Παραλειπομένων Βʹ 30
1 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Εζεκιας ἐπὶ πάντα Ισραηλ καὶ Ιουδαν καὶ ἐπιστολὰς ἔγραψεν ἐπὶ τὸν Εφραιμ καὶ Μανασση ἐλθεῖν εἰς οἶκον κυρίου εἰς Ιερουσαλημ ποιῆσαι τὸ φασεκ τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ Ισραηλ
The king and his officials and all the other people who had gathered in Jerusalem wanted to celebrate the Passover Festival. But they were not able to celebrate it at the usual time, because many of the priests had still not performed the rituals to purify themselves; therefore they were not allowed to do serve in the festival. Also, everyone had still not come to Jerusalem [to celebrate the Passover]. So they decided to celebrate it one month later than usual.
2 καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες καὶ πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία ἡ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ ποιῆσαι τὸ φασεκ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ
3 οὐ γὰρ ἠδυνάσθησαν αὐτὸ ποιῆσαι ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ὅτι οἱ ἱερεῖς οὐχ ἡγνίσθησαν ἱκανοί καὶ ὁ λαὸς οὐ συνήχθη εἰς Ιερουσαλημ
4 καὶ ἤρεσεν ὁ λόγος ἐναντίον τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐναντίον τῆς ἐκκλησίας
The king and all the other people who had gathered thought that was a good plan.
5 καὶ ἔστησαν λόγον διελθεῖν κήρυγμα ἐν παντὶ Ισραηλ ἀπὸ Βηρσαβεε ἕως Δαν ἐλθόντας ποιῆσαι τὸ φασεκ κυρίῳ θεῷ Ισραηλ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ ὅτι πλῆθος οὐκ ἐποίησεν κατὰ τὴν γραφήν
So they decided to send messages to all the towns in Judah and in Israel, from Beersheba [in the far south] to Dan [in the far north], including towns in the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, to invite people to come to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover [Festival] to [honor] Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli people [worshiped/belonged to]. Many of the people had not previously celebrated that festival, even though it had been written [in the laws of Moses that they should do that].
6 καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν οἱ τρέχοντες σὺν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων εἰς πάντα Ισραηλ καὶ Ιουδαν κατὰ τὸ πρόσταγμα τοῦ βασιλέως λέγοντες υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ἐπιστρέψατε πρὸς θεὸν Αβρααμ καὶ Ισαακ καὶ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπιστρέψει τοὺς ἀνασεσῳσμένους τοὺς καταλειφθέντας ἀπὸ χειρὸς βασιλέως Ασσουρ
Obeying what the king commanded, messengers went throughout Judah and Israel, taking messages that had been written by the king and his officials. This is what they wrote: “You Israeli people, you who survived after being slaves of the kings of Assyria, return to Yahweh, the God whom [our great ancestors] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [worshiped/belonged to], in order that he may return to you. Your fathers and brothers did not faithfully obey Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped].
7 καὶ μὴ γίνεσθε καθὼς οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὑμῶν οἳ ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ κυρίου θεοῦ πατέρων αὐτῶν καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ἐρήμωσιν καθὼς ὑμεῖς ὁρᾶτε
Do not act like they did, because what they did caused other people to become disgusted with them.
8 καὶ νῦν μὴ σκληρύνητε τοὺς τραχήλους ὑμῶν δότε δόξαν κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ καὶ εἰσέλθατε εἰς τὸ ἁγίασμα αὐτοῦ ὃ ἡγίασεν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ δουλεύσατε τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀφ’ ὑμῶν θυμὸν ὀργῆς
Do not be stubborn as our ancestors were. Do what Yahweh desires. Come [to Jerusalem] to the temple, which he has set apart forever. Do what pleases Yahweh our God, in order that he will no longer be angry with you.
9 ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέφειν ὑμᾶς πρὸς κύριον οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν ἔσονται ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς ἔναντι πάντων τῶν αἰχμαλωτισάντων αὐτούς καὶ ἀποστρέψει εἰς τὴν γῆν ταύτην ὅτι ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἀποστρέψει τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀφ’ ἡμῶν ἐὰν ἐπιστρέψωμεν πρὸς αὐτόν
If you return to Yahweh, the people who have captured our brothers [and sisters] and our children will be kind to them, and allow them to return to this land. Do not forget that Yahweh our God is kind and merciful. If you return to him, he will no longer reject you.”
10 καὶ ἦσαν οἱ τρέχοντες διαπορευόμενοι πόλιν ἐκ πόλεως ἐν τῷ ὄρει Εφραιμ καὶ Μανασση καὶ ἕως Ζαβουλων καὶ ἐγένοντο ὡς καταγελῶντες αὐτῶν καὶ καταμωκώμενοι
The messengers went to all the towns in the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far [north] as the tribe of Zebulun, [and gave them this message, ] but most of the people there scorned them and ridiculed them.
11 ἀλλὰ ἄνθρωποι Ασηρ καὶ ἀπὸ Μανασση καὶ ἀπὸ Ζαβουλων ἐνετράπησαν καὶ ἦλθον εἰς Ιερουσαλημ
But some of the people of [the tribes of] Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.
12 καὶ ἐν Ιουδα ἐγένετο χεὶρ κυρίου δοῦναι αὐτοῖς καρδίαν μίαν ἐλθεῖν τοῦ ποιῆσαι κατὰ τὸ πρόσταγμα τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐν λόγῳ κυρίου
Also in Judah God motivated the people to be united in wanting to do what Yahweh wanted them to do, which is what the king and his officials had told them to do in the message that they sent.
13 καὶ συνήχθησαν εἰς Ιερουσαλημ λαὸς πολὺς τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἀζύμων ἐν τῷ μηνὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ ἐκκλησία πολλὴ σφόδρα
So a huge crowd of people gathered in Jerusalem in May, to celebrate the Festival of Eating Unleavened Bread.
14 καὶ ἀνέστησαν καὶ καθεῖλαν τὰ θυσιαστήρια τὰ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ πάντα ἐν οἷς ἐθυμιῶσαν τοῖς ψευδέσιν κατέσπασαν καὶ ἔρριψαν εἰς τὸν χειμάρρουν Κεδρων
They removed the altars [of Baal] in Jerusalem and took away the altars for burning incense [to honor other gods, and burned them] in Kidron Valley.
15 καὶ ἔθυσαν τὸ φασεκ τῇ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς τοῦ δευτέρου καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ Λευῖται ἐνετράπησαν καὶ ἡγνίσθησαν καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν ὁλοκαυτώματα εἰς οἶκον κυρίου
They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of that month. Some of the priests and the other descendants of Levi were ashamed [because they had not performed the rituals to cause them to be acceptable to work for Yahweh]. So they performed those rituals, and brought to the temple animals to be completely burned [on the altar].
16 καὶ ἔστησαν ἐπὶ τὴν στάσιν αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ κρίμα αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν Μωυσῆ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς ἐδέχοντο τὰ αἵματα ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν Λευιτῶν
Then they stood at the places where Moses had written in his laws that they should stand. Then the descendants of Levi gave to the priests [bowls containing blood of the animals that were being sacrificed], and the priests sprinkled [the altar] with some of the blood.
17 ὅτι πλῆθος τῆς ἐκκλησίας οὐχ ἡγνίσθη καὶ οἱ Λευῖται ἦσαν τοῦ θύειν τὸ φασεκ παντὶ τῷ μὴ δυναμένῳ ἁγνισθῆναι τῷ κυρίῳ
Many people in the crowd had not purified themselves, and therefore they were not able to kill the lambs [and dedicate them] to Yahweh. So it was necessary for the descendants of Levi to kill the lambs for them.
