1
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.
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.
Footnotes 1
[a].
Hebrew in the second month. Passover was normally observed in the first month (of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar).