2 Chronicles 30:23

THE MESSAGE

Then Hezekiah invited all of Israel and Judah, with personal letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to The Temple of God in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to Israel's God. The king and his officials and the congregation in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month. They hadn't been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough of the priests were yet personally prepared and the people hadn't had time to gather in Jerusalem. Under these circumstances, the revised date was approved by both king and people and they sent out the invitation from one end of the country to the other, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north: "Come and celebrate the Passover to Israel's God in Jerusalem." No one living had ever celebrated it properly. The king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: "O Israelites! Come back to God , the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he can return to you who have survived the predations of the kings of Assyria. Don't repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God , the God of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin—you can see the ruins all around you. Don't be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God 's outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve God , your God. You'll no longer be in danger of his hot anger. If you come back to God , your captive relatives and children will be treated compassionately and allowed to come home. Your God is gracious and kind and won't snub you—come back and he'll welcome you with open arms." So the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them, treated them as a joke. But not all; some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun weren't too proud to accept the invitation and come to Jerusalem. It was better in Judah—God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous, responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed up by the word of God . It turned out that there was a tremendous crowd of people when the time came in the second month to celebrate the Passover (sometimes called the Feast of Unraised Bread). First they went to work and got rid of all the pagan altars that were in Jerusalem—hauled them off and dumped them in the Kidron Valley. Then, on the fourteenth day of the second month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites weren't ready; but now, embarrassed in their laziness, they consecrated themselves and brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings to The Temple of God . Ready now, they stood at their posts as designated by The Revelation of Moses the holy man; the priests sprinkled the blood the Levites handed to them. Because so many in the congregation had not properly prepared themselves by consecration and so were not qualified, the Levites took charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs so that they would be properly consecrated to God . There were a lot of people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately. Hezekiah prayed for these as follows: "May God who is all good, pardon and forgive everyone who sincerely desires God , the God of our ancestors. Even—especially!—these who do not meet the literal conditions stated for access to The Temple." God responded to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people. All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God . When the feast and festival—that glorious seven days of worship, the making of offerings, and the praising of God , the God of their ancestors—were over, the tables cleared and the floors swept, they all decided to keep going for another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they began.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The whole congregation decided to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy,

Hebrew Names Version
The whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days; and they kept [other] seven days with gladness.

King James Version
And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness.

English Standard Version
Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness.

New Century Version
Then all the people agreed to stay seven more days, so they celebrated with joy for seven more days.

New English Translation
The entire assembly then decided to celebrate for seven more days; so they joyfully celebrated for seven more days.

Amplified Bible
Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate [the feast] for another seven days; and they celebrated it another seven days with joy.

New American Standard Bible
Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy.

World English Bible
The whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days; and they kept [other] seven days with gladness.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the whole assembly tooke counsel to keepe it other seuen dayes. So they kept it seuen dayes with ioy.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the whole assembly took counsel to determine to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with gladness.

Berean Standard Bible
The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy.

Contemporary English Version
Everyone was so excited that they agreed to celebrate seven more days.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate for yet another seven days, and they observed those seven days too with joy.

Darby Translation
And the whole congregation took counsel to observe other seven days; and they observed the seven days with gladness.

Easy-to-Read Version
All the people agreed to stay seven more days. They were joyful as they celebrated the Passover for seven more days.

George Lamsa Translation
And the whole assembly stayed over to celebrate another seven days; and they kept the other seven days with gladness.

Good News Translation
they all decided to celebrate for another seven days. So they celebrated with joy.

Lexham English Bible
Then the whole assembly decided to make seven more days of feasting, so they made seven more days with joy,

Literal Translation
And all the congregation took counsel to keep another seven days. And they kept seven days joyfully.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And all the congregacion deuysed to kepe the feast yet other seue dayes, and so they helde it those seuen dayes also with ioye:

American Standard Version
And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days; and they kept other seven days with gladness.

Bible in Basic English
And by the desire of all the people, the feast went on for another seven days, and they kept the seven days with joy.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the whole assemblie toke counsel to do so other seuen dayes: & they helde those seuen dayes with gladnesse:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the whole congregation took counsel to keep other seven days; and they kept other seven days with gladness.

King James Version (1611)
And the whole assembly tooke counsel to keepe other seuen dayes: and they kept other seuen dayes with gladnesse.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the congregation purposed together to keep other seven days: and they kept seven days with gladness.

English Revised Version
And the whole congregation took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept [other] seven days with gladness.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And it pleside al the multitude to halewe also othere seuene daies; which thing also thei diden with greet ioye.

Update Bible Version
And the whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days; and they kept [another] seven days with gladness.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept [other] seven days with gladness.

New King James Version
Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness.

New Living Translation
The entire assembly then decided to continue the festival another seven days, so they celebrated joyfully for another week.

New Life Bible
Then all the people decided to keep the Special Supper for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with joy.

New Revised Standard
Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the festival for another seven days; so they kept it for another seven days with gladness.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then all the convocation took counsel, to keep seven days more, - and they kept seven days, with rejoicing.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it pleased the whole multitude to keep other seven days: which they did with great joy.

Revised Standard Version
Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days; so they kept it for another seven days with gladness.

Young's Literal Translation
And all the assembly take counsel to keep other seven days, and they keep seven days [with] joy;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy.

