2 Chronicles 35

35^*Moreover ^aJosiah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the ^bfourteenth day of the first month. ²And he set the priests in their charges, and ^cencouraged them to the service of the house of the Lord, ³And said unto the Levites ^dthat taught all Israel, which were holy unto the Lord, ^ePut the holy ark ^fin the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; ^git shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the Lord your God, and his people Israel, ⁴And prepare yourselves ^hby the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the ⁱwriting of David king of Israel, and according to the ^kwriting of Solomon his son. ⁵And ^lstand in the holy place according to the ^mdivisions of ^†the families of the fathers of your brethren ^†the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites. ⁶So kill the passover, and ⁿsanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. ⁷And Josiah ^†gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the ^opassover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of ^pthe king’s substance. ⁸And his princes ^†gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: ^qHilkiah and ^rZechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the ^opassover offerings two thousand and six hundred ^ssmall cattle, and three hundred oxen. ^9uConaniah also, and ^uShemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, ^†gave unto the Levites for ^opassover offerings five thousand ^ssmall cattle, and five hundred oxen. ¹⁰So the service was prepared, and the priests ^xstood in their place, and the Levites ^yin their courses, according to the king’s commandment. ¹¹And ^zthey killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled ^athe blood from their hands, and ^bthe Levites flayed them. ¹²And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. ¹³And they ^croasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings ^csod they in ^dpots, and in ^ecaldrons, and in ^fpans, and ^†divided them speedily among all the people. ¹⁴And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and ^fthe fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their ^†place, according to the commandment of ^gDavid, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s ^hseer; and ⁱthe porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; ⁱⁱfor their brethren the Levites prepared for them. ¹⁶So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josiah. ¹⁷And the children of Israel that were ^†present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of ^junleavened bread seven days. ¹⁸And ^kthere was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of ^lSamuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of ^mIsrael keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were ^†present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.

^20*nAfter all this, when Josiah had prepared the ^†temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against ^oCarchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. ²¹But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, ^pWhat have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against ^†the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: ^qforbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. ²²Nevertheless Josiah would not ^rturn his face from him, but ^sdisguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho ^tfrom the mouth of God, and came to fight in the ^yvalley of ^uMegiddo. ²³And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore ^†wounded. ^24xHis servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried ^||in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem ^ymourned for Josiah. ²⁵And Jeremiah ^zlamented for Josiah: and all ^athe singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them ^ban ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his ^†goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the Lord, ²⁷And his deeds, ^cfirst and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.