2 Chronicles 35:1–17

Josiah’s Passover Observance

35Josiah observed the Lord’s Passover ^xand slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. ^y2He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in the Lord’s temple. ^z3He said to the Levites who taught all Israel ^athe holy things of the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, ^bnow serve Yahweh your God and His people Israel.

⁴“Organize your ancestral houses by your divisions ^caccording to the written instruction of David king of Israel and that of his son Solomon. ^d5Serve in the holy place by the divisions of the ancestral houses for your brothers, the lay people, ^eand the distribution of the tribal household of the Levites. ^f6Slaughter the Passover lambs, ^gconsecrate yourselves, ^hand make preparations for your brothers to carry out the word of the Lord through Moses.”

⁷Then Josiah donated 30,000 sheep, lambs, and young goats, plus 3,000 bulls from his own possessions, for the Passover sacrifices for all the lay people ⁱwho were present.

⁸His officials also donated willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, chief officials of God’s temple, gave 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 bulls for the priests. ⁹Conaniah ^jand his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated 5,000 Passover sacrifices for the Levites, plus 500 bulls.

¹⁰So the service was established; the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command. ^k11Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs, and while the Levites were skinning the animals, ^lthe priests sprinkled the blood ^mthey had been given. ⁿ¹²They removed the burnt offerings so that they might be given to the divisions of the ancestral houses of the lay people ^oto offer to the Lord, according to what is written in the book of Moses; they did the same with the bulls. ¹³They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to regulation. ^pThey boiled the holy sacrifices in pots, kettles, and bowls; and they quickly brought them to the lay people. ^q14Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

¹⁵The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. ^rAlso, the gatekeepers were at each gate. ^sNone of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the Lord was established that day for observing the Passover and for offering burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷The Israelites who were present in Judah also observed the Passover at that time and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. ^t