II Chronicles 35

¹And Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem; on the fourteenth day of the first month they put the Passover lamb to death.

²And he gave the priests their places, making them strong for the work of the house of God.

³And he said to the Levites, the teachers of all Israel, who were holy to the Lord, See, the holy ark is in the house which Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel, made; it will no longer have to be transported on your backs: now be the servants of the Lord your God and his people Israel,

⁴And make yourselves ready in your divisions, by your families, as it is ordered in the writings of David, king of Israel, and of Solomon his son;

⁵And take your positions in the holy place, grouped in the families of your brothers, the children of the people, and for every division let there be a part of a family of the Levites.

⁶And put the Passover lamb to death, and make yourselves holy, and make it ready for your brothers, so that the orders given by the Lord through Moses may be done.

⁷And Josiah gave lambs and goats from the flock as Passover offerings for all the people who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand oxen: these were from the king's private property.

⁸And his captains freely gave an offering to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand, six hundred small cattle and three hundred oxen.

⁹And Conaniah and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand small cattle and five hundred oxen.

¹⁰So everything was made ready and the priests took their places with the Levites in their divisions, as the king had said.

¹¹And they put the Passover lambs to death, the blood being drained out by the priests when it was given to them, and the Levites did the skinning.

¹²And they took away the burned offerings, so that they might give them to be offered to the Lord for the divisions of the families of the people, as it is recorded in the book of Moses. And they did the same with the oxen.

¹³And the Passover lamb was cooked over the fire, as it says in the law; and the holy offerings were cooked in pots and basins and vessels, and taken quickly to all the people.

¹⁴And after that, they made ready for themselves and for the priests; for the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burned offerings and the fat till night; so the Levites made ready what was needed for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵And the sons of Asaph, the makers of melody, were in their places, as ordered by David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the king's seer; and the door-keepers were stationed at every door: there was no need for them to go away from their places, for their brothers the Levites made ready for them.

¹⁶So everything needed for the worship of the Lord was made ready that same day, for the keeping of the Passover and the offering of burned offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had given orders.

¹⁷And all the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread at that time for seven days.

¹⁸No Passover like it had been kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; and not one of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover like the one kept by Josiah and the priests and the Levites and all those of Judah and Israel who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.

¹⁹In the eighteenth year of the rule of Josiah this Passover was kept.

²⁰After all this, and after Josiah had put the house in order, Neco, king of Egypt, went up to make war at Carchemish by the river Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.

²¹But he sent representatives to him, saying, What have I to do with you, O king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against those with whom I am at war; and God has given me orders to go forward quickly: keep out of God's way, for he is with me, or he will send destruction on you.

²²However, Josiah would not go back; but keeping to his purpose of fighting against him, and giving no attention to the words of Neco, which came from God, he went forward to the fight in the valley of Megiddo.

²³And the bowmen sent their arrows at King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am badly wounded.

²⁴So his servants took him out of the line of war-carriages, and put him in his second carriage and took him to Jerusalem, where he came to his end, and they put his body in the resting-place of his fathers. And in all Judah and Jerusalem there was great weeping for Josiah.

²⁵And Jeremiah made a song of grief for Josiah; and to this day Josiah is named by all the makers of melody, men and women, in their songs of grief; they made it a rule in Israel; and the songs are recorded among the songs of grief.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and the good he did, in keeping with what is recorded in the law of the Lord,

²⁷And all his acts, first and last, are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

II Chronicles 35

¹Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem: and they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²He set the priests in their offices, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the Lord.

³He said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord, "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built. There shall no more be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God, and his people Israel.

⁴Prepare yourselves after your fathers' houses by your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.

⁵Stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of your brothers the children of the people, and let there be for each a portion of a fathers' house of the Levites.

⁶Kill the Passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by Moses."

⁷Josiah gave to the children of the people, of the flock, lambs and young goats, all of them for the Passover offerings, to all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bulls: these were of the king's substance.

⁸His princes gave for a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of God's house, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small livestock, and three hundred head of cattle.

⁹Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand small livestock, and five hundred head of cattle.

¹⁰So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their divisions, according to the king's commandment.

¹¹They killed the Passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood which they received of their hand, and the Levites flayed them.

¹²They removed the burnt offerings, that they might give them according to the divisions of the fathers' houses of the children of the people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses. So they did with the cattle.

¹³They roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance: and the holy offerings boiled they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the children of the people.

¹⁴Afterward they prepared for themselves, and for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron were busy with offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night: therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵The singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters were at every gate: they did not need to depart from their service; for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josiah.

¹⁷The children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

¹⁸There was no Passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this Passover kept.

²⁰After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.

²¹But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house with which I have war. God has commanded me to make haste. Beware that it is God who is with me, that he not destroy you."

²²Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

²³The archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, because I am seriously wounded!"

²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and singing women spoke of Josiah in their lamentations to this day; and they made them an ordinance in Israel: and behold, they are written in the lamentations.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds, according to that which is written in the law of the Lord,

²⁷and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.