Josiah’s Reign Ends

²⁰ After Josiah had done all this for the temple,^[a] King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River.^[b] Josiah marched out to oppose him. ²¹ Necho^[c] sent messengers to him, saying, “Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah?^[d] I am not attacking you today, but the kingdom with which I am at war.^[e] God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, or else he will destroy you.”^{[f] 22} But Josiah did not turn back from him;^[g] he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously^[h] 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,^[i] 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;^[j] 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^{[k] 27} and his accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded^[l] in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.