¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed and consecrated^(A) themselves and brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then they took up their regular positions^(B) as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them by the Levites. ¹⁷ Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill^(C) the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate their lambs^[a] to the Lord. ¹⁸ Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves,^(D) yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone ¹⁹ who sets their heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.”

⁵⁵ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover,^(A) many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing^(B) before the Passover.