2 Chronicles 30:15
in 2 Chronicles 30And on the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings to the house of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought burnt-offerings into the house of Jehovah.
KJV
Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the Lord.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 30
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The laggart priests and Levites, who from want of zeal for the Yahweh-worship, or from actual inclination to idolatry, had neglected to purify themselves (2Ch 30:3 and marginal reference), were now shamed by the general ardor, and sanctified themselves for the Paschal festival. And brought in the burnt offerings - Received them, i. e. from the offerers at the doors of the inner court, and took them up to the brass altar in front of the porch. No part of the burnt offerings was ever taken inside the temple building.
This site's exposition
the priests and the Levites were ashamed
on 2 Chronicles 30:15-17
The lamb is killed on the fourteenth of the second month, the day Num 9:11 names for exactly this case, and the priests and Levites, shamed into readiness by a laity more eager than they were, sanctify themselves and take their place after the manner the law of Moses prescribes, the blood passed hand to hand from Levite to priest to altar. Verse 17 records an irregularity the law does not anticipate: many in the congregation were not sanctified, so the Levites themselves killed the passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, standing in for a purity the offerer lacked rather than turning him away.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
"What shall we do," says Hezekiah, "about the passover? It is a very comfortable ordinance, and has been long neglected. The time has elapsed for this year; we cannot go about it immediately; the congregation is thin, the people have not notice, the priests are not prepared,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
), that the work might not stand still for want of hands to carry it on. The notice we take of the zeal of others should make us ashamed of our own coldness, and quicken us not only to do our duty, but to do it well, and to sanctify ourselves to it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the priests and the Levites were ashamed--Though the Levites are associated in this statement, the priests were principally referred to; those of them who had been dilatory or negligent in sanctifying themselves (2Ch 29:34) were put to the blush and stimulated to their duty by the greater alacrity and zeal of the people.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
On 2 Chronicles 30:1-27On 2 Chronicles 30:1-27
The Passover held a month late
Hezekiah's great Passover is kept in the SECOND month, and that is not an irregularity he invented: the Law itself provides a one-month make-up date for those unclean or far off (Numbers 9:10–11, the “Second Passover”). Hezekiah applies the provision nationally because the priests and the people could not be ready in time. Notice the chapter's heart: many northerners ate the Passover ritually unclean, and the king prays for them, “may the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God,” and the LORD heals the people. The feast's paperwork bends; the seeking heart is heard.
What the Jewish commentators add
and the priests and the Levites were embarrassed that they had delayed to consecrate themselves. They tarried so long and did not come until now for the following reason: they could not believe that this was true beforehand, because Ahaz had dismissed them from officiating as priests.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
the altars for incense a place where there were priests and Levites.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Numbers 9:10–11 (the Second-Passover provision) · Mishnah Pesachim 9:1 (the provision in the oral law)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁחֲט֣וּ | vaiyishchatu | and they slaughtered | H7819 → | 81 times |
| הַפֶּ֔סַח | hapesach | the passover | H6453 → | 49 times |
| בְּאַרְבָּעָ֥ה | bearbaah | on [day] four- | H702 → | 318 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ | lachodesh | of the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִ֑י | hasheni | <the> second | H8145 → | 156 times |
| וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֨ים | vehakohanim | and the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְהַלְוִיִּ֤ם | vehalviyim | and the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| נִכְלְמוּ֙ | nikhlemu | they were ashamed | H3637 → | |
| וַיִּֽתְקַדְּשׁ֔וּ | vaiyitkadeshu | and they consecrated themselves | H6942 → | 171 times |
| וַיָּבִ֥יאוּ | vaiyaviu | and they brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֹל֖וֹת | olot | burnt offerings | H5930 → | 287 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיִּשְׁחֲט֣וּand they slaughtered
vaiyishchatuH7819 →81 times
הַפֶּ֔סַחthe passover
hapesachH6453 →49 times
בְּאַרְבָּעָ֥הon [day] four-
bearbaahH702 →318 times
עָשָׂ֖רteen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
לַחֹ֣דֶשׁof the month
lachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַשֵּׁנִ֑י<the> second
hasheniH8145 →156 times
וְהַכֹּהֲנִ֨יםand the priests
vehakohanimH3548 →750 times
וְהַלְוִיִּ֤םand the Levites
vehalviyimH3881 →291 times
נִכְלְמוּ֙they were ashamed
nikhlemuH3637 →
וַיִּֽתְקַדְּשׁ֔וּand they consecrated themselves
vaiyitkadeshuH6942 →171 times
וַיָּבִ֥יאוּand they brought
vaiyaviuH935 →2568 times
עֹל֖וֹתburnt offerings
olotH5930 →287 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 19:10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Leviticus 11:44–45
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Genesis 35:2
So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
- Leviticus 11:25
and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.
- Numbers 8:21
The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.
- Hebrews 10:22
Through
2 Chronicles 29:34However, since there were not enough priests to skin all the burnt offerings, their Levite brothers helped them until the work was finished and until the priests had been consecrated. For the Levites had…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 30:3
since they had been unable to observe it at the regular time, because not enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not been gathered in Jerusalem.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 35:11
And they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them and the Levites skinned the animals.
- 2 Chronicles 30:3
Through
2 Chronicles 5:11Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place,
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 29:5
“Listen to me, O Levites,” he said. “Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove from the Holy Place every impurity.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 29:5
About 2 Chronicles

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
