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,
15
the God of Israel, because he had made the plans of the emperor of Assyria favorable to them and had supported them in their work.
Footnotes 1
[a].
emperor of assyria: [Apparently a reference to the Persian emperor who then also ruled the territory once occupied by Assyria, Israel's ancient enemy.]
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.