Omalongekidho gOpaasa
1-3 Oshigwana inashi vula okudhana Opaasa pethimbo lyo opala momwedhi gwotango, oshoka kapwa li aayambi ya gwana mboka yi iyapula, naantu oyendji inaa gongala muJerusalem. Omolwasho omukwaniilwa Hiskia, omalenga ge naantu yomuJerusalem ya zimine, yi dhanwe momwedhi omutiyali, nomukwaniilwa okwa tumu elaka kaantu ayehe muIsrael nomuJuda. Okwa nyolele wo omazimo gaEfraim nogaManasse te ga hiya, ge ye kotempeli muJerusalem okudhana oshituthi shOpaasa, ga simaneke Omuwa, Kalunga kaIsrael. 4 Omukwaniilwa noshigwana oya li ya nyanyukilwa edhiladhilo ndika, 5 onkee ya hiya Aaisraeli ayehe, okuza kuDan muumbangalantu sigo okuBeersheba muumbugantu, ye ye kuJerusalem noya dhane Opaasa pampango yOmuwa mongundu onene ye vule nale. 6 Palombwelo lyomukwaniilwa nomalenga gee aatumwa oye ende naJuda alihe naIsrael ye na ehiyo ndika tali ti:
“Aaisraeli ne, one tuu mboka mwa hupu ko, sho omukwaniilwa gwaAssur a lala evi. Galukileni kOmuwa, Kalunga kaAbraham, Isak naJakob, noye ta ka galukila kune. 7 Inamu fa oohokulu nAaisraeli ooyakweni mboka yi iteka Omuwa, Kalunga kawo. Omu shi wete nokuli kutya okwe ya geele shili. 8 Inamu tangalala ngayo, ihe vulikeni kOmuwa. Ileni kotempeli muJerusalem, ndjoka Omuwa e yi yapula sigo aluhe, ne mu mu longele, opo kee mu geele we. 9 Ngele tamu galukile kOmuwa, nena mboka ya kutha po aakweni noya yi nayo oonkwatwa, otaye ke ya sila ohenda e taye ya galulile kegumbo. Omuwa, Kalunga keni, oye omunamutimahenda nomunesilohenda. Ngele tamu yi kuye, ote mu taamba.”
10 Aatumwa oya yi koshilando kehe moshitopolwa shomazimo gaEfraim naManasse, sigo okezimo lyaSebulon, ihe aantu oye ya yolo e taye ya sheke. 11 Okwa li ngaa yamwe muAser, Manasse naSebulon mboka ya hala okuya kuJerusalem. 12 Kalunga okwa li ta longo wo muJuda e ta hanganitha aantu metokolo lyawo, ya vulike kehalo lye yo ya landule oshipango shomukwaniilwa nomalenga ge.
Opaasa tayi dhanwa
13 Aantu oyendjiyendji oya gongala muJerusalem momwedhi omutiyali, ya dhane Oshituthi shIikwiila yaa na efulika. 14 Oya kutha po iiyambelo ayihe mbyoka ya li hayi longithwa muJerusalem okuyamba omafikilondjambo niitsinino e taye yi umbile mesilu lyaKidron. 15 Mesiku etimulongo netine lyomwedhi, oya dhipaga oonzigona dhOpaasa. Aayambi nAalevi mboka ya li inaa iyapula, oya li ya sa ohoni noyi iyapulile Omuwa, nokuza mpoka oya vulu ihe okuyamba omafikilondjambo motempeli. 16 Oya ka thikama pomahala gawo motempeli palombwelo lyompango yaMoses, omumati gwaKalunga. Aalevi oya gandja ombinzi yoondjambo kaayambi, mboka ye yi shashamine koshiyambelo. 17 Aantu oyendji sho ya li inaa iyapula, inaa vula okudhipaga oonzigona dhOpaasa, omolwashoka Aalevi oye shi ya ningile e taa yapulile Omuwa oonzigona. 18 Oyendji mboka ya zi momazimo gaEfraim, Manasse, Issaskar naSebulon kaya li ya yogoka pamisindilo, onkee ya li ya sheshwa okudhana Opaasa. Omukwaniilwa Hiskia okwe ya galikanene ta ti: 19 “Omuwa, Kalunga kootatekulu, omolwesilohenda lyoye dhimina po mboka taa ku simaneke noomwenyo dhawo adhihe, nonando ya kale inaa yogoka pamisindilo.” 20 Omuwa oku uvu egalikano lyaHiskia; okwa dhimine po aantu, ye ine ya ehameka. 21 Aantu mboka ya gongala muJerusalem, oya dhana Oshituthi shiikwiila yaa na fulika omasiku gaheyali nenyanyu enene. Kehe esiku Aalevi naayambi oya hambelele Omuwa noonkondo dhawo adhihe. 22 Hiskia okwa tanga Aalevi, sho ya wilike elongelokalunga nawa.
Oshituthi oshitiyali
Konima yomasiku gaheyali gokuyamba omakwatathanondjambo nokuhambelela Omuwa, Kalunga koohekulu, 23 ayehe oya tokola okutsikila oshituthi ishewe omasiku gaheyali. Oye shi dhana nenyanyu. 24 Omukwaniilwa Hiskia okwa gandja oontsezi eyuvi noonzi omayuvi gaheyali, opo aantu ya dhipage yo ya lye, nomalenga oge ya pe ishewe oontsezi eyuvi noonzi omayuvi omulongo. Aayambi oyendji oyi iyapula. 25 Aantu ayehe oya li ya nyanyukwa — Aajuda, aayambi, Aalevi, aantu mboka ya zile kuumbangalantu naakwiilongo mboka ya li ya tula muIsrael nomuJuda. 26 Oshilando Jerusalem osha li shu udha enyanyu, oshoka iinima ngaambika kayi ningilwe we okuza muuyuni waSalomo yaDavid. 27 Aayambi nAalevi oya laleke aantu nuuyamba wOmuwa. Kalunga nokwa uvu omagalikano gawo megumbo lye lyomegulu e te ga taamba.
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.
