Temple Dedication and the Passover

¹⁶ Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of God’s house they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, as well as twelve male goats^(A) as a sin offering for all Israel—one for each Israelite tribe.

²² They observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days^(A) with joy, because the Lord had made them joyful, having changed the Assyrian king’s attitude toward them, so that he supported them^[a] in the work on the house of the God of Israel.^(B)