2 Imilando 35
1 UJosiya wasesenzela iNkosi iphasika eJerusalema; basebehlaba iphasika ngolwetshumi lane lwenyanga yokuqala.
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 Wasemisa abapristi kumfanelo zabo, wabaqinisela inkonzo yendlu yeNkosi.
Josiah assigned to the priests the tasks that they should perform at the temple and encouraged them to do their work well.
3 Wasesithi kumaLevi ayefundisa uIsrayeli wonke ayengcwele eNkosini: Fakani umtshokotsho ongcwele endlini uSolomoni indodana kaDavida inkosi yakoIsrayeli ayakhayo; kakusengumthwalo kini emahlombe. Khathesi khonzani iNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu labantu bayo uIsrayeli.
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 Njalo lizilungise ngokwendlu yaboyihlo ngezigaba zenu, njengombhalo kaDavida inkosi yakoIsrayeli lanjengombhalo kaSolomoni indodana yakhe.
Divide yourselves into clans, obeying the instructions that King David and his son Solomon wrote.
5 Lime endaweni engcwele ngokwezigaba zendlu yaboyise babafowenu, abantwana besizwe, lesigaba sendlu kayise wamaLevi.
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 Lihlabe iphasika, lizingcwelise, lilungisele abafowenu, ukwenza njengokwelizwi leNkosi ngesandla sikaMozisi.
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 UJosiya wasenika abantwana babantu umhlambi wamawundlu lamazinyane embuzi, konke kungokwamaphasika, kwabo bonke abatholakalayo, ngenani eliyizinkulungwane ezingamatshumi amathathu, lenkunzi ezizinkulungwane ezintathu; lokhu kwakuvela empahleni yenkosi.
Josiah provided [from his own flocks and herds] 30,000 sheep and goats for the Passover sacrifices.
8 Iziphathamandla zakhe zasezinika abantu, abapristi lamaLevi ngokukhululeka. OHilikhiya loZekhariya loJehiyeli, izinduna zendlu yeNkosi, banikelela amaphasika kubapristi amazinyane azinkulungwane ezimbili lamakhulu ayisithupha, lenkunzi ezingamakhulu amathathu.
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 OKonaniya loShemaya loNethaneli, abafowabo, loHashabhiya loJeyiyeli loJozabadi, izinduna zamaLevi, basebenikelela amaphasika kumaLevi amazinyane azinkulungwane ezinhlanu, lenkunzi ezingamakhulu amahlanu.
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 Ngokunjalo inkonzo yalungiswa; abapristi basebesima endaweni yabo, lamaLevi ngezigaba zawo, njengokomlayo wenkosi.
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 Basebehlaba iphasika, abapristi bafafaza kuvela ezandleni zabo, lamaLevi ahlinza.
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 Basebesusa iminikelo yokutshiswa ukuyinika njengokwezigaba zendlu yaboyise kubantwana babantu ukuze banikele eNkosini, njengokubhaliweyo egwalweni lukaMozisi. Ngokunjalo langezinkunzi.
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 Basebesosa iphasika ngomlilo njengokwesimiso; kodwa izinto ezingcwele bazipheka ngamabhodo langezimbiza langezindengezi, bakusa masinyane kubo bonke abantwana babantu.
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 Lemva kwalokho basebezilungisela bona labapristi, ngoba abapristi amadodana kaAroni babesekunikeleni iminikelo yokutshiswa lamahwahwa kwaze kwaba sebusuku; ngakho amaLevi azilungisela wona labapristi amadodana kaAroni.
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 Labahlabeleli amadodana kaAsafi babesendaweni yabo njengokomlayo kaDavida, loAsafi, loHemani, loJeduthuni umboni wenkosi; labagcini bamasango babesesangweni lonke; kwakungesikwabo ukusuka enkonzweni yabo, ngoba abafowabo amaLevi abalungisela.
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 Yasilungiswa yonke inkonzo yeNkosi ngalolosuku ukwenza iphasika lokunikela iminikelo yokutshiswa phezu kwelathi leNkosi, njengokomlayo wenkosi uJosiya.
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 Abantwana bakoIsrayeli ababekhona basebesenza iphasika ngalesosikhathi, lomkhosi wesinkwa esingelamvubelo, insuku eziyisikhombisa.
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 Njalo kalenziwanga iphasika elinjengaleli koIsrayeli kusukela ensukwini zikaSamuweli umprofethi; lawo wonke amakhosi akoIsrayeli kawenzanga iphasika elinje uJosiya alenzayo, labapristi lamaLevi, loJuda loIsrayeli wonke ababekhona, labahlali beJerusalema.
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 Ngomnyaka wetshumi lesificaminwembili wokubusa kukaJosiya iphasika leli lenziwa.
They celebrated this Passover Festival when Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years.
20 Emva kwakho konke lokho, uJosiya eseyilungisile indlu, uNeko inkosi yeGibhithe wenyuka ukuyakulwa leKarikemeshi eYufrathi; loJosiya waphuma ukuyamelana laye.
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 Kodwa wathuma izithunywa kuye esithi: Ngilani lawe, nkosi yakoJuda? Kangenyukelanga ukumelana lawe wena lamuhla, kodwa ngimelene lendlu elwa lami. Ngoba uNkulunkulu uthe ngiphangise; yekela wena ukuphikisana loNkulunkulu, olami, ukuze angakubhubhisi.
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 Kodwa uJosiya kaphendulanga ubuso bakhe kuye, kodwa wazifihla isimo ukuze alwe laye; njalo kawalalelanga amazwi kaNeko avela emlonyeni kaNkulunkulu, kodwa weza ukulwa esihotsheni seMegido.
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 Abatshoki bemitshoko basebemciba uJosiya; inkosi yasisithi encekwini zayo: Ngisusani ngoba ngizwa ubuhlungu obukhulu.
Some Egyptian archers shot King Josiah. He told his officers, “Take me away from here because I am badly wounded.”
24 Inceku zakhe zasezimkhupha enqoleni, zamgadisa enqoleni yesibili ayelayo, zamletha eJerusalema. Wasesifa, wangcwatshelwa emangcwabeni aboyise; wonke uJuda leJerusalema basebemlilela uJosiya.
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 LoJeremiya wenza isililo ngoJosiya. Labo bonke abahlabeleli labahlabelelikazi bakhuluma ngoJosiya ezililweni zabo kuze kube lamuhla. Bazenza zaba yisimiso koIsrayeli; khangela-ke, zibhaliwe ezililweni.
[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 Ezinye-ke zezindaba zikaJosiya, lezisa zakhe njengokubhaliweyo emlayweni weNkosi,
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 izindaba zakhe-ke, ezokuqala lezokucina, khangela, zibhaliwe egwalweni lwamakhosi akoIsrayeli lawakoJuda.
