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Josiah Observes the Passover

35 Josiah kept[a] the Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the first month. And he set the priests at their posts and encouraged them in the service of the house of Yahweh. And he said to the Levites who were teaching all Israel, who were sanctified to Yahweh, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. There is no need to carry it on your shoulders. Now serve Yahweh your God and his people Israel. And prepare yourselves according to your families,[b] according to your working groups, according to the decree[c] of David king of Israel and according to the decree[d] of Solomon his son. And stand in the sanctuary according to the clans of your families[e] for your brothers, the lay people,[f] and a part of the family[g] of the Levites. And slaughter the Passover lamb and consecrate yourself and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

Then Josiah provided for the lay people[h] sheep, lambs, and young goats, all for the Passover for all who were found there, to the sum of thirty thousand, along with three thousand bulls. These were the possession of the king. And his officials contributed a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, commanders of the house of God, gave to the priests two thousand six hundred Passover lambs and three hundred bulls. Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jehozabad, commanders of the Levites, contributed to the Levites five thousand Passover lambs and five hundred bulls.

10 And when the work had been completed, the priests stood at their positions and the Levites in their working groups according to the command of the king. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hand, and the Levites flayed the sacrifices. 12 And they set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the clans of the families[i] for the lay people,[j] to offer to Yahweh according to what is written in the scroll of Moses. And thus they did with the bulls. 13 Then they roasted the Passover lamb in the fire according to the ordinance. And they boiled the holy offerings in pots, in kettles, and in dishes and brought it quickly to the lay people.[k] 14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants[l] of Aaron, were busy with offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the descendants[m] of Aaron. 15 And the singers, the descendants[n] of Asaph, were at their stations according to the decree[o] of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the seer of the king. And the gatekeepers were at each gate.[p] They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites had made preparations for them.

16 So all the service of Yahweh was prepared on that day to keep[q] the Passover and to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the Israelites who were present kept[r] the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18 And there was no Passover like it kept[s] in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. And none of the kings of Israel kept[t] a Passover like that which Josiah and the priests and the Levites, and all of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, kept.[u] 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.[v]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 35:1 Or “made”
  2. 2 Chronicles 35:4 Literally “the house of your fathers”
  3. 2 Chronicles 35:4 Or “writing”
  4. 2 Chronicles 35:4 Or “writing”
  5. 2 Chronicles 35:5 Literally “the house of your fathers”
  6. 2 Chronicles 35:5 Literally “sons of the people”
  7. 2 Chronicles 35:5 Literally “house of the father”
  8. 2 Chronicles 35:7 Literally “sons of the people”
  9. 2 Chronicles 35:12 Literally “house of the fathers”
  10. 2 Chronicles 35:12 Literally “sons of the people”
  11. 2 Chronicles 35:13 Literally “sons of the people”
  12. 2 Chronicles 35:14 Or “sons”
  13. 2 Chronicles 35:14 Or “sons”
  14. 2 Chronicles 35:15 Or “sons”
  15. 2 Chronicles 35:15 Or “command”
  16. 2 Chronicles 35:15 Literally “gate to gate”
  17. 2 Chronicles 35:16 Or “make”
  18. 2 Chronicles 35:17 Or “made”
  19. 2 Chronicles 35:18 Or “made”
  20. 2 Chronicles 35:18 Or “made”
  21. 2 Chronicles 35:18 Or “made”
  22. 2 Chronicles 35:19 Or “made”

Josiah Celebrates the Passover(A)

35 Josiah celebrated the Passover(B) to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord’s temple. He said to the Levites, who instructed(C) all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: “Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions,(D) according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

“Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves(E) and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings,(F) and also three thousand cattle—all from the king’s own possessions.(G)

His officials also contributed(H) voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah,(I) Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. Also Konaniah(J) along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad,(K) the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.

10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions(L) as the king had ordered.(M) 11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered,(N) and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed,(O) and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people. 14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions(P) until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.

15 The musicians,(Q) the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.

16 So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered. 17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

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