2 Chronicles 35

1 Moreouer Iosiah kept a Passeouer vnto the Lord in Ierusalem, and they slewe the Passeouer in the fourtenth day of the first moneth.

Josiah [commanded that the people should] celebrate the Passover Festival to honor Yahweh in Jerusalem. So they slaughtered the lambs for the Passover [Festival] at the end of March.

2 And he appointed the Priestes to their charges, and incouraged them to the seruice of the house of the Lord,

Josiah assigned to the priests the tasks that they should perform at the temple and encouraged them to do their work well.

3 And he sayd vnto the Leuites that taught all Israel and were sanctified vnto the Lord, Put the holy Arke in the house which Salomon the sonne of Dauid King of Israel did build: it shalbe no more a burden vpon your shoulders: serue now the Lord your God and his people Israel,

The [other] descendants of Levi were the ones who taught all the Israeli people; they had been dedicated to serve Yahweh. Josiah said to them, “Put the Sacred Chest in the temple that [the workers of] David’s son [King] Solomon of Israel built. But [carry it on poles; ] do not carry it on your shoulders. And do your your work well for Yahweh your God and for his Israeli people.

4 And prepare your selues by the houses of your fathers according to your courses, as Dauid the King of Israel hath written, and according to the writing of Salomon his sonne,

Divide yourselves into clans, obeying the instructions that King David and his son Solomon wrote.

5 And stande in the Sanctuarie according to the deuision of the families of your brethren the children of the people, and after the deuision of the familie of the Leuites:

Then stand in the temple, with one group of the descendants of Levi to help each clan of the people [when they bring their offerings to the temple].

6 So kill the Passeouer and sanctifie your selues, and prepare your brethren that they may doe according to the worde of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

Slaughter the lambs for the Passover [Festival]. Perform the rituals to cause yourselves to be acceptable to Yahweh for doing this work. Prepare the sacrifices, doing what Yahweh told Moses to tell you that you should do.”

7 Iosiah also gaue to the people sheepe, lambs and kiddes, all for the Passeouer, euen to all that were present, to the nomber of thirtie thousand, and three thousande bullocks: these were of the Kings substance.

Josiah provided [from his own flocks and herds] 30,000 sheep and goats for the Passover sacrifices.

8 And his princes offred willingly vnto the people, to the Priests and to the Leuites: Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Iehiel, rulers of the house of God, gaue vnto the Priests for the Passeouer, euen two thousand and sixe hundreth sheepe, and three hundreth bullockes.

His officials also voluntarily contributed animals for the people and the priests and the [other] descendants of Levi. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials who were in charge of the temple, gave to the priests 2,600 lambs and 300 cattle to be sacrifices for the Passover.

9 Conaniah also and Shemaiah and Nethaneel his brethren, and Hashabiah and Ieiel, and Iozabad, chiefe of the Leuites gaue vnto the Leuites for the Passeouer, fiue thousand sheepe, and fiue hundreth bullockes.

And Conaniah along with his [younger] brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the [other] descendants of Levi, provided 5,000 lambs and 500 cattle for the other descendants of Levi, to be sacrifices for the Passover.

10 Thus the seruice was prepared, and the Priests stoode in their places, also the Leuites in their orders, according to the Kings commandement:

Everything [for the Passover] was arranged: The priests and the other descendants of Levi stood in their places in their groups, like the king had commanded.

11 And they slewe the Passeouer, and the Priests sprinkled the blood with their handes, and the Leuites flayed them.

Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests sprinkled the blood [from the bowls] that were handed to them, while the [other] descendants of Levi removed the skins from the animals.

12 And they tooke away from the burnt offering to giue it according to the deuisions of the families of the children of the people, to offer vnto the Lord, as it is written in the booke of Moses, and so of the bullockes.

They set aside the animals to be completely burned on the altar, in order to give them to the various family groups to offer to Yahweh, obeying the instructions that were written in the laws God gave Moses. They did the same thing with the cattle.

13 And they rosted the Passeouer with fire, according to ye custome, but the sanctified things they sod in pots, pannes, and cauldrons, and distributed them quickely to all the people.

Obeying those regulations, they roasted the lambs for the Passover over the fire. And they boiled the [meat of the] sacred offerings in pots and kettles and pans, and served the meat immediately to all the people [who were there].

14 Afterwarde also they prepared for them selues and for the Priestes: for the Priestes the sonnes of Aaron were occupied in offering of burnt offrings, and the fat vntill night: therefore the Leuites prepared for them selues, and for the Priests the sonnes of Aaron.

