2 Chronicles 35
New English Translation
Josiah Observes the Passover
35 Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord’s temple. 3 He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel! 4 Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions, as instructed in writing by King David of Israel and his son Solomon. 5 Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites, represent the family divisions of your countrymen.[a] 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to celebrate[b] according to the Lord’s message which came through Moses.”
7 From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle.[c] 8 His officials also willingly contributed to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the leaders of God’s temple, gave the priests 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle. 9 Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle. 10 Preparations were made,[d] and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king. 11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood,[e] while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses.[f] 13 They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They quickly served them to all the people. 14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet.[g] The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them. 16 So all the preparations for the Lord’s service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, as prescribed by King Josiah. 17 So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the residents of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.
Josiah’s Reign Ends
20 After Josiah had done all this for the temple,[h] King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River.[i] Josiah marched out to oppose him. 21 Necho[j] sent messengers to him, saying, “Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah?[k] I am not attacking you today, but the kingdom with which I am at war.[l] God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, or else he will destroy you.”[m] 22 But Josiah did not turn back from him;[n] he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously[o] the words of Necho which he had received from God; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo. 23 Archers shot King Josiah; the king ordered his servants, “Take me out of this chariot,[p] for I am seriously wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors;[q] all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah. 25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah which all the male and female singers use to mourn Josiah to this very day. It has become customary in Israel to sing these; they are recorded in the Book of Laments.
26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign, including the faithful acts he did in obedience to what is written in the law of the Lord[r] 27 and his accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded[s] in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 35:5 tn Heb “and stand in the sanctuary by the divisions of the house of the fathers for your brothers, the sons of the people, and a division of the house of a father for the Levites.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:6 tn Heb “to do,” here to celebrate Passover.
- 2 Chronicles 35:7 tn Heb “and Josiah supplied for the sons of the people sheep, lambs and sons of goats, the whole for the Passover sacrifices for everyone who was found according to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand cattle. These were from the property of the king.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:10 tn Heb “and the service was prepared.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:11 tn Heb “from their hand.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:12 tn Heb “and they put aside the burnt offering[s] to give them to the divisions of the house of the fathers for the sons of the people to bring near to the Lord as it is written in the scroll of Moses—and the same with the cattle.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:15 tn Or “seer.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:20 tn Heb “After all this, [by] which Josiah prepared the temple.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:20 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Neco) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “What to me and to you, king of Judah?”
- 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “Not against you, you, today, but against the house of my battle.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “Stop yourself from [opposing] God who is with me and let him not destroy you.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:22 tn Heb “and Josiah did not turn his face from him.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:22 tn Heb “listen to.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:23 tn Heb “carry me away.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:24 tn Heb “fathers.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:26 tn Heb “and his faithful acts according to what is written in the law of the Lord.”
- 2 Chronicles 35:27 tn Heb “look, they are written.”
2 Chronicles 35
New Living Translation
Josiah Celebrates Passover
35 Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the Lord would be celebrated in Jerusalem, and so the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.[a] 2 Josiah also assigned the priests to their duties and encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the Lord. 3 He issued this order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had been set apart to serve the Lord: “Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Report for duty according to the family divisions of your ancestors, following the directions of King David of Israel and the directions of his son Solomon.
5 “Then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and prepare to help those who come. Follow all the directions that the Lord gave through Moses.”
7 Then Josiah provided 30,000 lambs and young goats for the people’s Passover offerings, along with 3,000 cattle, all from the king’s own flocks and herds. 8 The king’s officials also made willing contributions to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of God’s Temple, gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats and 300 cattle as Passover offerings. 9 The Levite leaders—Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad—gave 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 cattle to the Levites for their Passover offerings.
10 When everything was ready for the Passover celebration, the priests and the Levites took their places, organized by their divisions, as the king had commanded. 11 The Levites then slaughtered the Passover lambs and presented the blood to the priests, who sprinkled the blood on the altar while the Levites prepared the animals. 12 They divided the burnt offerings among the people by their family groups, so they could offer them to the Lord as prescribed in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 Then they roasted the Passover lambs as prescribed; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and brought them out quickly so the people could eat them.
14 Afterward the Levites prepared Passover offerings for themselves and for the priests—the descendants of Aaron—because the priests had been busy from morning till night offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions. The Levites took responsibility for all these preparations.
15 The musicians, descendants of Asaph, were in their assigned places, following the commands that had been given by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer. The gatekeepers guarded the gates and did not need to leave their posts of duty, for their Passover offerings were prepared for them by their fellow Levites.
16 The entire ceremony for the Lord’s Passover was completed that day. All the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had commanded. 17 All the Israelites present in Jerusalem celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel. 19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.
Josiah Dies in Battle
20 After Josiah had finished restoring the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led his army up from Egypt to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River, and Josiah and his army marched out to fight him.[b] 21 But King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message:
“What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry! Do not interfere with God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”
22 But Josiah refused to listen to Neco, to whom God had indeed spoken, and he would not turn back. Instead, he disguised himself and led his army into battle on the plain of Megiddo. 23 But the enemy archers hit King Josiah with their arrows and wounded him. He cried out to his men, “Take me from the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
24 So they lifted Josiah out of his chariot and placed him in another chariot. Then they brought him back to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried there in the royal cemetery. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. 25 The prophet Jeremiah composed funeral songs for Josiah, and to this day choirs still sing these sad songs about his death. These songs of sorrow have become a tradition and are recorded in The Book of Laments.
26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion (carried out according to what was written in the Law of the Lord), 27 from beginning to end—all are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
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