Contextual Overview

²¹All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God . When the feast and festival—that glorious seven days of worship, the making of offerings, and the praising of God , the God of their ancestors—were over, the tables cleared and the floors swept, they all decided to keep going for another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they began. Hezekiah king of Judah gave one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation's worship; the officials gave an additional one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And there turned out to be plenty of consecrated priests—qualified and well-prepared. The whole congregation of Judah, the priests and Levites, the congregation that came in from Israel, and the resident aliens from both Israel and Judah, were all in on the joyous celebration. Jerusalem was bursting with joy—nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since Solomon son of David king of Israel had built and dedicated The Temple. The priests and Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened, listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven. ²³ Then Hezekiah invited all of Israel and Judah, with personal letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to The Temple of God in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to Israel's God. The king and his officials and the congregation in Jerusalem had decided to celebrate Passover in the second month. They hadn't been able to celebrate it at the regular time because not enough of the priests were yet personally prepared and the people hadn't had time to gather in Jerusalem. Under these circumstances, the revised date was approved by both king and people and they sent out the invitation from one end of the country to the other, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north: "Come and celebrate the Passover to Israel's God in Jerusalem." No one living had ever celebrated it properly. The king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: "O Israelites! Come back to God , the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he can return to you who have survived the predations of the kings of Assyria. Don't repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God , the God of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin—you can see the ruins all around you. Don't be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God 's outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve God , your God. You'll no longer be in danger of his hot anger. If you come back to God , your captive relatives and children will be treated compassionately and allowed to come home. Your God is gracious and kind and won't snub you—come back and he'll welcome you with open arms." So the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them, treated them as a joke. But not all; some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun weren't too proud to accept the invitation and come to Jerusalem. It was better in Judah—God worked powerfully among them to make it unanimous, responding to the orders sent out by the king and his officials, orders backed up by the word of God . It turned out that there was a tremendous crowd of people when the time came in the second month to celebrate the Passover (sometimes called the Feast of Unraised Bread). First they went to work and got rid of all the pagan altars that were in Jerusalem—hauled them off and dumped them in the Kidron Valley. Then, on the fourteenth day of the second month, they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests and Levites weren't ready; but now, embarrassed in their laziness, they consecrated themselves and brought Whole-Burnt-Offerings to The Temple of God . Ready now, they stood at their posts as designated by The Revelation of Moses the holy man; the priests sprinkled the blood the Levites handed to them. Because so many in the congregation had not properly prepared themselves by consecration and so were not qualified, the Levites took charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs so that they would be properly consecrated to God . There were a lot of people, especially those from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, who did not eat the Passover meal because they had not prepared themselves adequately. Hezekiah prayed for these as follows: "May God who is all good, pardon and forgive everyone who sincerely desires God , the God of our ancestors. Even—especially!—these who do not meet the literal conditions stated for access to The Temple." God responded to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people. All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover (Feast of Unraised Bread) for seven days, celebrated exuberantly. The Levites and priests praised God day after day, filling the air with praise sounds of percussion and brass. Hezekiah commended the Levites for the superb way in which they had led the people in the worship of God . When the feast and festival—that glorious seven days of worship, the making of offerings, and the praising of God , the God of their ancestors—were over, the tables cleared and the floors swept, they all decided to keep going for another seven days! So they just kept on celebrating, and as joyfully as they began. ²⁴Hezekiah king of Judah gave one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the congregation's worship; the officials gave an additional one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. And there turned out to be plenty of consecrated priests—qualified and well-prepared. The whole congregation of Judah, the priests and Levites, the congregation that came in from Israel, and the resident aliens from both Israel and Judah, were all in on the joyous celebration. Jerusalem was bursting with joy—nothing like this had taken place in Jerusalem since Solomon son of David king of Israel had built and dedicated The Temple. ²⁷ The priests and Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened, listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

took counsel: 2 Chronicles 30:2

to keep: They did not observe other seven days of unleavened bread, but offered sacrifices with praise and thanksgiving, and feasting, other seven days; and, as the people in general, and especially those who came out of the kingdom of Israel, would be unprepared for this additional expense, both Hezekiah and his princes liberally supplied them with cattle for sacrifices. 2 Chronicles 7:9, 1 Kings 8:65

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 27:7 - rejoice Ezra 6:16 - with joy Nehemiah 8:13 - the second Psalms 42:4 - with the voice Ecclesiastes 9:7 - eat

Cross-References

Genesis 29:31
When God realized that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben (Look-It's-a-Boy!). "This is a sign," she said, "that God has seen my misery; and a sign that now my husband will love me."

Genesis 30:6
Rachel said, "God took my side and vindicated me. He listened to me and gave me a son." She named him Dan (Vindication). Rachel's maid Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. Rachel said, "I've been in an all-out fight with my sister—and I've won." So she named him Naphtali (Fight).

Isaiah 4:1
That will be the day when seven women will gang up on one man, saying, "We'll take care of ourselves, get our own food and clothes. Just give us a child. Make us pregnant so we'll have something to live for!"

Luke 1:21
Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn't speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days,.... They consulted among themselves, and with the king and his nobles about it, who all agreed to it:

and they kept other seven days with gladness; not altogether in the same manner they had kept the preceding seven days; they did not slay and eat passover lambs, nor did they eat unleavened bread, but offered peace offerings, and feasted upon them; and sung the praises of God, and attended to the instructions of the priests and Levites, being in a very agreeable frame of mind for religious exercises.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To keep other seven days - This was a voluntary addition to the requirements of the Law - the fruit and sign of the abounding zeal which characterized the time. Hezekiah and the princes probably proposed it to the people, and presented them with sacrificial animals.