Josiah Keeps the Passover

35 ^(A)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb ^(B)on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He appointed the priests to their offices ^(C)and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. ³ And he said to the Levites ^(D)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 ^(E)according to your fathers' houses by your divisions, ^(F)as prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel ^(G)and the document of Solomon his son. ⁵ And ^(H)stand in the Holy Place ^(I)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 ^(J)consecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by^[a] 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; ^(K)these were from the king's possessions. ⁸ And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. ^(L)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 ^(M)stood in their place, ^(N)and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command. ^11 (O)And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests ^(P)threw the blood that they received from them ^(Q)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 (R)And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they ^(S)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 ^(T)according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's ^(U)seer; ^(V)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, ^(W)and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ^18 (X)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 (Y)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at ^(Z)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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)Megiddo. ²³ And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, ^(AC)“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. ^(AD)All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ^25 (AE)Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all ^(AF)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.

Judah's Decline

36 ^(AG)The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. ² Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and ^(AH)laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent^[b] of gold. ⁴ And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.

^5 (AI)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ^6 (AJ)Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(AK)and bound him in chains ^(AL)to take him to Babylon. ^7 (AM)Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. ^8 (AN)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

^9 (AO)Jehoiachin was eighteen^[c] years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ In ^(AP)the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, ^(AQ)with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother ^(AR)Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

^11 (AS)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before ^(AT)Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ^13 (AU)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. ^(AV)He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(AW)sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ^16 (AX)But they kept mocking the messengers of God, ^(AY)despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, ^(AZ)until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Jerusalem Captured and Burned

^17 (BA)Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (BB)And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. ^19 (BC)And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. ²⁰ He ^(BD)took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, ^(BE)and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had ^(BF)enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate ^(BG)it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

^22 (BH)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(BI)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^(BJ)the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ²³ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

Peter and Cornelius

10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of ^(A)what was known as the Italian Cohort, ² a devout man ^(B)who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. ^3 (C)About the ninth hour of the day^{[a] (D)}he saw clearly in a vision ^(E)an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” ⁴ And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms ^(F)have ascended ^(G)as a memorial before God. ⁵ And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. ⁶ He is lodging ^(H)with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, ⁸ and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter's Vision

⁹ The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, ^(I)Peter went up ^(J)on the housetop about ^(K)the sixth hour^[b] to pray. ¹⁰ And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into ^(L)a trance ¹¹ and saw ^(M)the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. ¹² In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. ¹³ And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; ^(N)for I have never eaten anything that is ^(O)common or ^(P)unclean.” ¹⁵ And the voice came to him again a second time, ^(Q)“What God has made clean, do not call common.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what ^(R)the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, ^(S)the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate ¹⁸ and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. ¹⁹ And while Peter was pondering ^(T)the vision, ^(U)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Rise and go down and ^(V)accompany them without hesitation,^[c] for I have sent them.” ²¹ And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” ²² And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and ^(W)God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by ^(X)a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and ^(Y)to hear what you have to say.” ²³ So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and ^(Z)some of ^(AA)the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and ^(AB)fell down at his feet and ^(AC)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter lifted him up, saying, ^(AD)“Stand up; I too am a man.” ²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew ^(AE)to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but ^(AF)God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. ²⁹ So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

³⁰ And Cornelius said, ^(AG)“Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at ^(AH)the ninth hour,^[d] and behold, ^(AI)a man stood before me in bright clothing ³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, ^(AJ)your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. ³² Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Lilies. A Testimony. Of ^(B)Asaph, a Psalm.