דברי הימים ב 35

1 ויעש יאשיהו בירושלם פסח ליהוה וישחטו הפסח בארבעה עשר לחדש הראשון

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 ויעמד הכהנים על משמרותם ויחזקם לעבודת בית יהוה

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

3 ויאמר ללוים המבונים (המבינים) לכל ישראל הקדושים ליהוה תנו את ארון הקדש בבית אשר בנה שלמה בן דויד מלך ישראל--אין לכם משא בכתף עתה עבדו את יהוה אלהיכם ואת עמו ישראל

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 והכונו (והכינו) לבית אבותיכם כמחלקותיכם--בכתב דויד מלך ישראל ובמכתב שלמה בנו

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

5 ועמדו בקדש לפלוגת בית האבות לאחיכם בני העם--וחלקת בית אב ללוים

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 ושחטו הפסח והתקדשו והכינו לאחיכם לעשות כדבר יהוה ביד משה

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 וירם יאשיהו לבני העם צאן כבשים ובני עזים הכל לפסחים לכל הנמצא למספר שלשים אלף ובקר שלשת אלפים אלה מרכוש המלך

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

8 ושריו לנדבה לעם לכהנים וללוים--הרימו חלקיה וזכריהו ויחיאל נגידי בית האלהים לכהנים נתנו לפסחים אלפים ושש מאות ובקר שלש מאות

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 וכונניהו (וכנניהו) ושמעיהו ונתנאל אחיו וחשביהו ויעיאל ויוזבד--שרי הלוים הרימו ללוים לפסחים חמשת אלפים ובקר חמש מאות

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 ותכון העבודה ויעמדו הכהנים על עמדם והלוים על מחלקותם כמצות המלך

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 וישחטו הפסח ויזרקו הכהנים מידם והלוים מפשיטים

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 ויסירו העלה לתתם למפלגות לבית אבות לבני העם להקריב ליהוה ככתוב בספר משה וכן לבקר

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 ויבשלו הפסח באש כמשפט והקדשים בשלו בסירות ובדודים ובצלחות ויריצו לכל בני העם

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 ואחר הכינו להם ולכהנים--כי הכהנים בני אהרן בהעלות העולה והחלבים עד לילה והלוים הכינו להם ולכהנים בני אהרן

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 והמשררים בני אסף על מעמדם כמצות דויד ואסף והימן וידתון חוזה המלך והשערים לשער ושער אין להם לסור מעל עבדתם--כי אחיהם הלוים הכינו להם

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 ותכון כל עבודת יהוה ביום ההוא לעשות הפסח והעלות עלות על מזבח יהוה--כמצות המלך יאשיהו

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 ויעשו בני ישראל הנמצאים את הפסח בעת ההיא ואת חג המצות שבעת ימים

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 ולא נעשה פסח כמהו בישראל מימי שמואל הנביא וכל מלכי ישראל לא עשו כפסח אשר עשה יאשיהו והכהנים והלוים וכל יהודה וישראל הנמצא ויושבי ירושלם

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 בשמונה עשרה שנה למלכות יאשיהו--נעשה הפסח הזה

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

20 אחרי כל זאת אשר הכין יאשיהו את הבית עלה נכו מלך מצרים להלחם בכרכמיש על פרת ויצא לקראתו יאשיהו

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 וישלח אליו מלאכים לאמר מה לי ולך מלך יהודה לא עליך אתה היום כי אל בית מלחמתי ואלהים אמר לבהלני חדל לך מאלהים אשר עמי ואל ישחיתך

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 ולא הסב יאשיהו פניו ממנו כי להלחם בו התחפש ולא שמע אל דברי נכו מפי אלהים ויבא להלחם בבקעת מגדו

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 וירו הירים למלך יאשיהו ויאמר המלך לעבדיו העבירוני כי החליתי מאד

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

24 ויעבירהו עבדיו מן המרכבה וירכיבהו על רכב המשנה אשר לו ויוליכהו ירושלם וימת ויקבר בקברות אבתיו וכל יהודה וירושלם מתאבלים על יאשיהו

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 ויקונן ירמיהו על יאשיהו ויאמרו כל השרים והשרות בקינותיהם על יאשיהו עד היום ויתנום לחק על ישראל והנם כתובים על הקינות

[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 ויתר דברי יאשיהו וחסדיו--ככתוב בתורת יהוה

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 ודבריו הראשנים והאחרנים--הנם כתובים על ספר מלכי ישראל ויהודה