Josiah Celebrates the Passover
1
Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalm,
and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2
He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them
in the service of the LORD's temple.
3
He said to the Levites, who instructed 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.
4
Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the directions
written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.
5
"Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision
of the families of your fellow countrymen, the lay people.
6
Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for
your fellow countrymen, doing what the LORD commanded through Moses."
7
Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousnad
sheep and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle -
all from the king's own possessions.
8
His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priest and Levites.
Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the adminstrators of God's temple,
gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.
9
Also Conaniah along wth Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah,
Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand
Pasover 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 as the king had ordered.
11
The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests sprinkled 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 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,
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 sacrficing the burnt offerings
and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for
themselves and for the Aaronic priests
15
The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David,
Asaph, Hemen 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 Feast 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 priest, 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.
The Death of Josiah
20
After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt
went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out
to meet him in battle.
21
But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What quarrel is there between
you and me, O king of Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this tme,
but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry;
so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you."
22
Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himslef
to engage him in battle. He would not listen to that Neco had said at
God's command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.
23
Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, "Take me away;
I am badly wounded."
24
So they took him out of his chariot, put him in the other chariot
he had and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in
the tombs of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.
25
Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this all the men and women
singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition
in Israel and are written in the Laments.
26
The other events of Josiah's reign and his acts of devotion,
according to what is written in the Law of the LORD -
27
all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of
the kings of Israel and Judah.