11. Not all the Jews who had returned purified themselves at that time, but the Levites did.
12. The Levites killed the animals for the Passover sacrifices for all the people who had returned, for the priests, and for themselves.
13. The sacrifices were eaten by all the Israelites who had returned from exile; they worshipped the Lord and rejected the pagan ways of the other people who were living in the land.
14. For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread. They rejoiced in the presence of the Lord,
15. the God of Israel, because he had made the plans of the emperor of Assyria favourable to them and had supported them in their work.