Josiah Celebrates Passover

35 Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the Lord would be celebrated in Jerusalem, and so the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.^[a]

⁶ “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.

³ at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.^[a] Be sure to follow all my decrees and regulations concerning this celebration.”

Celebration of Passover

¹⁹ On April 21^[a] the returned exiles celebrated Passover.

Josiah Celebrates Passover

²¹ King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.” ²² There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

²¹ “On the fourteenth day of the first month,^[a] you must celebrate the Passover. This festival will last for seven days. The bread you eat during that time must be made without yeast.

Preparations for Passover

30 King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel. ² The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual.^{[a] 3} They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem.

⁴ This plan for keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people. ⁵ So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north, inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law.

⁶ At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters that said:

Celebration of Passover

¹⁰ The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just laughed at the runners and made fun of them. ¹¹ However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.

¹² At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord. ¹³ So a huge crowd assembled at Jerusalem in midspring^[c] to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ¹⁴ They set to work and removed the pagan altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵ On the fourteenth day of the second month, one month later than usual,^[d] the people slaughtered the Passover lamb. This shamed the priests and Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then they took their places at the Temple as prescribed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. The Levites brought the sacrificial blood to the priests, who then sprinkled it on the altar.

¹⁷ Since many of the people had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover lamb for them, to set them apart for the Lord. ¹⁸ Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon those ¹⁹ who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony.” ²⁰ And the Lord listened to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed the people.

²¹ So the people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem joyously celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. Each day the Levites and priests sang to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments.^{[e] 22} Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites regarding the skill they displayed as they served the Lord. The celebration continued for seven days. Peace offerings were sacrificed, and the people gave thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

²³ The entire assembly then decided to continue the festival another seven days, so they celebrated joyfully for another week. ²⁴ King Hezekiah gave the people 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for offerings, and the officials donated 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. Meanwhile, many more priests purified themselves.

²⁵ The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, including the priests, the Levites, all who came from the land of Israel, the foreigners who came to the festival, and all those who lived in Judah. ²⁶ There was great joy in the city, for Jerusalem had not seen a celebration like this one since the days of Solomon, King David’s son. ²⁷ Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven.

Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

16 “In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib,^[a] for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ² Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored. ³ Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. ⁴ Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.

⁵ “You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁶ You must offer it only at the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your exodus from Egypt. ⁷ Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning. ⁸ For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the Lord your God, and no work may be done on that day.