For the king had taken counsel with his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, and the people had not gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. The thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it in great numbers in the way it is written.
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2 Chronicles 30:2-5 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to Yahweh’s house at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel with his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, and the people had not gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. The thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it in great numbers in the way it is written.
Parallel Translations
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For the king had taken counsel with his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month.
For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, and the people had not gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.
The thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly.
So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to Yahweh, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it in great numbers in the way it is written.
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For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.
For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.
And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation.
So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written.
Show all 3 translations
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For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.
For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient number, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.
And the thing was right in the eyes of the king and of all the congregation.
So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem; for they had not kept it in great numbers according as it is written.
Cross-references (26)
- 2 Chronicles 29:34 (v3) But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings. Therefore their brothers the Levites helped them, until…
- Numbers 9:10-11 (v2) “Say to the children of Israel, ‘If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away,…
- Judges 20:1 (v5) Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of…
- Exodus 12:6 (v3) You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening.
- Exodus 12:18 (v3) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month…
Show all 26 cross-references
- Leviticus 23:2 (v5) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these…
- Leviticus 23:4 (v5) “ ‘These are the set feasts of Yahweh, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.
- Deuteronomy 12:32 (v5) Whatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
- 1 Chronicles 13:1-3 (v2) David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader. David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it…
- 1 Chronicles 13:4 (v4) All the assembly said that they would do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
- 2 Chronicles 24:9 (v5) They made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for Yahweh the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the…
- 2 Chronicles 29:17 (v3) Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they came to Yahweh’s porch. They…
- 2 Chronicles 30:13 (v2) Many people assembled at Jerusalem to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great assembly.
- 2 Chronicles 30:15 (v2) Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified…
- 2 Chronicles 35:18 (v5) There was no Passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, nor did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover…
- 2 Chronicles 36:22 (v5) Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that Yahweh’s word by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the…
- Ezra 6:8-12 (v5) Moreover I make a decree what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods,…
- Esther 3:12-15 (v5) Then the king’s scribes were called in on the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and all that Haman commanded was written to…
- Esther 8:8-10 (v5) Write also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring; for the writing which is written in the…
- Esther 9:20-21 (v5) Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both near and far, to…
- Proverbs 11:14 (v2) Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.
- Proverbs 15:22 (v2) Where there is no counsel, plans fail; but in a multitude of counselors they are established.
- Ecclesiastes 4:13 (v2) Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn’t know how to receive admonition any more.
- Daniel 4:1-33 (v5) Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. It has seemed…
- Daniel 6:8 (v5) Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which…
- 1 Corinthians 11:2 (v5) Now I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in all things, and hold firm the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 5 Though they ought to have done it in the…
Though they ought to have done it in the first month, as Exod. 12:18; Num. 9:3, yet if any were not clean, or else had a long journey, they might defer it unto the second month, as Num. 9:10, 11.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–5 2Ch 30:2 For the king had taken counsel, and…
2Ch 30:2 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.
Ver. 2. To keep the passover in the second month.] He knew that nunquam sero si serio. See Num 9:10. If we can but say, with Augustine, Nimis sero te amavi Domine, all shall do well.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5 Which was against the common rule and practice, but…
Which was against the common rule and practice, but was justified by that supreme law of necessity, and by a just impediment, which made the doing of this in its proper time, to wit, the fourteenth day of the first month, impossible, because the temple was not cleansed nor they prepared till that time was past, 2Ch 29:3,17. Compare Num 9:10,11.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–5 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes,…
For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem,.... He and his nobles, and the great sanhedrim or senate of the nation, had consulted together:
to keep the passover in the second month; in the month Ijar, as the Targum, because they could not keep it in the first month, as it should have been kept, according to the law of God, for the reasons following.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Second month - Which was against the common rule,…
Second month - Which was against the common rule, but the doing of this in its proper time, namely, the fourteenth day of the first month was impossible, because the temple was not cleansed, nor they prepared. As there was a proviso in the law, that particular persons who were unclean in the first month, might keep the passover the fourteenth day of the second month, he doubted not but that might be extended by the whole congregation.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v2 Verse 2. In the second month.] In Ijar, as…
