2 Chronicles 35

1 Josiah kept a Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and they killed the Passover lambs 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 placed the priests in their positions and encouraged them in the service of the house of Yahweh.

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

3 He said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were set apart to Yahweh, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David, king of Israel built. Do not carry it around on your shoulders any longer. Now worship Yahweh your God, and serve 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, You must not carry anything on your shoulders: now then minister to the Lord your God, and to his people Israel.

4 Organize yourselves by the name of your ancestral houses and your divisions, following the written instructions of David, king of Israel, and those of 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 Stand in the holy place, taking your position with your divisions within the ancestral houses of your brothers, the descendants of the people, and taking your places with your divisions within the ancestral houses of the Levites.

And stand you 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 Kill the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, prepare the lambs for your brothers, to do according to the word of Yahweh that was given by the hand of Moses.”

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

7 Josiah gave to all the people thirty thousand lambs and kids from flocks for the Passover offerings to all who were present. He also gave three thousand bulls; these were from the king's possessions.

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 leaders gave a free will offering to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials in charge of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 small cattle and three hundred oxen.

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 Also Konaniah, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand small cattle and five hundred oxen.

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, and the priests stood in their places, with the Levites by their divisions, in response 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 They killed the Passover lambs, and the priests sprinkled the blood that they received from the Levites' hand, and the Levites skinned the lambs.

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

12 They removed the burnt offerings, in order to distribute them to the divisions of the ancestral houses of the people, to offer them to Yahweh, as it is written in the Book of Moses. 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 lambs with fire following the instructions. As for the consecrated offerings, they boiled them in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and they quickly carried 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 They later prepared offerings for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were occupied in offering the burnt offerings and the fat until nightfall, so the Levites prepared the offerings 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 in their place, as directed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer, and the guards were at every gate. They did not have to leave their post, because their brothers the 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, at that time the entire service of Yahweh was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, as King Josiah commanded.

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 people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and then the Festival 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 Such a Passover celebration had never been held in Israel from the days of the prophet Samuel, nor had any of the other kings of Israel ever celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did, along with the priests, Levites, and all the people of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants 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 This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

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, after Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho, king of Egypt, went up to fight against Carchemish at the Euphrates River, and Josiah went to fight against 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 Necho sent ambassadors to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am making war. God has commanded me to hurry, so refrain from interfering with God, who is with me, or he might destroy you.”

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

22 However, Josiah refused to turn away from him. He disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Necho that had come from the mouth of God; so he went to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

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

23 Archers shot King Josiah, and the king 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 the chariot, and put him in his extra chariot. They took him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

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 Jeremiah lamented for Josiah; all the male and female singers lament about Josiah to this day. These songs became customary in Israel; behold, they are written in the songs of lament.

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 other matters concerning Josiah, and his good deeds done in obedience to what is written in the law of Yahweh—

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

27 and his deeds, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

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