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 Josiah kept, in Jerusalem, a passover unto Yahweh, —and they slaughtered the passover, on the fourteenth 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 set the priests over their charges, —and encouraged them unto the service of the house of Yahweh;

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 said to the Levites who gave instruction to all Israel as to the things which were hallowed unto Yahweh, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon son of David king of Israel did build, it is not yours as a burden on the shoulder, —Now, serve ye Yahweh your God, and 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 by your ancestral houses, according to your courses, —by the writing of David king of Israel, and by what hath been written by Solomon his son;

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 holy place, by the divisions of the ancestral house, for your brethren, the sons of the people, and the partitioning of an ancestral house, for the Levites.

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.”

So slaughter ye the passover, —and hallow yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of Yahweh, 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 Josiah presented to the sons of the people—of flocks, young sheep and the young of the goats, the whole for the passover offerings, for all present, to the number of thirty thousand, and, of bullocks, three thousand, —these, out 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 rulers, willingly, to the people and to the priests and to the Levites, presented, —Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, chief rulers of the house of God, unto the priests, did give, for passover offerings, two thousand and six hundred, and, of bullocks, three hundred;

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, Conaniah, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, rulers of the Levites, presented to the Levites, for passover offerings, five thousand, and, of bullocks, five hundred.

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

Thus was the service prepared, —and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the commandment 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.

So they slaughtered the passover, and the priests dashed [the blood received] at their hand, and the Levites were flaying [the offerings].

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.

Then they removed the ascending-sacrifice, that they might give them—by the divisions of each ancestral house—unto the sons of the people, to offer unto Yahweh, as it is written in the Book of Moses, —and, in like manner, with the bullocks.

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 they cooked the passover with fire, according to the regulation, —but, the hallowed things, cooked they in cauldrons and in pots and in bowls, and then took quickly, unto all the sons 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, afterwards, prepared they for themselves and for the priests, because, the priests, the sons of Aaron, had been engaged in offering up the ascending-sacrifice and the fat pieces, until night, —the Levites, therefore prepared for themselves, and for the priests, 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.

the singers also, the sons of Asaph, were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the seer of the king, and, the doorkeepers, were at the several doors, —there was no need for them to remove from their service, 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.

Thus was all the service of Yahweh prepared on that day; to keep the passover, and to offer up the ascending-sacrifice, upon the altar of Yahweh, —according to the commandment of King Josiah.

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

So the sons of Israel who were present kept the passover at that time, —and the festival of unleavened cakes, 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 had not been kept, a passover like it, in Israel, since the days of Samuel the prophet, —yea, none of the kings of Israel, had kept such a passover as was kept by Josiah and the priests and the Levites and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

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

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, was kept this passover.

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.

After all this—when Josiah had prepared the house, Neco king of Egypt came up, -to fight against Carchemish, by Euphrates, and Josiah went forth against 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!”

But he sent unto him messengers, saying—What have I to do with thee, O king of Judah? not against thee, [have I come] this day, but against the house wherewith I have war, and, God, hath given word to speed me, —cease thou from [provoking] God who 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.

Howbeit Josiah turned not his face from him, for, to fight against him, he had disguised himself, and he hearkened not unto the words of Neco, from the mouth of God, —so he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

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 Josiah, —and the king said unto his servants, Take me away, for I am sore 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.

So his servants took him away out of the war-chariot, and conveyed him in a second chariot which he had, and carried him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers, —and, all Judah and Jerusalem, were mourning over Josiah.

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 Jeremiah chanted a dirge over Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women in their dirges have spoken concerning Josiah, until this day, and they appointed them by statute for Israel, —and, there they are, written among the dirges.

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—

But, the rest of the story of Josiah, and his lovingkindness, —according to that which is written in the law of Yahweh:

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

even his story, first and last, there it is, written in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.