Josiah Keeps the Passover^(A)

35 Now ^(B)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the ^(C)fourteenth day of the first month. ² And he set the priests in their ^(D)duties and ^(E)encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord. ³ Then he said to the Levites ^(F)who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: ^(G)“Put the holy ark ^(H)in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. ^(I)It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves ^(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 holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. ⁶ So slaughter the Passover offerings, ^(N)consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah ^(O)gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from 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 Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from 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 Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and 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 Passover offerings; and the priests ^(U)sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites ^(V)skinned the animals. ¹² Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written ^(W)in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. ¹³ Also they ^(X)roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they ^(Y)boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. ¹⁴ Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in 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, were in 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 the Lord was prepared the same 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 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 have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with 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 in one of the 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 they are written in the Laments.

²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz^(A)

36 Then ^(B)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. ^2 [a]Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ⁴ Then the king of Egypt made ^[b]Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took ^[c]Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim^(C)

^5 (D)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did ^(E)evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ^6 (F)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in ^[d]bronze fetters to ^(G)carry him off to Babylon. ^7 (H)Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then ^[e]Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin^(I)

^9 (J)Jehoiachin was ^[f]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ At the turn of the year ^(K)King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, ^(L)with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and made ^(M)Zedekiah,^{[g] [h]}Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(N)

^11 (O)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and ^(P)did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ¹³ And he also ^(Q)rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he ^(R)stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(S)

^15 (T)And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶ But ^(U)they mocked the messengers of God, ^(V)despised His words, and ^(W)scoffed at His prophets, until the ^(X)wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

^17 (Y)Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who ^(Z)killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (AA)And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. ^19 (AB)Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. ²⁰ And ^(AC)those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, ^(AD)where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(AE)Jeremiah, until the land ^(AF)had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate ^(AG)she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus^(AH)

^22 (AI)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(AJ)Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of ^(AK)Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those ^(A)things which ^[a]have been fulfilled among us, ² just as those who ^(B)from the beginning were ^(C)eyewitnesses and ministers of the word ^(D)delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having ^[b]had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, ^(E)most excellent Theophilus, ^4 (F)that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias

⁵ There was ^(G)in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, ^(H)of the division of ^(I)Abijah. His ^(J)wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸ So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, ^[c]his lot fell ^(K)to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ^10 (L)And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of ^(M)the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, ^(N)he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(O)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and ^(P)many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be ^(Q)great in the sight of the Lord, and ^(R)shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(S)even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ^17 (T)He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, ^(U)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

¹⁹ And the angel answered and said to him, “I am ^(V)Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you ^[d]these glad ^(W)tidings. ²⁰ But behold, ^(X)you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

²³ So it was, as soon as ^(Y)the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. ²⁴ Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to ^(Z)take away my reproach among people.”

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin ^(AA)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, ^(AB)“Rejoice, highly favored one, ^(AC)the Lord is with you; ^[e]blessed are you among women!”

²⁹ But ^[f]when she saw him, ^(AD)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found ^(AE)favor with God. ^31 (AF)And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and ^(AG)shall call His name Jesus. ³² He will be great, ^(AH)and will be called the Son of the Highest; and ^(AI)the Lord God will give Him the ^(AJ)throne of His ^(AK)father David. ^33 (AL)And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I ^[g]do not know a man?”

³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, ^(AM)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called ^(AN)the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(AO)with God nothing will be impossible.”

³⁸ Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.