I Esdras 1

¹And Josias made pask in Jerusalem to the Lord, and he offride pask the fourtenthe day of the monthe of the first monthe,

²ordeynynge prestis bi her whiles of daies, clothid in stolis, or longe clothis, in the temple of the Lord.

³And he seide to the dekens, the holy seruauntis of Israel, that thei schulden halewe hem self to the Lord, in settynge of the holy arke of the Lord in the hous, that kyng Salomon, the sone of Dauid, bildide;

⁴It schal not be to you no more to take it upon schuldris; and now serueth to oure Lord, and do ye cure of that folk of Israel, of the part aftir townes,

⁵and her lynagis, aftir the writyng of Dauid, kyng of Israel, and aftir the greet wirschipful doyng of Salomon, his sone, in al the temple, and aftir youre litil fadris part of princehood of hem, that stonden in the siyt of the bretheren of the sones of Israel.

⁶Offre ye pask, and maketh redy the sacrifices to youre bretheren; and do ye aftir the heest of the Lord, that is youen to Moyses.

⁷And Josias yaf to the folc that was founden there, scheep, of lombis, and of kides, and of sche geet, thritti thousynd; calues, thre thousynd.

⁸Thes yiftis ben youen of the kingis owne thingis aftir the heest of the Lord to the peple, and to prestis, in to pask; scheep in noumbre two thousynd, and calues an hundrid.

⁹And Jechonyas, and Semeias, and Nathanael, his brother, and Azabias, and Oziel, and Coroba, yauen in to pask, fyue thousynd scheep, and fyue hundrid calues.

¹⁰And whanne thes thingis weren nobly don, the prestis and dekens stoden, hauynge therf looues bi lynages.

¹¹And aftir the partis of the princehood of fadris thei offriden to the Lord in the siyt of the peple, after tho thingis that ben writen in the book of Moyses.

¹²And thei rostiden the pask with fijr, as it bihouyde; and thei soden oostis in sethinge vessels and in pottis, with wel willyng.

¹³And thei brouyten it to alle that ther weren of the folk; and aftir thes thingis thei maden redy to hem self and to prestis.

¹⁴Forsothe the prestis offriden ynner fatnesse, vnto the hour was endid; and dekens greythiden to hem self, and to her bretheren, and to the sones of Aaron.

¹⁵And men sacrifiynge offriden her douytris, aftir the oordre and the heestis of Dauid; and Azaph, and Zacharie, and Jeddynus, that was of the king;

¹⁶and the porters bi alle the yatis offriden, so that noon passide his yate. Forsothe her bretheren greythiden to hem.

¹⁷And so tho thingis, that perteynyden to the sacrifice of the Lord, ben endid.

¹⁸In that day thei diden pask, and offriden ostis upon the sacrifice of the Lord, aftir the heest of kyng Josie.

¹⁹And the sones of Israel, that weren founden present, diden in that tyme pask, and the feest day of therf looues bi seuen daies.

²⁰And ther was not solempnyzed sich a paske in Israel, fro the tymes of Samuel, the prophet.

²¹And alle the kyngis of Israel halewiden not sich a pask, as diden Josias, and the prestis, and dekens, and Jewis, and al Israel, that weren founden in the commemoracioun, or mynde making, at Jerusalem.

²²In the eiytenthe yer, Josie regnynge, this pask was halewid.

²³And the werkis of Josie ben maad riyt in the siyt of his Lord, in ful dredynge herte;

²⁴and tho thingis forsothe that weren aboute him ben writen, in the rathere tymes of hem that synnyden, and the whiche weren vnreligious ayen the Lord, bifore or more than al hethen folk, and the whiche synners souyten not the wordis of the Lord upon Israel.

²⁵And aftir al this deede of Josie, Pharao, king of Egipt, yede up, comynge to casten awey in Carcamys upon Eufraten; and Josias wente in to metyng to him.

²⁶And the king of Egipt sente to Josiam, seiynge, What is to me and to thee, kyng of Jude?

²⁷I am not sent of the Lord, upon Eufraten forsothe is my bataile; hastily therfor go doun.

²⁸And Josias was not turned ayen upon the chare, but he enforside him self to ouercome Pharao, not takinge hede to the word of the prophet, fro the mouth of the Lord;

²⁹but he sette to him bataile in the feeld of Mecedan; and princis camen doun to kyng Josiam.

³⁰And thanne the king seide to his children, or seruauntes, Moueth me awey fro the bataile; forsothe I am gretly maad sijk. And anoon his children moueden him awey fro the scheltrun.

³¹And he stiede upon his secoundarie chare; and comynge to Jerusalem, he diede, and was biried in his fadris sepulcre.

³²And in al Jude thei biweiliden Josie, and thei that bifore seten with wyues, weiliden him vnto this day; and this is grauntid to be don euer more in al the kynrede of Israel.

³³Thes thingis forsothe ben writen in the book of stories of kyngis of Juda, and the glorie of Josie, and his vndirstonding in the lawe of God, bi alle dedes of the doyng of him; for euenly tho weren don of hym, and the whiche ben not writun in the book of kingis of Israel and of Juda.

³⁴And thei that weren of the kynrede token Jeconye, the sone of Josie, and setten him king for Josie, his fadir, whanne he was of thre and thritty yeer.

³⁵And he regnyde upon Israel thre monthis; and thanne the kyng of Egipt putte him awey, that he regnyde not in Jerusalem.

³⁶And he pilide the folk of an hundrid talentis of siluer, and of a talent of gold.

³⁷And the kyng of Egipt sette Joachim, his brother, kyng of Jude and of Jerusalem; and he bonde the maistir iuges of Joachim, and takynge Saracel, his brother, he brouyte him ayen to Egipt.

³⁹Joachim was of fyue and twenty yeer, whanne he regnyde in the loond of Juda and of Jerusalem; and he dide yuel thing in the siyt of the Lord.

⁴⁰Aftir this forsothe Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, stiede up, and byndynge Joachim in a strong boond, brouyte him in to Babiloyne;

⁴¹and Nabugodonosor toke and brouyte the holy vessels of God, and sacride tho in his temple in Babiloyne.

⁴²Forsothe of his vnclennesse and his vnreligioustee it is writen in the book of the tymes of kyngis.

⁴³And Joachim, his sone, regnyde for him; whanne forsothe he was ordeyned king, he was of eiyte yeer.

⁴⁴Forsothe he regnyde thre monthis and ten daies in Jerusalem; and dide yuel in siyt of the Lord.

⁴⁵And aftir a yer Nabugodonosor sente, and brouyte him ouer in to Babiloyne, togidre with the sacrid vessels of the Lord.

⁴⁶And he sette Sedechie kyng of Juda and of Jerusalem, whanne he was of oon and twenti yeer.

⁴⁷Forsothe he regnyde elleuen yeer; and he dide yuel in siyt of the Lord, and was not adred of the wordis that ben seid of Jeremye, the prophet, fro the mouth of the Lord.

⁴⁸And he adiurid, or chargid bi ooth, of kyng Nabugodonosor, forsworn wente awey, and his noll made hard, he ouerpasside the laweful thingis of the Lord God of Israel.

⁴⁹And the duykis of the Lordis peple baren hem wickidly many thingis, and thei diden vnpitously ouer alle the wickidnessis of Gentiles; and thei defouliden the temple of the Lord, that was hooly in Jerusalem.

⁵⁰And God of her fadris sente bi his aungel to ayenclepe hem, for the whiche thing he sparide to hem, and to her tabernaclis.

⁵¹Thei forsothe scornyden in her corners, and that dai that the Lord spake, thei weren bobbynge his prophetis.

⁵²The whiche Lord is stirid to wraththe upon his folk, for their irreligiositee. And the kyngis of Caldeis comaundiden, and stiyeden up,

⁵³thei slowen the younge men of hem with swerd, aboute the hooly temple of hem; and thei spariden not to yonge man, ne to maiden, ne to old man, and to ful woxen man;

⁵⁴but also alle thei ben taken in to the hondis of hem; and thei token alle the sacrid vessels of the Lord, and the kyngis coffres, and brouyten tho in to Babiloyne.

⁵⁵And thei brenden up the hous of the Lord, and destroieden the wallis of Jerusalem, and thei brenden his touris with fijr.

⁵⁶And thei wastiden alle the wurschipful thingis, and brouyten hem to nouyt; and thei brouyten the peple lefte of the swerd in to Babiloyne.

⁵⁷And thei weren his thrallis, vn to the tyme that Peersis regnyden, in the fulfillynge of the word of the Lord, in the mouth of Jeremye;

⁵⁸til that the loond wolde do benyngnely their sabotis, he sabatisede al the tyme of their forsakyng, in the appliynge of seuenti yer.

I Esdras 1

¹And Josias held the feast of the passover in Jerusalem unto his Lord, and offered the passover the fourteenth day of the first month;

²Having set the priests according to their daily courses, being arrayed in long garments, in the temple of the Lord.

³And he spake unto the Levites, the holy ministers of Israel, that they should hallow themselves unto the Lord, to set the holy ark of the Lord in the house that king Solomon the son of David had built:

⁴And said, Ye shall no more bear the ark upon your shoulders: now therefore serve the Lord your God, and minister unto his people Israel, and prepare you after your families and kindreds,

⁵According as David the king of Israel prescribed, and according to the magnificence of Solomon his son: and standing in the temple according to the several dignity of the families of you the Levites, who minister in the presence of your brethren the children of Israel,

⁶Offer the passover in order, and make ready the sacrifices for your brethren, and keep the passover according to the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto Moses.

⁷And unto the people that was found there Josias gave thirty thousand lambs and kids, and three thousand calves: these things were given of the king’s allowance, according as he promised, to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites.

⁸And Helkias, Zacharias, and Syelus, the governors of the temple, gave to the priests for the passover two thousand and six hundred sheep, and three hundred calves.

⁹And Jeconias, and Samaias, and Nathanael his brother, and Assabias, and Ochiel, and Joram, captains over thousands, gave to the Levites for the passover five thousand sheep, and seven hundred calves.

¹⁰And when these things were done, the priests and Levites, having the unleavened bread, stood in very comely order according to the kindreds,

¹¹And according to the several dignities of the fathers, before the people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses: and thus did they in the morning.

¹²And they roasted the passover with fire, as appertaineth: as for the sacrifices, they sod them in brass pots and pans with a good savour,

¹³And set them before all the people: and afterward they prepared for themselves, and for the priests their brethren, the sons of Aaron.

¹⁴For the priests offered the fat until night: and the Levites prepared for themselves, and the priests their brethren, the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵The holy singers also, the sons of Asaph, were in their order, according to the appointment of David, to wit, Asaph, Zacharias, and Jeduthun, who was of the king’s retinue.

¹⁶Moreover the porters were at every gate; it was not lawful for any to go from his ordinary service: for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁷Thus were the things that belonged to the sacrifices of the Lord accomplished in that day, that they might hold the passover,

¹⁸And offer sacrifices upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josias.

¹⁹So the children of Israel which were present held the passover at that time, and the feast of sweet bread seven days.

²⁰And such a passover was not kept in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel.

²¹Yea, all the kings of Israel held not such a passover as Josias, and the priests, and the Levites, and the Jews, held with all Israel that were found dwelling at Jerusalem.

²²In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was this passover kept.

²³And the works or Josias were upright before his Lord with an heart full of godliness.

²⁴As for the things that came to pass in his time, they were written in former times, concerning those that sinned, and did wickedly against the Lord above all people and kingdoms, and how they grieved him exceedingly, so that the words of the Lord rose up against Israel.

²⁵Now after all these acts of Josias it came to pass, that Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to raise war at Carchamis upon Euphrates: and Josias went out against him.

²⁶But the king of Egypt sent to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, O king of Judea?

²⁷I am not sent out from the Lord God against thee; for my war is upon Euphrates: and now the Lord is with me, yea, the Lord is with me hasting me forward: depart from me, and be not against the Lord.

²⁸Howbeit Josias did not turn back his chariot from him, but undertook to fight with him, not regarding the words of the prophet Jeremy spoken by the mouth of the Lord:

²⁹But joined battle with him in the plain of Magiddo, and the princes came against king Josias.

³⁰Then said the king unto his servants, Carry me away out of the battle; for I am very weak. And immediately his servants took him away out of the battle.

³¹Then gat he up upon his second chariot; and being brought back to Jerusalem died, and was buried in his father’s sepulchre.

³²And in all Jewry they mourned for Josias, yea, Jeremy the prophet lamented for Josias, and the chief men with the women made lamentation for him unto this day: and this was given out for an ordinance to be done continually in all the nation of Israel.

³³These things are written in the book of the stories of the kings of Judah, and every one of the acts that Josias did, and his glory, and his understanding in the law of the Lord, and the things that he had done before, and the things now recited, are reported in the book of the kings of Israel and Judea.

³⁴And the people took Joachaz the son of Josias, and made him king instead of Josias his father, when he was twenty and three years old.

³⁵And he reigned in Judea and in Jerusalem three months: and then the king of Egypt deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem.

³⁶And he set a tax upon the land of an hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

³⁷The king of Egypt also made king Joacim his brother king of Judea and Jerusalem.

³⁸And he bound Joacim and the nobles: but Zaraces his brother he apprehended, and brought him out of Egypt.

³⁹Five and twenty years old was Joacim when he was made king in the land of Judea and Jerusalem; and he did evil before the Lord.

⁴⁰Wherefore against him Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon came up, and bound him with a chain of brass, and carried him into Babylon.

⁴¹Nabuchodonosor also took of the holy vessels of the Lord, and carried them away, and set them in his own temple at Babylon.

⁴²But those things that are recorded of him, and of his uncleanness and impiety, are written in the chronicles of the kings.

⁴³And Joacim his son reigned in his stead: he was made king being eighteen years old;

⁴⁴And reigned but three months and ten days in Jerusalem; and did evil before the Lord.

⁴⁵So after a year Nabuchodonosor sent and caused him to be brought into Babylon with the holy vessels of the Lord;

⁴⁶And made Zedechias king of Judea and Jerusalem, when he was one and twenty years old; and he reigned eleven years:

⁴⁷And he did evil also in the sight of the Lord, and cared not for the words that were spoken unto him by the prophet Jeremy from the mouth of the Lord.

⁴⁸And after that king Nabuchodonosor had made him to swear by the name of the Lord, he forswore himself, and rebelled; and hardening his neck, his heart, he transgressed the laws of the Lord God of Israel.

⁴⁹The governors also of the people and of the priests did many things against the laws, and passed all the pollutions of all nations, and defiled the temple of the Lord, which was sanctified in Jerusalem.

⁵⁰Nevertheless the God of their fathers sent by his messenger to call them back, because he spared them and his tabernacle also.

⁵¹But they had his messengers in derision; and, look, when the Lord spake unto them, they made a sport of his prophets:

⁵²So far forth, that he, being wroth with his people for their great ungodliness, commanded the kings of the Chaldees to come up against them;

⁵³Who slew their young men with the sword, yea, even within the compass of their holy temple, and spared neither young man nor maid, old man nor child, among them; for he delivered all into their hands.

⁵⁴And they took all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, with the vessels of the ark of God, and the king’s treasures, and carried them away into Babylon.

⁵⁵As for the house of the Lord, they burnt it, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem, and set fire upon her towers:

⁵⁶And as for her glorious things, they never ceased till they had consumed and brought them all to nought: and the people that were not slain with the sword he carried unto Babylon:

⁵⁷Who became servants to him and his children, till the Persians reigned, to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremy:

⁵⁸Until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths, the whole time of her desolation shall she rest, until the full term of seventy years.