2 Chronicles 35

New King James Version

Josiah Keeps the Passover^(A)

35 Now^(B)Josiah kept a Passover to theLordin Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passoverlambson the^(C)fourteenthdayof the first month.² And he set the priests in their^(D)duties and^(E)encouraged them for the service of the house of theLord.³ Then he said to the Levites^(F)who taught all Israel, who were holy to theLord:^(G)“Put the holy ark^(H)in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built.^(I)It shallno longerbea burden onyourshoulders. Now serve theLordyour God and His people Israel.⁴ Prepareyourselves^(J)according to your fathers’^[a]houses, according to your divisions, following the^(K)written instruction of David king of Israel and the^(L)written instruction of Solomon his son.⁵ And^(M)stand in the holyplaceaccording to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren thelaypeople, andaccording tothe division of the father’s house of the Levites.⁶ So slaughter the Passoverofferings,^(N)consecrate yourselves, and preparethemfor your brethren, thattheymay do according to the word of theLordby the hand of Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah^(O)gave thelaypeople lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passoverofferingsfor all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; thesewerefrom the king’s^(P)possessions.⁸ And his^(Q)leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passoverofferingstwo thousand six hundredfrom the flock,and three hundred cattle.⁹ Also^(R)Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passoverofferingsfive thousandfrom the flockand five hundred cattle.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared, and the priests^(S)stood in their places, and the^(T)Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command.¹¹ And they slaughtered the Passoverofferings;and the priests^(U)sprinkledthe bloodwith their hands, while the Levites^(V)skinnedthe animals.¹² Then they removed the burnt offerings thattheymight give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of thelaypeople, to offer to theLord, asit iswritten^(W)in the Book of Moses. And sothey didwith the cattle.¹³ Also they^(X)roasted the Passoverofferingswith fire according to the ordinance; but theotherholyofferingsthey^(Y)boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and dividedthemquickly among all thelaypeople.¹⁴ Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron,were busyin offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.¹⁵ And the singers, the sons of Asaph,werein their places, according to the^(Z)command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers^(AA)were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of theLordwas prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of theLord, according to the command of King Josiah.¹⁷ And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of^(AB)Unleavened Bread for seven days.^18 (AC)There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Dies in Battle^(AD)

^20 (AE)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against^(AF)Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.²¹ But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah?I havenotcomeagainst you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrainfrom meddling withGod, whoiswith me, lest He destroy you.”²² Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but^(AG)disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

²³ And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.”^24 (AH)His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried inone ofthe tombs of his fathers. And^(AI)all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵ Jeremiah also^(AJ)lamented for^(AK)Josiah. And to this day^(AL)all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations.^(AM)They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed theyarewritten in the Laments.

²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according towhat waswritten in the Law of theLord,²⁷ and his deeds from first to last, indeed theyarewritten in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.