priests dashed the blood [which they received] from the Levites. (17) Since many in the congregation had not sanctified themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the paschal sacrifice for everyone who was not clean, so as to consecrate them to YHWH. (18) For most of the people—many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the paschal sacrifice in violation of what was written. Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “The good YHWH will provide atonement for (19) everyone who set his mind on worshiping God, YHWH God of his fathers, even if he is not purified for the sanctuary.” (20) YHWH heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

(21) The Israelites who were in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread [matzot] seven days, with great rejoicing, the Levites and the priests praising YHWH daily with powerful instruments for YHWH. (22) Hezekiah persuaded all the Levites who performed skillfully for YHWH to spend the seven days of the festival making offerings of well-being, and confessing to YHWH God of their fathers. (23) All the congregation resolved to keep seven more days, so they kept seven more days of rejoicing. (24) King Hezekiah of Judah contributed to the congregation 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep. And the officers contributed to the congregation 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests sanctified themselves in large numbers. (25) All the congregation of Judah and the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came from Israel, and the resident aliens who came from the land of Israel and who lived in Judah, rejoiced.

(26) There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of King Solomon son of David of Israel nothing like it had happened in Jerusalem. (27) The Levite priests rose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer went up to His holy abode, to heaven.