²⁰After King Josiah had done all this for the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led an army to fight at Carchemish on the River Euphrates. Josiah tried to stop him, ²¹but Neco sent Josiah this message: “This war I am fighting does not concern you, King of Judah. I have not come to fight you, but to fight my enemies, and God has told me to hurry. God is on my side, so don’t oppose me, or he will destroy you.” ²²But Josiah was determined to fight. He refused to listen to what God was saying through King Neco, so he disguised himself and went into battle on the plain of Megiddo.

²³During the battle King Josiah was struck by Egyptian arrows. He ordered his servants, “Take me away; I’m badly hurt!” ²⁴They lifted him out of his chariot, placed him in a second chariot which he had there, and took him to Jerusalem. There he died and was buried in the royal tombs. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned his death.

²⁵The prophet Jeremiah composed a lament for King Josiah. It has become a custom in Israel for the singers, both men and women, to use this song when they mourn for him. The song is found in the collection of laments.

²⁶Everything that Josiah did—his devotion to the Lord, his obedience to the Law, ²⁷and his history from beginning to end—is all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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