After that, they prepared meat for themselves and for the priests, because the priests were busy until nighttime, sacrificing the offerings to be completely burned and burning the fat parts of the offerings. So the [other] descendants of Levi prepared meat for themselves and for the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, [the first Supreme Priest].

15 And the singers the sonnes of Asaph stoode in their standing according to the commandement of Dauid, and Asaph, and Heman, and Ieduthun the Kings Seer: and the porters at euery gate, who might not depart from their seruice: therefore their brethren the Leuites prepared for them.

The musicians, who were descendants of Asaph, stood in their places, as King David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet had commanded. The men who guarded the gates [of the temple] did not need to leave their places, because their fellow descendants of Levi prepared food for them to eat.

16 So all the seruice of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keepe the Passeouer, and to offer burnt offerings vpon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandement of King Iosiah.

So on that day everything that needed to done for worshiping Yahweh was done. They celebrated the Passover [Festival], and they presented offerings to be completely burned on the altar, which was what Josiah had commanded.

17 And the children of Israel that were present, kept the Passeouer the same time, and the feast of the vnleauened bread seuen dayes.

The Israelis who were there celebrated the Passover [Festival] on that day, and for seven days they celebrated the Festival of [Eating] Unleavened Bread.

18 And there was no Passeouer kept like that, in Israel, from the dayes of Samuel the Prophet: neyther did all the Kings of Israel keepe such a Passeouer as Iosiah kept, and the Priestes and the Leuites, and all Iudah, and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem.

The Passover [Festival] had not been celebrated like that in Israel since the time that the prophet Samuel lived. None of the other kings of Israel had ever celebrated the Passover like Josiah did, along with the priests, the other descendants of Levi, and all [the other people of] Judah and Israel who were there with the people who lived in Jerusalem.

19 This Passeouer was kept in the eighteenth yeere of the reigne of Iosiah.

They celebrated this Passover Festival when Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years.

20 After all this, when Iosiah had prepared the Temple, Necho King of Egypt came vp to fight against Carchemish by Perath, and Iosiah went out against him.

After Josiah had done all those things to [restore the worship at] the temple, King Neco of Egypt went [with his army] to attack Carchemish [city] alongside the Euphrates [River], and Josiah marched [with his army] to fight against them.

21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, What haue I to doe with thee, thou King of Iudah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house of mine enemie, and God commanded me to make haste: leaue of to come against God, which is with me, least he destroy thee.

Neco sent some messengers to Josiah, to tell him, “You are the king of Judah, and there is certainly no quarrel between you and me. My army is not attacking you people; we are attacking another army, [the army of Babylonia]. God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is for me. If you do not stop, God will get rid of you.”

22 But Iosiah would not turne his face from him, but changed his apparel to fight with him, and hearkened not vnto the wordes of Necho, which were of the mouth of God, but came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

But Josiah would not pay attention to him. Instead, he disguised himself in order to be able to attack [the army of Egypt without anyone recognizing him]. He did not pay any attention to what God had told Neco to say. Instead, he [and his army] went to fight Neco’s army at the plain of Megiddo.

23 And the shooters shot at king Iosiah: then the King saide to his seruants, Cary me away, for I am very sicke.

Some Egyptian archers shot King Josiah. He told his officers, “Take me away from here because I am badly wounded.”

24 So his seruants tooke him out of that charet, and put him in the seconde charet which he had, and when they had brought him to Ierusalem, he dyed, and was buryed in the sepulchres of his fathers: and all Iudah and Ierusalem mourned for Iosiah.

So they took him out of his chariot and put him in another chariot that he had brought with him, and they took him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs where his ancestors [had been buried], and all [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah mourned for him.

25 And Ieremiah lamented Iosiah, and al singing men and singing women mourned for Iosiah in their lamentations to this day, and made the same for an ordinance vnto Israel: and beholde, they be written in the lamentations.

[The prophet] Jeremiah composed a song to mourn for Josiah, and all the men and women singers in Israel still mourn for Josiah by singing that song. That became a custom in Israel; the words of that song are written in a scroll of funeral songs.

26 Concerning the rest of the actes of Iosiah and his goodnesse, doing as it was written in the Lawe of the Lord,

A record of the other things that happened while Josiah ruled, from the time he started to rule until he died, including how he faithfully honored God by obeying everything that was written in the laws of Yahweh, is in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah’.

27 And his deedes, first and last, behold, they are written in the booke of the Kings of Israel and Iudah.