2 Chronicles 35:1–17

The Passover Observed Again

¹Then Josiah ^acelebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and ^bthey slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²He set the priests in their offices and ^aencouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord.

³He also said to ^athe Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; ^bit will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel.

⁴“^aPrepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and ^baccording to the writing of his son Solomon.

⁵“Moreover, ^astand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brethren the ¹lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household.

⁶“Now ^aslaughter the Passover animals, ^bsanctify yourselves and prepare for your brethren to do according to the word of the Lord by Moses.”

⁷Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions.

⁸His officers also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, ^athe officials of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls.

^9aConaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls.

¹⁰So the service was prepared, and ^athe priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command.

^111aThey slaughtered the Passover animals, and while ^bthe priests sprinkled ²the blood received from their hand, ^cthe Levites skinned them.

¹²Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls.

¹³So ^athey roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled ^bthe holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people.

¹⁴Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their stations ^aaccording to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and ^bthe gatekeepers at each gate did not have to depart from their service, because the Levites their brethren prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the Lord was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord according to the command of King Josiah.

¹⁷Thus ^athe sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days.