Old/New Testament

Hezekiah Celebrates Passover

30 Then Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. ² Now the king and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to make the Passover feast in the second month— ³ but they were not able to make it at that time, for the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers,^[a] and the people had not been assembled in Jerusalem— ⁴ and the plan seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly. ⁵ So they let the decree stand, to make a proclamation^[b] throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. ⁶ And the runners went with the letter from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah according to the command of the king, saying, “O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. ⁷ Do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who acted unfaithfully before Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,^[c] so that he made them as a desolation, as you see. ⁸ Now, do not stiffen your neck as your fathers,^[d] but give a hand to Yahweh and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve Yahweh your God that his fierce anger may turn away from you. ⁹ For when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your children will find compassion before their captors and return to this land, for Yahweh your God is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.”

¹⁰ And it happened that the runners were passing from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and up to Zebulun, but they were laughing at them and mocking them. ¹¹ Only men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² The hand of God was also upon Judah, to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and the princes concerning the word of Yahweh.

¹³ So many people gathered in Jerusalem to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; it was a very great assembly. ¹⁴ And they rose up and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem. And they removed all the incense altars and threw them away in the Wadi^[e] Kidron. ¹⁵ And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were disgraced, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of Yahweh. ¹⁶ Then they stood at their positions according to custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests were sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷ For there were many in the assembly who did not consecrate themselves, so the Levites were over the killing of the Passover sacrifices for all who were not clean, to consecrate them to Yahweh. ¹⁸ For a majority of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. But they ate the Passover sacrifice otherwise than prescribed,^[f] but Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Yahweh make atonement unto ¹⁹ everyone whose heart is set to seek God, Yahweh the God of his ancestors,^[g] though not according to the cleansing for the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And Yahweh listened to Hezekiah, and he healed the people. ²¹ And the Israelites^[h] who were found in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy. And the Levites and the priests were offering praise to Yahweh day by day, with powerful instruments to Yahweh. ²² And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites who were skilled at service^[i] to Yahweh. So they ate the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.^[j]

²³ Then the whole assembly decided to make seven more days of feasting, so they made seven more days with joy, ²⁴ for Hezekiah the king of Judah had provided^[k] one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the princes provided^[l] one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly. And many priests consecrated themselves. ²⁵ And the whole assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, all the assembly who had come from the land of Israel, and those living in Judah rejoiced. ²⁶ And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing such as this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy dwelling place in the heavens.

Hezekiah Organizes the Priesthood

31 And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh to the very last one.^[m] Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property and to their cities.

² And Hezekiah appointed working groups of the priests and the Levites, each according to their divisions, according to the service for priests and Levites,^[n] for burnt offerings, for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camps of Yahweh. ³ And the gift of the king was out of his own possessions for the burnt offerings—the burnt offerings for the morning and the evening and for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and appointed feasts, as is written in the law of Yahweh. ⁴ Then he said to the people, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to give a gift for the priests and the Levites, so that they might be strong in the law of Yahweh. ⁵ And the word spread. The Israelites gave abundantly from the firstfruits of grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all kinds of grains from the field. And they brought tithes of everything in abundance. ⁶ Then the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps upon heaps. ⁷ In the third month the heaps began to pile up, and in the seventh month they ceased. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel. ⁹ And Hezekiah questioned^[o] the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, saying, “Since the offerings began to be brought to the house of Yahweh, we have eaten and been satisfied, and have much to spare, for Yahweh has blessed his people. Now see this abundant remainder!”

¹¹ And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Yahweh, and they were prepared. ¹² Then they brought the offerings and tithes and holy objects faithfully. And over them as leader was Conaniah the Levite. And Shimei his brother was second in rank. ¹³ And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nathan, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were chief officers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah. And Azaraiah was leader of the house of God. ¹⁴ Now Kore the son of Imlah, the Levite, the gatekeeper of the east gate was over the freewill offerings of God, to give offerings to Yahweh and the most holy things. ¹⁵ And at his hand were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests and entrusted^[p] to give to their brothers by working groups, according to the eldest to the youngest, ¹⁶ besides their enrollment by genealogy, to males from three years old and upward, to all who came into the house of Yahweh, as each day required^[q] for their service in their posts according to their working groups. ¹⁷ And the enrollment of the priests was according to the house of their fathers, and the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, according to their posts by their working groups. ¹⁸ And they were enrolled with all their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters for the whole assembly because of their faithfulness. And they sanctified themselves in holiness. ¹⁹ And for the descendants^[r] of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of the pasturelands of their cities, in each and every one of their cities^[s] were men who were designated by name to give shares to every male among the priests and to everyone enrolled among the Levites.

²⁰ And Hezekiah did according to this throughout all Judah. And he did what is good and what is right and what is faithful before Yahweh his God. ²¹ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God or with respect to the law and the commandment to seek his God, he did with all his heart, and he prospered.

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

18 When^[a] Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples to the other side of the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden into which he and his disciples entered. ² (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, also knew about the place, because Jesus often gathered there with his disciples.) ³ So Judas, taking the cohort and officers from the chief priests and from the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ Then Jesus, because he^[b] knew all the things that were coming upon him, went out and said to them, “Who are you looking for?” ⁵ They replied to him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am he.”^[c] (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, was also standing with them.) ⁶ So when he said to them, “I am he,”^[d] they drew back^[e] and fell to the ground. ⁷ Then he asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus replied, “I said to you that I am he!^[f] So if you are looking for me, let these men go,” ⁹ in order that the word that he had spoken would be fulfilled: “Those whom you have given to me—I have not lost anyone of them.”^[g]

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. (Now the name of the slave was Malchus.) ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into its^[h] sheath! The cup that the Father has given me—shall I not drink it?”

Jesus Taken to Annas

¹² Then the cohort and the military tribune and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and tied him up, ¹³ and brought him^[i] to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ (Now it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was better that one man die for the people.)

Peter Denies Jesus the First Time

¹⁵ So Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. (Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.) ¹⁶ But Peter was standing by the door outside. So the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. ¹⁷ Then the female slave who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You are not also one of the disciples of this man, are you?”^[j] He said, “I am not!” ¹⁸ (Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were warming themselves. And Peter was also standing there with them and warming himself.)