Old/New Testament
Chapter 30[a]
Invitation to the Passover. 1 Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manas-seh, inviting them to come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 [b]The king and his officials and the entire assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate the Passover in the second month, 3 having been unable to celebrate it at the proper time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers and the people had not yet assembled in Jerusalem.
4 The proposal was accepted by the king and all the assembly. 5 Therefore, they resolved to issue a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, that the people should come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. For the feast had not been celebrated in large numbers in the manner prescribed. 6 Accordingly, couriers traveled throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, as the king had commanded, saying: “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn back to you, the remnant left from the hands of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your ancestors and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you yourselves now see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked as your ancestors were, but submit yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord, your God, so that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For when you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will be treated with compassion by their captors and return to this land. For the Lord, your God, is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”
10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless a few people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to make the people of one mind to do what the king and the officials commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.
13 The Passover Celebrated. A huge crowd gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They began their work by removing the altars that were in Jerusalem. Then they removed all the altars of incense and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
15 On the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. Meanwhile, the priests and the Levites were ashamed; after they consecrated themselves, they brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. 16 Then they took their accustomed places according to the law of Moses, the man of God, while the priests sprinkled the blood that they had received from the Levites.
17 Since many people in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lambs for them to the Lord.[c] 18 For a large number of people, mainly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, but even so they ate the Passover contrary to what was prescribed.
However, Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the good Lord grant pardon 19 to all those who are determined to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they have not been purified as holiness requires.” 20 The Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 With great rejoicing the Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, while the Levites and the priests day after day praised the Lord with all their strength. 22 Hezekiah then spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves to be well skilled in the service of the Lord. During the seven days of the festival the people consumed their assigned portion of food, sacrificing offerings of well-being and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
23 Then the entire assembly agreed to continue the festival for another seven days, and they did so with joyous celebration. 24 Hezekiah, the king of Judah, contributed to the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials gave to the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, while the priests sanctified themselves in great numbers. 25 The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and the Levites and the resident aliens who had come from Israel, as well as the resident aliens who dwelt in Judah. 26 There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of King David of Israel, nothing of this magnitude had been seen in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voices were heard by God when their prayer reached his holy dwelling in heaven.
Chapter 31
Reform of Worship. 1 When the festivities had come to a close, all of the Israelites who were present went forth to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the sacred poles, and demolished the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their various towns and their individual properties.
2 Hezekiah reestablished the priests and the Levites into various divisions, assigning to each priest and Levite his own specific duty, whether in regard to holocausts or peace offerings, to minister or to give thanks, or to sing praises within the gates of the Lord’s dwelling.
3 The king provided from his own wealth a portion from his possessions for holocausts during the morning and evening as well as on Sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, as prescribed in the law of the Lord. 4 He also commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to provide the portion due to the priests and the Levites so that they might devote themselves completely to the law of the Lord.
5 As soon as the command of the king had been promulgated, the Israelites provided an abundance of the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and all the other produce of the fields; they brought in an abundant tithe of everything. 6 The Israelites and Judeans who lived in the towns of Judah also brought in a tithe of their cattle and sheep and a tithe of sacred gifts that had been consecrated to the Lord, their God, laying them in heaps. 7 They began to accumulate the heaps in the third month, and they completed that task in the seventh month.
8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and beheld the heaps, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about those heaps. 10 The chief priest Azariah, who was of the house of Zadok, replied: “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and much more in addition. For the Lord has so greatly blessed his people that a great amount is still left over.”
11 Then Hezekiah issued orders to prepare storerooms in the house of the Lord. When that task was completed, 12 the people faithfully brought in their contributions, their tithes, and their consecrated gifts. The chief officer in charge of the donations was Conaniah the Levite, with his brother Shimei as second in command. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were appointed as supervisors under Conaniah and his brother, Shimei, by the order of King Hezekiah and Azariah, the chief officer of the house of God.
14 Kore, the son of Imnah the Levite, and the keeper of the east gate, was in charge of the free-will offerings to God, with the responsibility to apportion the contributions made to God and the most sacred offerings. 15 Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in the priestly cities and distributed the portions to their kindred, old and young alike, by divisions.[d]
16 In addition, they distributed shares to the males thirty years old and above who would enter the house of the Lord to take their part daily in the service, according to their divisions as their office required. 17 The priests were enrolled according to their ancestral houses; the Levites who were twenty years old and above were registered according to their offices.
18 The priests were enrolled with all their dependents—their little children, their wives, their sons and their daughters, the entire multitude—since in virtue of their permanent standing they had to be faithful in consecrating themselves. 19 As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests, who lived on the pasture lands belonging to their towns, designated the men to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone who was registered in the genealogies of the Levites.
20 Hezekiah did this throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful in the eyes of the Lord, his God. 21 Every-thing that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in obedience to the law and the commandments to seek his God, he did with all his heart, and he prospered.
The Passion—The Supreme Testimony[a]
Chapter 18
Jesus Gives Himself Up Freely.[b] 1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples and crossed the Kidron[c] valley. He and his disciples entered a garden there. 2 This place was known to Judas, his betrayer, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 Therefore, Judas went to that garden with a detachment of soldiers,[d] together with temple guards provided by the chief priests and the Pharisees, equipped with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Then Jesus, fully aware of everything that was going to happen to him, came forward and asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” 5 They answered, “Jesus the Nazorean.”[e] Jesus replied, “I am.” Judas who betrayed him was standing with them.
6 When Jesus said to them, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Again, he asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” 8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am. If you are looking for me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word he had spoken, “I did not lose any of those you gave me.”[f]
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, slicing off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its scabbard! Am I not to drink the cup[g] that the Father has given me?”
12 Jesus and Peter at the Hour of Bearing Witness.[h]Then the detachment of soldiers, their commander, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. 13 They took him first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was the high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was better for one man to die for the people.
15 Peter’s First Denial. Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. That disciple was known to the high priest, so he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter remained standing outside at the gate. The other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the woman who was in charge of the gate, and he brought Peter inside.
17 The woman said to Peter, “Are you not one of this man’s disciples?” He replied, “I am not.” 18 Since it was cold, the servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire, and they were standing around it, warming themselves. Peter was also standing there and warming himself.
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