CHAPTER 35
Then Josiah
celebrated
the Passover
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 house
of the LORD.
To the Levites
who taught
all
Israel
and were holy
to the LORD,
Josiah said:
“Put
the holy
ark
in the temple
built
by Solomon
son
of David
king
of Israel.
It is not to be
carried around
on your shoulders.
Now
serve
the LORD
your God
and His people
Israel.
Prepare
yourselves by your families
in your divisions,
according to the instructions written
by David
king
of Israel
and
his son
Solomon.
Moreover, stand
in the Holy Place
by the divisions
of the families
of your fellow countrymen,
the lay people,
and according to the divisions
of the houses
of the Levites.
Slaughter
the Passover lambs,
consecrate yourselves,
and make preparations
for your fellow countrymen
to carry out
the word
of the LORD
given by
Moses.”
From his
own
flocks and herds,
Josiah
contributed
30,000
lambs
and goats
plus 3,000
bulls
for the Passover offerings
for all
the people
who were present.
His officials
also contributed
willingly
to the people
and priests
and Levites.
Hilkiah,
Zechariah,
and Jehiel,
the administrators
of the house
of God,
gave
the priests
2,600
Passover offerings
and 300
bulls.
Additionally, Conaniah
and his brothers
Shemaiah
and Nethanel,
as well as Hashabiah,
Jeiel,
and Jozabad,
officers
of the Levites,
donated
to the Levites
5,000
Passover offerings
and 500
bulls.
So the service
was prepared;
the priests
stood
in
their places
and the Levites
in
their divisions
according to the king's
command.
And they slaughtered
the Passover lambs,
while the priests
sprinkled the blood handed to them
and the Levites
skinned the animals.
They set aside
the burnt offerings
to be given
to the divisions
of the families
of the lay people
to offer
to the LORD,
as is written
in the Book
of Moses;
and they did the same
with the bulls.
They roasted
the Passover animals
on the fire
according to regulation,
and they boiled
the other holy offerings
in pots,
kettles,
and bowls
and quickly brought
them to the lay people.
Afterward,
they made preparations
for themselves
and for the priests,
since
the priests,
the descendants
of Aaron,
were offering up
burnt offerings
and fat
until
nightfall.
So the Levites
made preparations
for themselves
and for the priests,
the descendants
of Aaron.
The singers,
the descendants
of Asaph,
were at
their stations
according to the command
of David,
Asaph,
Heman,
and Jeduthun
the king’s
seer.
And the gatekeepers
at each gate
did not
need to leave
their position,
because
their fellow
Levites
made preparations
for them.
So on that
day
the entire
service
of the LORD
was carried out
for celebrating
the Passover
and offering
burnt offerings
on
the altar
of the LORD,
according to the command
of King
Josiah.
The Israelites
who were present
also observed
the Passover
at that
time,
as well as the Feast
of Unleavened Bread
for seven
days.
No
such
Passover
had been observed
in Israel
since the days
of Samuel
the prophet.
None
of the kings
of Israel
ever observed
a Passover
like the one that
Josiah
observed
with the priests,
the Levites,
all
Judah,
the Israelites
who were present,
and the people
of Jerusalem.
After
all
this,
when
Josiah
had set
the temple in order,
Neco
king
of Egypt
marched up
to fight
at Carchemish
by
the Euphrates,
and Josiah
went out
to confront him.
But Neco sent
messengers
to him,
saying,
“What is the issue between you and me,
O king
of Judah?
I have not
come against
you
today,
but
I am fighting
another dynasty.
God
told
me to hurry;
so stop
opposing God,
who
is with me,
or
He will destroy you!"
Josiah, however,
did not
turn away
from him;
instead,
in order to engage him in battle,
he disguised himself.
He did not
listen
to
Neco’s
words
from the mouth
of God,
but went
to fight him
on the Plain
of Megiddo.
There the archers
shot
King
Josiah,
who
said
to his servants,
“Take me away,
for
I am severely
wounded!”
So his servants
took him
out
of his chariot,
put him
in
his second
chariot,
and brought him
to Jerusalem,
where he died.
And Josiah was buried
in the tomb
of his fathers,
and all
Judah
and Jerusalem
mourned
for
him.
Then Jeremiah
lamented
over
Josiah,
and to
this day
all
the choirs of men
and women
sing
laments
over
Josiah.
They established
them as a statute
for
Israel,
and indeed
they are written
in
the Book of Laments.
As for the rest
of the acts
of Josiah,
along with his deeds of loving devotion
according to what is written
in the Law
of the LORD,
and his words,
from beginning
to end,
they are indeed
written
in
the Book
of the Kings
of Israel
and Judah.