Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel^(A) and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh,^(B) inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover^(C) to the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁶ At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:

Purim Established

²⁰ Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far,

²⁵ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(A) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah,

²⁹ Zephaniah^(A) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet.