2 Chronicles 35

1 Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.

And Josias kept a passover to the Lord his God; and sacrificed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD.

And he appointed the priests at their charges, and encouraged them for the services of the house of the Lord.

3 To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the LORD, Josiah said: “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. It is not to be carried around on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.

And he told the Levites that were able [to act] in all Israel, that they should consecrate themselves to the Lord: and they put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built: and the king said, Ye must not carry anything on your shoulders: now then minister to the Lord your God, and to his people Israel.

4 Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and Solomon his son.

And prepare yourselves according to the houses of your families, and according to your daily courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and [the order] by the hand of his son Solomon.

5 Moreover, stand in the Holy Place by the divisions of the families of your kinsmen the lay people, and by the divisions of the families of the Levites.

And stand ye in the house according to the divisions of the houses of your families for your brethren the sons of the people; [so] also let there be for the Levites a division of the house of their family.

6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your fellow countrymen to carry out the word of the LORD given by Moses.”

And kill ye the passover, and prepare [it] for your brethren, to do according to the word of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.

7 From his own flocks and herds Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present.

And Josias gave as an offering to the children of the people, sheep, and lambs, and kids of the young of the goats, all for the passover, [even for] all that were found, in number [amounting to] thirty thousand, and three thousand calves, these [were] of the substance of the king.

8 His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.

And his princes gave an offering to the people, and to the priests, and to the Levites: and Chelcias and Zacharias and Jeiel the chief men gave to the priests of the house of God, they even gave for the passover sheep, and lambs, and kids, two thousand six hundred, and three hundred calves.

9 Additionally, Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated to the Levites 5,000 Passover offerings and 500 bulls.

And Chonenias, and Banaeas, and Samaeas, and Nathanael his brother, and Asabias, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of the Levites, gave an offering to the Levites for the passover, of five thousand sheep and five hundred calves.

10 So the service was prepared; the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command.

And the service was duly ordered, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the command of the king.

11 And they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests sprinkled the blood handed to them and the Levites skinned the animals.

And they slew the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hand, and the Levites flayed [the victims].

12 They set aside the burnt offerings to be given to the divisions of the families of the people to offer to the LORD, as is written in the Book of Moses; and they did the same with the bulls.

And they prepared the whole-burnt-offering to give to them, according to the division by the houses of families, [even] to the sons of the people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses.

13 They roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the regulation, and they boiled the other holy offerings in pots, kettles, and bowls and quickly brought them to all the people.

And thus [they did] till the morning. And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance; and boiled the holy [pieces] in copper vessels and caldrons, and [the feast] went on well, and they quickly served all the children of the people.

14 Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering up burnt offerings and fat until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

And after they had prepared for themselves and for the priests, for the priests [were engaged] in offering the whole-burnt-offerings and the fat until night, then the Levites prepared for themselves, and for their brethren the sons of Aaron.

15 The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their position, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.

And the sons of Asaph the psalm-singers [were] at their post according to the commands of David, and Asaph, and Aeman, and Idithom, the prophets of the king: also, the chiefs and the porters of the several gates; —it was not for them to stir from the service of the holy things, for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

16 So on that day the entire service of the LORD was carried out for celebrating the Passover and offering burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.

So all the service of the Lord was duly ordered and prepared in that day, for keeping the passover, and offering the whole-burnt-sacrifices on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of king Josias.

17 The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

18 No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.

And there was no passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, or any king of Israel: they kept not such a passover as Josias, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Juda and Israel that were present, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, kept to the Lord.

19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias this passover was kept, after all these things that Josias did in the house.

20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.

And Pharao Nechao king of Egypt went up against the king of the Assyrians to the river Euphrates, and king Josias went to meet him.

21 But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty. God told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!”

And he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, O king of Juda? I am not come to-day to war against thee; and God has told me to hasten: beware of the God that is with me, lest he destroy thee.

22 Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.

However, Josias turned not his face from him, but strengthened himself to fight against him, and hearkened not to the words of Nechao by the mouth of God, and he came to fight in the plain of Mageddo.

23 There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded!”

And the archers shot at king Josias; and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded.

24 So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

And his servants lifted him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried with his fathers: and all Juda and Jerusalem lamented over Josias.

25 Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the choirs of men and women sing laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.

And Jeremias mourned over Josias, and all the chief men and chief women uttered a lamentation over Josias until this day: and they made it an ordinance for Israel, and, behold, it is written in the lamentations.

26 As for the rest of the acts of Josiah, along with his deeds of loving devotion according to what is written in the Law of the LORD—

And the rest of the acts of Josias, and his hope, are written in the law of the Lord.

27 his acts from beginning to end—they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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