Preparations for Passover
1-3 The people had not been able to celebrate the Passover Festival at the proper time in the first month, because not enough priests were ritually clean and not many people had assembled in Jerusalem. So King Hezekiah, his officials, and the people of Jerusalem agreed to celebrate it in the second month, and the king sent word to all the people of Israel and Judah. He took special care to send letters to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. 4 The king and the people were pleased with their plan, 5 so they invited all the Israelites, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, to come together in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover according to the Law, in larger numbers than ever before. 6 Messengers went out at the command of the king and his officials through all Judah and Israel with the following invitation:
“People of Israel, you have survived the Assyrian conquest of the land. Now return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will return to you. 7 Do not be like your ancestors and your Israelite relatives who were unfaithful to the Lord their God. As you can see, he punished them severely. 8 Do not be stubborn as they were, but obey the Lord. Come to the Temple in Jerusalem, which the Lord your God has made holy forever, and worship him so that he will no longer be angry with you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then those who have taken your relatives away as prisoners will take pity on them and let them come back home. The Lord your God is kind and merciful, and if you return to him, he will accept you.”
10 The messengers went to every city in the territory of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far north as the tribe of Zebulun, but people laughed at them and made fun of them. 11 Still, there were some from the tribes of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun who were willing to come to Jerusalem. 12 God was also at work in Judah and united the people in their determination to obey his will by following the commands of the king and his officials.
Passover Is Celebrated
13 A great number of people gathered in Jerusalem in the second month to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 14 They took all the altars that had been used in Jerusalem for offering sacrifices and burning incense and threw them into Kidron Valley. 15 And on the fourteenth day of the month they killed the lambs for the Passover sacrifice. The priests and Levites who were not ritually clean became so ashamed that they dedicated themselves to the Lord, and now they could sacrifice burnt offerings in the Temple. 16 They took their places in the Temple according to the instructions in the Law of Moses, the man of God. The Levites gave the blood of the sacrifices to the priests, who sprinkled it on the altar. 17 Because many of the people were not ritually clean, they could not kill the Passover lambs, so the Levites did it for them and dedicated the lambs to the Lord. 18 In addition, many of those who had come from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not performed the ritual of purification, and so they were observing Passover improperly. King Hezekiah offered this prayer for them: 19 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors, in your goodness forgive those who are worshiping you with all their heart, even though they are not ritually clean.” 20 The Lord answered Hezekiah's prayer; he forgave the people and did not harm them. 21 For seven days the people who had gathered in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with great joy, and day after day the Levites and the priests praised the Lord with all their strength. 22 Hezekiah praised the Levites for their skill in conducting the worship of the Lord.
A Second Celebration
After the seven days during which they offered sacrifices in praise of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, 23 they all decided to celebrate for another seven days. So they celebrated with joy. 24 King Hezekiah contributed 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for the people to kill and eat, and the officials gave them another 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. A large number of priests went through the ritual of purification. 25 So everyone was happy—the people of Judah, the priests, the Levites, the people who had come from the north, and the foreigners who had settled permanently in Israel and Judah. 26 The city of Jerusalem was filled with joy, because nothing like this had happened since the days of King Solomon, the son of David. 27 The priests and the Levites asked the Lord's blessing on the people. In his home in heaven God heard their prayers and accepted them.
Oshivilo shaPaasa tashi danwa vali muJerusalem
1 Ndele Hiskia okwa tumina Israel ashishe naJuda, ndele a shangela Efraim naManasse eenhumwafo, ve uye kongulu yOmwene muJerusalem va dane okufimaneka Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael oshivilo shaPaasa. 2 Nohamba novakulunhu vayo neongalo alishe lomuJerusalem va udafana va dane Opaasa mohani onhivali, 3 osheshi va nyengwa oku i dana mefimbo layo, shaashi ovapristeli ovo ve liyapula, inava wana, novanhu inava ongala muJerusalem. 4 Noshinima sha li sha yuka momesho ohamba nomomesho eongalo alishe. 5 Osho ngaha hano ova pangela omhangela va vilikile muIsrael ashishe okudja kuBerseba fiyo okuDan, nokutya ve nokuuya kuJerusalem, va dane Opaasa okufimaneka Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael. Osheshi inave i dana meongalo ngaashi sha pangelwa. 6 Eenhondoki da fikama hano ndele da ya muIsrael ashishe nomuJuda ndele da vilikila oshipango shohamba, tashi ti: “Nye Ovaisraeli, alukileni kOmwene Kalunga kaAbraham naIsak naIsrael, opo Ye a alukile kwaavo va xupa po munye ndele va xupifwa momake eehamba daAsiria. 7 Inamu kala ngaashi ooxo novamwanyoko, ovo va efa Omwene Kalunga kooxe, onghee va ninga oshitevo noshikumwifa ngaashi nye vene tamu shi mono. 8 Inamu kukutika eefingo deni ngaashi ooxo; yandjeni kOmwene omake ndele ileni kotembeli yaye, Ye e i yapula fiyo alushe, mu longele Omwene Kalunga keni, opo oupyuhandu waye u dje po punye. 9 Osheshi ngeenge nye tamu aluka kOmwene, ovamwanyoko novana veni tava ka filwa onghenda kwaava ve va twala ko eenghwate, vo va shiive okwaaluka moshilongo eshi. Osheshi Omwene Kalunga keni Ye e nolune nonghenda, ndele ita ka pungulula oshipala shaye kunye, nye ngeenge tamu aluka kuye.” 10 Ndelenee eenhondoki eshi da enda noilando koilando medu laEfraim nolaManasse fiyo okuSebulon, ove di yola ndele ve di sheka. 11 Ndelenee ovalumenhu vamwe vomuAsser naManasse nomuSebulon ve lininipika ndele va ya kuJerusalem. 12 MuJuda yo eke laKalunga la longa, onghee ve liyandja nomutima umwe, va wanife oshipango shohamba noshovakulunhu pandjovo yOmwene.
