2 Chronicles 35

1 And Josiah makes a Passover to YHWH in Jerusalem, and they slaughter the Passover-offering on the fourteenth of the first month,

Now Josiah kept the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and it was immolated on the fourteenth day of the first month.

2 and he stations the priests over their charges, and strengthens them for the service of the house of YHWH,

And he appointed the priests in their offices, and he exhorted them to minister in the house of the Lord.

3 and says to the Levites who are teaching all Israel, who are sanctified to YHWH, “Put the holy Ark in the house that Solomon son of David, king of Israel, built; it is not a burden on the shoulder to you. Now serve your God YHWH and His people Israel,

Also, he spoke with the Levites, by whose instruction all of Israel was sanctified to the Lord, saying: “Place the ark in the sanctuary of the temple, which Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel, built. For never again shall you carry it. Instead, now you shall minister to the Lord your God, and to his people Israel.

4 and prepare, by the house of your fathers, according to your divisions, by the writing of David king of Israel, and by the writing of his son Solomon,

And prepare yourselves by your houses and families, within each division, just as David, the king of Israel, instructed, and just as his son Solomon has written.

5 and stand in the holy place, by the divisions of the house of the fathers of your brothers, sons of the people, and the portion of the house of a father of the Levites,

And minister in the sanctuary, by the Levitical families and companies.

6 and slaughter the Passover-offering and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of YHWH by the hand of Moses.”

And having been sanctified, immolate the Passover. And then prepare your brothers, so that they may be able to act in accord with the words which the Lord has spoken by the hand of Moses.”

7 And Josiah lifts up to the sons of the people a flock of lambs and young goats, the whole for Passover-offerings, for everyone who is found, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand oxen: these [are] from the substance of the king.

After this, Josiah gave to all the people, those who had been found there at the solemnity of the Passover, thirty thousand lambs and young goats from the flocks, and other kinds of small cattle, and also three thousand oxen. All these were from the substance of the king.

8 And his heads, for a willing-offering to the people, to the priests and to the Levites, have lifted up; Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in the house of God, have given two thousand and six hundred to the priests for Passover-offerings, and three hundred oxen;

Also, his rulers offered what they had vowed freely, as much for the people as for the priests and Levites. Moreover, Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of the Lord, gave to the priests, in order to observe the Passover, two thousand six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.

9 and Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of the Levites, have lifted up five thousand to the Levites for Passover-offerings, and five hundred oxen.

And Conaniah, with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, indeed also Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, rulers of the Levites, gave to the rest of the Levites, in order to celebrate the Passover, five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.

10 And the service is prepared, and the priests stand on their station, and the Levites on their divisions, according to the command of the king,

And the ministry was prepared. And the priests stood in their office, and the Levites also stood in their companies, according to the order of the king.

11 and they slaughter the Passover-offering, and the priests sprinkle out of their hand, and the Levites are stripping [them];

And the Passover was immolated. And the priests sprinkled the blood with their hand, and the Levites drew away the pelts of the holocausts.

12 and they turn aside the burnt-offering to put them by the divisions of the house of the fathers of the sons of the people, to bring near to YHWH, as it is written in the scroll of Moses—and so for the oxen.

And they put these aside, so that they might give them to each one, by their houses and families, and so that they might be offered to the Lord, just as it was written in the book of Moses. And with the oxen, they acted similarly.

13 And they cook the Passover with fire according to the ordinance, and they have cooked the sanctified things in pots, and in kettles, and in pans—for all the sons of the people.

And they roasted the Passover above fire, in accord with what was written in the law. Yet truly, the victims of peace offerings they boiled in cauldrons and kettles and pots. And they promptly distributed these to all the common people.

14 And afterward they have prepared for themselves and for the priests; for the priests, sons of Aaron, [are occupied] in the offering up of the burnt-offering and of the fat until night; and the Levites have prepared for themselves and for the priests, sons of Aaron.

Then afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests. Indeed, the priests had been occupied in the oblations of the holocausts and the fat offerings, even until night. Therefore, the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron, last.

15 And the singers, sons of Asaph, [are] on their station according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun seer of the king, and the gatekeepers [are] at every gate; it is not for them to turn aside from off their service, for their brothers the Levites have prepared for them.

Now the singers, the sons of Asaph, were standing in their order, according to the instruction of David, and of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the prophets of the king. Truly, the porters kept watch at each gate, so as not to depart from their ministry even for one moment. And for this reason, their brothers, the Levites, prepared foods for them.

16 And all the service of YHWH is prepared on that day to keep the Passover and to cause burnt-offering to ascend on the altar of YHWH, according to the command of King Josiah.

And so, the entire worship ritual of the Lord was completed on that day, so that they observed the Passover and offered holocausts upon the altar of the Lord, in accord with the precept of king Josiah.

17 And the sons of Israel who are found make the Passover at that time, and the Celebration of Unleavened Things, [for] seven days.

And the sons of Israel, who had been found there, kept the Passover at that time, with the solemnity of unleavened bread, for seven days.

18 And there has not been made a Passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, and none of the kings of Israel made such a Passover as Josiah has made, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who are found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

There was no Passover similar to this one in Israel, from the days of Samuel the prophet. And neither did anyone, out of all the kings of Israel, keep such a Passover as did Josiah, the priests and Levites, and all those of Judah and Israel who had been found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover has been made.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, this Passover was celebrated.

20 After all this, when Josiah has prepared the house, Necho king of Egypt has come up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah goes forth to meet him;

After Josiah had repaired the temple, Neco, the king of Egypt, ascended to fight at Carchemish, beside the Euphrates. And Josiah went out to meet him.

21 and he sends messengers to him, saying, “And what do I [have to do] with you, O king of Judah? I do not come against you today, but to the house with which I have war, and God commanded to hurry me; cease for yourself from God who [is] with me, and He does not destroy you.”

But he sent messengers to him, saying: “What is there between me and you, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today. Instead, I am fighting against another house, to which God instructed me to go promptly. Refrain from acting against God, who is with me, otherwise he may kill you.”

22 And Josiah has not turned around his face from him, but has disguised himself to fight against him, and has not listened to the words of Necho, from the mouth of God, and comes to fight in the Valley of Megiddo;

Josiah was not willing to return. Instead, he prepared for war against him. Neither would he agree to the words of Neco from the mouth of God. In truth, he traveled so that he might do battle in the field of Megiddo.

23 and the archers shoot at King Josiah, and the king says to his servants, “Remove me, for I have become very sick.”

And there, having been wounded by archers, he said to his servants: “Lead me away from the battle. For I have been severely wounded.”

24 And his servants remove him from the chariot, and cause him to ride on the second chariot that he has, and cause him to go to Jerusalem, and he dies, and is buried in the graves of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem are mourning for Josiah,

And they took him from the chariot, into another chariot which was following him, as was the custom of kings. And they transported him to Jerusalem. And he died, and he was buried in the mausoleum of his fathers. And all of Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him,

25 and Jeremiah laments for Josiah, and all the male and female singers speak in their lamentations of Josiah to this day, and set them for a statute on Israel, and behold, they are written beside the Lamentations.

most of all Jeremiah. All the singing men and women repeat his lamentations over Josiah, even to the present day. And this has become like a law in Israel. Behold, it is found written in the Lamentations.

26 And the rest of the matters of Josiah and his kind acts, according as it is written in the Law of YHWH,

Now the rest of the words of Josiah, and his mercies, which were instructed by the law of the Lord,

27 even his matters, the first and the last, behold, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.

and also his works, the first and the last, have been written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.