10
The people of Israel who had returned from exile celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of the following year. The priests and Levites had purified themselves at the same time.
11
Not all the Jews who had returned purified themselves at that time, but the Levites did.
12
The Levites killed the animals for the Passover sacrifices for all the people who had returned, for the priests, and for themselves.
13
The sacrifices were eaten by all the Israelites who had returned from exile; they worshiped the Lord and rejected the pagan ways of the other people who were living in the land.
14
For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread. They rejoiced in the presence of the Lord,
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.