13 Novanhu vahapu va ongala muJerusalem va dane oshivilo shomungome uhe nonhafi, mohani onhivali, heeno, oshiongalele shinene. 14 Ndele va fikama ndele va hanauna po eealtari domuJerusalem. Nosho eealtari adishe dokutwimina ve di hanauna po ndele ve di ekela mokamulonga Kidron. 15 Mefiku etimulongo netine mohani onhivali va dipaa odi yaPaasa. Novapristeli nOvalevi va fya ohoni ndele ve liyapula ndele va eta omaxwikiloyambo mongulu yOmwene. 16 Ndele va ya va ka kale ofika meenhele davo palombwelo lomhango yaMoses, omulumenhu waKalunga, fimbo ovapristeli va tambula ohonde momake Ovalevi, ndele ve i tila. 17 Osheshi moshiongalele mwa li vahapu inave liyapula, onghee hano Ovalevi va li ve nokutoma omatomenoyambo ponhele yakeshe ou ina yapulwa, opo ve va yapulile Omwene. 18 Osheshi vahapu unene vomovanhu va dja muEfraim nomuManasse, muIsaskar nomuSebulon, inave liyapula, ndele va lya odi yaPaasa hapanghedi yayo. Ndelenee Hiskia okwe va ilikanena ndele ta ti: “Omwene muwa na kufile po 19 keshe umwe a yukifa omutima waye okukonga Kalunga, Omwene Kalunga kooxe, nande ehe neyapulo lopatembeli.” 20 NOmwene okwa uda Hiskia ndele a velula ovanhu. 21 Osho ngaha hano ovana vaIsrael ovo va li muJerusalem, ova dana oshivilo shomingome dihe nonhafi omafiku aheyali nehafo linene, fimbo Ovalevi novapristeli va hambelela Omwene efiku nefiku noishikomwa i neenghono okefimano lOmwene. 22 Ndele Hiskia okwa popifa nombili Ovalevi aveshe, ava va wanifa oilonga yavo paunongo wokufimaneka Omwene. Nomafiku aheyali va lya omayambo oshivilo ndele va yamba omapanduloyambo, ndele tava hambelele Omwene Kalunga kooxe.
23 Neongalo alishe eshi la udafana va dane vali oshivilo omafiku aheyali, vo ova dana nehafo oshivilo natango omafiku aheyali. 24 Osheshi Hiskia, ohamba yaJuda, ya yandja koshiongalele eengobe deemhedi eyovi needi omayovi aheyali. Novakulunhu va yandja koshiongalele eengobe deemhedi eyovi needi omayovi omulongo. Novapristeli vahapu ve liyapula. 25 Noshiongalele ashishe shOvajuda sha hafa, novapristeli yo nOvalevi noshiongalele ashishe yo shaava va dja muIsrael. Novanailongo yo va dja medu laIsrael naava va kala muJuda. 26 Ndele muJerusalem mwa li ehafo linene. Osheshi okomafiku enya aSalomo yaDavid, ohamba yaIsrael, oshinima sha tya ngaha inashi ningwa muJerusalem. 27 Opo nee ovapristeli nOvalevi va kala ofika ndele tava nangeke ovanhu noupuna. Nondaka yavo ya udika, nomaindilo avo a fika keumbo laye liyapuki lomeulu.
