7 Do not be like your ancestors and your fellow-Israelites who were unfaithful to the Lord their God. As you can see, he punished them severely.
8 Do not be stubborn as they were, but obey the Lord. Come to the Temple in Jerusalem, which the Lord your God has made holy for ever, and worship him so that he will no longer be angry with you.
9 If you return to the Lord, then those who have taken your relatives away as prisoners will take pity on them and let them come back home. The Lord your God is kind and merciful, and if you return to him, he will accept you.”
10 The messengers went to every city in the territory of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far north as the tribe of Zebulun, but people laughed at them and ridiculed them.
11 Still, there were some from the tribes of Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun who were willing to come to Jerusalem.
12 God was also at work in Judah and united the people in their determination to obey his will by following the commands of the king and his officials.
13 A great number of people gathered in Jerusalem in the second month to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.