Huldah Prophesies Disaster

²² So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent^[a] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. ²³ And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have forsaken me and ^(A)have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore ^(B)my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. ²⁶ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ²⁷ because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

^29 (C)Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹ And the king ^(D)stood in his place ^(E)and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³² Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ And Josiah took away ^(F)all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Josiah Keeps the Passover

35 ^(G)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb ^(H)on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He appointed the priests to their offices ^(I)and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. ³ And he said to the Levites ^(J)who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves ^(K)according to your fathers' houses by your divisions, ^(L)as prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel ^(M)and the document of Solomon his son. ⁵ And ^(N)stand in the Holy Place ^(O)according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers' household. ⁶ And slaughter the Passover lamb, and ^(P)consecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by^[b] Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; ^(Q)these were from the king's possessions. ⁸ And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. ^(R)Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. ⁹ Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls.

¹⁰ When the service had been prepared for, the priests ^(S)stood in their place, ^(T)and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command. ^11 (U)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests ^(V)threw the blood that they received from them ^(W)while the Levites flayed the sacrifices. ¹² And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. ^13 (X)And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they ^(Y)boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. ¹⁴ And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place ^(Z)according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's ^(AA)seer; ^(AB)and the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷ And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, ^(AC)and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ^18 (AD)No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and 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 Killed in Battle

^20 (AE)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at ^(AF)Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. ²¹ But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” ²² Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but ^(AG)disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of ^(AH)Megiddo. ²³ And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, ^(AI)“Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. ^(AJ)All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ^25 (AK)Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all ^(AL)the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

^(A)A Prayer of David.

Jesus Delivered to Pilate

27 ^(A)When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people ^(B)took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ² And they bound him and ^(C)led him away and ^(D)delivered him over to ^(E)Pilate the governor.

Judas Hangs Himself

³ Then when ^(F)Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^[a] was condemned, ^(G)he changed his mind and brought back ^(H)the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? ^(I)See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, ^(J)he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into ^(K)the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ Therefore ^(L)that field has been called the Field of Blood ^(M)to this day. ^9 (N)Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ^(O)“And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus Before Pilate

^11 (P)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^(Q)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ^(R)“You have said so.” ^12 (S)But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, ^(T)“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

^15 (U)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^(V)Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out ^(W)of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on ^(X)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^(Y)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^(Z)in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^(AA)ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^(AB)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(AC)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^(AD)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(AE)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(AF)this man's blood;^{[b] (AG)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(AH)“His blood be on us and ^(AI)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(AJ)scourged^[c] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (AK)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(AL)governor's headquarters,^[d] and they gathered the whole ^(AM)battalion^[e] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(AN)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(AO)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(AP)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(AQ)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(AR)led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion

^32 (AS)(AT)As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to ^(AU)carry his cross. ^33 (AV)And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ^34 (AW)they offered him wine to drink, mixed with ^(AX)gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, ^(AY)they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and ^(AZ)kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, ^(BA)the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two ^(BB)robbers were crucified with him, ^(BC)one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And ^(BD)those who passed by ^(BE)derided him, ^(BF)wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, ^(BG)“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^(BH)If you are ^(BI)the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ^42 (BJ)“He saved others; ^(BK)he cannot save himself. ^(BL)He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ^43 (BM)He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^44 (BN)And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour^[f] there was darkness over all the land^[g] until the ninth hour.^{[h] 46} And about the ninth hour Jesus ^(BO)cried out with a loud voice, saying, ^(BP)“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁷ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with ^(BQ)sour wine, and put it on a reed and ^(BR)gave it to him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(BS)cried out again with a loud voice and ^(BT)yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹ And behold, ^(BU)the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^(BV)the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^(BW)the saints ^(BX)who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^(BY)the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 (BZ)When the centurion and those who were with him, ^(CA)keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^(CB)“Truly this was the Son^[i] of God!”

⁵⁵ There were also ^(CC)many women there, looking on ^(CD)from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^(CE)ministering to him, ⁵⁶ among whom were ^(CF)Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^(CG)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (CH)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and ^(CI)laid it in his own new tomb, ^(CJ)which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^(CK)a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and ^(CL)the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of ^(CM)Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how ^(CN)that impostor said, while he was still alive, ^(CO)‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^(CP)lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have ^(CQ)a guard^[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by ^(CR)sealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Resurrection

28 ^(CS)Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ^(CT)the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^(CU)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ^3 (CV)His appearance was like lightning, and ^(CW)his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^(CX)became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, ^(CY)as he said. Come, see the place where he^[k] lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^(CZ)he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb ^(DA)with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus ^(DB)met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^(DC)took hold of his feet and ^(DD)worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^(DE)go and tell ^(DF)my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of ^(DG)the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ^(DH)‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to ^(DI)the governor's ears, we will ^(DJ)satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews ^(DK)to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples ^(DL)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they ^(DM)worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(DN)“All authority ^(DO)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (DP)Go therefore and ^(DQ)make disciples of ^(DR)all nations, ^(DS)baptizing them ^(DT)in^{[l] (DU)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(DV)to observe all that ^(DW)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(DX)I am with you always, to ^(DY)the end of the age.”