Verse 2. In the second month.] In Ijar, as they could not celebrate it in Nisan, the fourteenth of which month was the proper time. But as they could not complete the purgation of the temple, till the sixteenth of that month, therefore they were obliged to hold it now, or else adjourn it till the next year, which would have been fatal to that spirit of reformation which had now taken place. The law itself had given permission to those who were at a distance, and could not attend to the fourteenth of the first month, and to those who were accidentally defiled, and ought not to attend, to celebrate the passover on the fourteenth of the second month; see Nu 9:10-11. Hezekiah therefore, and his counsellors, thought that they might extend that to the people at large, because of the delay necessarily occasioned by the cleansing of the temple, which was granted to individuals in such cases as the above, and the result showed that they had not mistaken the mind of the Lord upon the subject.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5 2Ch 30:2. The king had taken counsel, &c. —…
2Ch 30:2. The king had taken counsel, &c. — The law directed that the passover should be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first mouth: but as it was found impossible to get all things in readiness against that time, it was thought more advisable to adjourn it to the fourteenth day of the next month, than to defer it till the next year. And for this they had some encouragement, as it was allowed in the law, that in case any man was unclean by reason of a dead body, or was on a journey afar off, at the proper time of the celebration of the passover, he might eat it on the fourteenth day of the second mouth, Num 9:10-11. And what was an indulgence to particular persons, they judged, might be allowed to the whole congregation of Israel.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5 In the second month - Hezekiah and his counselors…
In the second month - Hezekiah and his counselors considered that the permission of the Law (see the marginal reference) might, under the circumstances, be extended to the whole people. It had been found impossible to complete the cleansing of the temple until the fourteenth day of the first month was past 2Ch 29:17. It was, therefore, determined to defer it to the 14th of the second month, which allowed time for the priests generally to purify themselves, and for proclamation of the festival to be made throughout all Israel.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 5 Month. The Rabbins pretend that the king intercalated the…
Month. The Rabbins pretend that the king intercalated the second Adar, contrary to the rule and advice of the wise, and the that he ought to have allowed those who were pure to celebrate the feast in due time. Selden, Syn. ii. 1. --- But the Caraite Jews deny this pretended leap-year; and we see that Ezechias acted according to the advice of the princes, and that the Scripture praises his conduct. C. --- Those who had a lawful impediment, were authorized to put off the feast till the second month, Num. ix. 10. The nation was under this predicament, as they had not priests at hand, (T.) nor were they assembled. D.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2, 5 2, 3.
2, 3.
To keep the passover in the second month — The law expressly allowed those to keep the passover in the second month who, for special reasons, were unable to keep it in the first. Those reasons were uncleanness by reason of a dead body, and absence on a journey afar off. See Num_9:10-11. At that time, that is, in the first month, both these reasons, virtually, prevented most of the nation from holding the passover, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. So the priests were ceremonially unclean, and the people were absent.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 2. in the second month] The Law allowed such…
2. in the second month] The Law allowed such a postponement; cp. Num_9:10-11.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 (2) For the king had taken counsel.—And the king…
(2) For the king had taken counsel.—And the king determined (2Ch_25:17). The resolution was taken by the king in council with his grandees and the popular representatives; apparently before the 14th of Nisan, which was the proper time for keeping the feast.
In the second month.—And not in the first month of the sacred year, as the law prescribes (Num_9:1-5). The grounds of the postponement are assigned in the next verse, viz., the legal impurity of many of the priests, and the non-arrival of the people at the proper time. The law permits postponement to the second month in such cases (Num_9:6-11). The first month was Nisan; Assyr., Nisdnu; the second, Iyyar; Assyr., Aru.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–5 This and the following verse are well explained by…
This and the following verse are well explained by Num_9:6-13, where the particular instance of the "defilement by a dead body" simply exemplified other legitimate instances of defilement or non-sanctification, (2Ch_29:5, 2Ch_29:15, 2Ch_29:34) and where absence on a journey similarly exemplified other unavoidable absence.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v2 second month
second month
i.e. May; 2Ch 30:13; 2Ch 30:15.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 This proposal
This proposal
This refers to the proposal to celebrate the Passover in the second month instead of in the first month.
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in the eyes of the king and of all the assembly
The eyes represent seeing, and seeing represents thoughts or judgment. AT: "in the judgment of the king and all the assembly" or "to the king and all the assembly" (See: Metaphor)
from Beersheba to Dan
These are the most southern and most northern parts of Israel. By referring to them this way, the writer emphasizes that all of Israel was included. AT: "from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north" (See: Idiom)
according to what was written
"as it was written that they should do." It is implied that it was written that they should observe the Passover with large numbers of people. This can be stated in active form. AT: "as Moses had written that they should observe it" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
preach
Beersheba
Dan
Israel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2, 5 30:2-3 a month later than usual: The law made…
30:2-3 a month later than usual: The law made provision for the delayed observance of the Passover if an individual inadvertently was ceremonially unclean or was away on a long journey (Num 9:9-11); Hezekiah’s Passover followed the spirit if not the letter of those provisions. The delayed Passover provided opportunity for national unity and spiritual renewal.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.