2 Chronicles 30:1-13

Passover Celebrated

1 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel.
2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover 1in the second month--
3 for they could not keep it 2at that time 3because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem--
4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly.
5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, 4from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed.
6 5So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, "O people of Israel, 6return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of 7the kings of Assyria.
7 8Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see.
8 9Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, 10that his fierce anger may turn away from you.
9 For 11if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children 12will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For 13the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, 14if you return to him."
10 15So the couriers went from city to city through the country of 16Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but 17they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.
11 However, 18some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded 19by the word of the LORD.
13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread 20in the second month, a very great assembly.

2 Chronicles 30:1-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 30

Hezekiah having consulted his nobles about keeping the passover the second month, and determined upon it, sent messengers throughout Israel and Judah, to acquaint them with it, at which some mocked, and others seriously attended to it, 2Ch 30:1-12 so it was celebrated in a solemn manner, though some were not qualified for it according to the law, and for whose pardon Hezekiah prayed, and it was granted, 2Ch 30:13-20, also the feast of unleavened bread was kept seven days, and a festival of seven days more was likewise observed with great joy and gladness, 2Ch 30:21-27.

messengers to them, not only to the subjects of his own kingdom, Judah, but to all the Israelites that dwelt in it, who were come thither for the sake of religion, and the worship of God:

\\and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh\\; which are put for all the ten tribes, as appears from 2Ch 30:10,11 and are distinguished from Israel in the preceding clause:

\\that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem\\; not that he laid his commands upon them to come, they not being his subjects, namely, those of the ten tribes; but he hereby admonished them of their duty, and gave them a kind invitation, signifying the doors of the temple were open for them, and they were welcome to come thither:

\\to keep the passover unto the Lord God of Israel\\; to the glory of his name, who was the common Lord of them all, and whose command it was to keep the passover, and that at Jerusalem, and nowhere else, see De 16:1-6. 19787-950128-1141-2Ch30.2

Cross References 20

  • 1. ver. 13, 15; Numbers 9:10, 11
  • 2. [2 Chronicles 29:17; Exodus 12:6, 18]
  • 3. 2 Chronicles 29:34; [ver. 24]
  • 4. See 2 Samuel 3:10
  • 5. [Esther 3:13, 15; Esther 8:10, 14; Jeremiah 51:31]
  • 6. Jeremiah 4:1; Joel 2:12, 13
  • 7. 2 Kings 15:19, 29
  • 8. [Ezekiel 20:18]
  • 9. Exodus 32:9; Deuteronomy 9:6; Deuteronomy 10:16; 2 Kings 17:14; Nehemiah 9:16, 29; Jeremiah 7:26; Jeremiah 17:23; [Acts 7:51]
  • 10. 2 Chronicles 29:10
  • 11. [See ver. 6 above]
  • 12. [Psalms 106:46]
  • 13. Exodus 34:6; Daniel 9:9
  • 14. See 1 Samuel 7:3
  • 15. [See ver. 6 above]
  • 16. ver. 1
  • 17. [2 Chronicles 36:16]
  • 18. ver. 18, 21, 25
  • 19. [2 Chronicles 29:15]
  • 20. ver. 2
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.