18 ὅτι τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ λαοῦ ἀπὸ Εφραιμ καὶ Μανασση καὶ Ισσαχαρ καὶ Ζαβουλων οὐχ ἡγνίσθησαν ἀλλὰ ἔφαγον τὸ φασεκ παρὰ τὴν γραφήν καὶ προσηύξατο Εζεκιας περὶ αὐτῶν λέγων κύριος ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἐξιλασάσθω ὑπὲρ
Although most of the people who had come from [the tribes of] Ephraim, Manasseh, and Issachar had not purified themselves, they ate the food of the Passover Festival anyway, ignoring the rules written [by Moses]. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying “Yahweh, you always do what is good; I pray that you will forgive everyone
19 πάσης καρδίας κατευθυνούσης ἐκζητῆσαι κύριον τὸν θεὸν τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἁγνείαν τῶν ἁγίων
who sincerely wants to honor you, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped], even if they have not purified themselves by obeying the sacred laws that you gave to us.”
20 καὶ ἐπήκουσεν κύριος τῷ Εζεκια καὶ ἰάσατο τὸν λαόν
And Yahweh heard what Hezekiah prayed; he forgave the people, [and did not punish them].
21 καὶ ἐποίησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ οἱ εὑρεθέντες ἐν Ιερουσαλημ τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἀζύμων ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ μεγάλῃ καὶ καθυμνοῦντες τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμέραν καθ’ ἡμέραν καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ Λευῖται ἐν ὀργάνοις τῷ κυρίῳ
The Israeli people who were there in Jerusalem celebrated the Festival of Eating Unleavened Bread for seven days. They rejoiced greatly as they celebrated, while the priests and other descendants of Levi sang to Yahweh every day, and played musical instruments to [praise] God.
22 καὶ ἐλάλησεν Εζεκιας ἐπὶ πᾶσαν καρδίαν τῶν Λευιτῶν καὶ τῶν συνιόντων σύνεσιν ἀγαθὴν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ συνετέλεσαν τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἀζύμων ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας θύοντες θυσίας σωτηρίου καὶ ἐξομολογούμενοι τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν
Hezekiah thanked all the descendants of Levi for doing this work for Yahweh, and for very skillfully leading the people who were worshiping. For those seven days the people ate the Passover food and brought offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh and praised Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [belonged to/had worshiped].
23 καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο ἡ ἐκκλησία ἅμα ποιῆσαι ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἄλλας καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ
Then the whole group decided to celebrate for seven more days, so they did: They celebrated joyfully for seven more days.
24 ὅτι Εζεκιας ἀπήρξατο τῷ Ιουδα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ μόσχους χιλίους καὶ ἑπτακισχίλια πρόβατα καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες ἀπήρξαντο τῷ λαῷ μόσχους χιλίους καὶ πρόβατα δέκα χιλιάδας καὶ τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἱερέων εἰς πλῆθος
King Hezekiah provided 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep to be slaughtered for the people [to eat during the festival], and the officials also gave them 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. Many priests consecrated themselves.
25 καὶ ηὐφράνθη πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ οἱ Λευῖται καὶ πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία Ιουδα καὶ οἱ εὑρεθέντες ἐξ Ισραηλ καὶ οἱ προσήλυτοι οἱ ἐλθόντες ἀπὸ γῆς Ισραηλ καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν Ιουδα
All the people of Judah rejoiced, including the priests and other descendants of Levi and all the people from Israel who had come, and including some from other countries who were living in Israel and some from other countries who were living in Judah.
26 καὶ ἐγένετο εὐφροσύνη μεγάλη ἐν Ιερουσαλημ ἀπὸ ἡμερῶν Σαλωμων υἱοῦ Δαυιδ βασιλέως Ισραηλ οὐκ ἐγένετο τοιαύτη ἑορτὴ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ
Everyone in Jerusalem was very joyful, because nothing like this had happened in Jerusalem since the time when David’s son Solomon was the king of Israel.
27 καὶ ἀνέστησαν οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ Λευῖται καὶ ηὐλόγησαν τὸν λαόν καὶ ἐπηκούσθη ἡ φωνὴ αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθεν ἡ προσευχὴ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ κατοικητήριον τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν
The priests and the other descendants of Levi stood up to bless the people, and God heard them in heaven, the holy place where he lives.
