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35 Forsooth Josiah made pask to the Lord in Jerusalem, the which pask was offered in the fourteenth day of the first month; (And Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover beasts were killed on the fourteenth day of the first month;)

and he ordained priests in their offices; and commanded them for to serve in the house of the Lord. (and he ordained the priests in their offices; and encouraged them to do their service well in the House of the Lord.)

And he spake to the deacons, at whose teaching all Israel was hallowed to the Lord, Set ye, he said, the ark of the Lord in the saintuary of the temple, that Solomon, king of Israel, the son of David builded; for ye shall no more bear it about (And he said to the Levites, who taught all Israel, and were dedicated to the Lord, Put ye the Ark of the Lord in the sanctuary of the Temple, that Solomon, the king of Israel, the son of David, built; for no more shall ye carry it about). But now serve ye the Lord your God, and his people Israel,

and make you(rselves) ready by your houses and families, in the partings of each by himself (in each of your divisions), as David, king of Israel, commanded, and as Solomon, his son, ordained;

and serve ye in the saintuary by the families and (the) companies of (the) deacons,

and be ye hallowed, and offer ye (the) pask; also make ready your brethren, that they may do after the words, which the Lord spake by the hand of Moses. (and be ye consecrated, or purified, and kill ye the Passover lambs; and prepare for your kinsmen, to do after the words, which the Lord spoke through Moses.)

Furthermore Josiah gave to all the people, that was found there in the solemnity of pask, that is, to make the solemnity, lambs and kids of the flocks, and of residue sheep he gave thirty thousand, and of oxes three thousand; these things were given of the substance of the king. (And Josiah gave to all the people who were there for the Passover Feast, that is, to all who were there to keep the Feast, lambs and goat kids of the flocks, and he gave thirty thousand sheep, and three thousand oxen; these things were given out of the king’s substance, or from his own possessions.)

And his dukes offered those things which they avowed by their free will, as well to the people, as to priests and deacons (And his leaders offered those things which they vowed by their own free will, to the people, as well as to the priests, and the Levites). And Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, princes of the house of the Lord, gave to [the] priests, to make (the) pask in common, two thousand and six hundred sheep, and three hundred oxen.

And Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, and his brethren, and also Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, the princes of deacons, gave to other deacons, to make [the] pask, five thousand of sheep, and five hundred oxen. (And Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, and his kinsmen, and also Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, gave to the other Levites, to make the Passover, five thousand sheep, and five hundred oxen.)

10 And the service was made ready; and [the] priests stood in their office, and deacons in their companies (and the Levites in their divisions), by the commandment of the king;

11 and pask was offered. And [the] priests sprinkled their hands with blood, and deacons drew off the skins of sacrificed beasts, (and so the Passover beasts were killed. And the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, and the Levites drew off the skins of the sacrificed beasts,)

12 and they parted those sacrifices, for to give them by the houses and families of all men that were come thither to make (the) pask; and that those sacrifices should be offered to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses; and of oxen they did in like manner. (and they separated those sacrifices, in order to distribute them by the houses and the families of all those who were come there to keep the Passover; and so that those sacrifices should be offered to the Lord, as it is written in The Book of Moses; and they did in like manner with the oxen.)

13 And they roasted the pask lamb upon the fire, after that that is written in the law. And they seethed peaceable sacrifices in pans, and in cauldrons, and in pots, and in haste they dealed it to all the people; (And they roasted the Passover lamb upon the fire, after what is written in the Law. And they boiled the peace offerings in pans, and cauldrons, and pots, and then they gave it out hastily, or quickly, to all the people;)

14 but they made ready afterward to themselves, and to priests; for the priests were occupied unto [the] night in the offering of burnt sacrifices and of the inner fatnesses. Wherefore the deacons made ready their part at the last to themselves, and to the priests, the sons of Aaron. (and afterward the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests; for the priests were occupied into the night in offering the burnt sacrifices and the inner fatnesses. And so the Levites prepared their portion lastly for themselves, and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.)

15 And [the] singers, the sons of Asaph, stood in their order, by the commandment of David, and of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, the prophets of the king; but the porters kept their office by each gate, so that they went not away from their service, soothly (not) in a point, that is, they were in no time absent from their office; wherefore and the deacons, their brethren, made ready meats to them (and the guards, or the doorkeepers, kept watch at each gate, so that they went not away from their service, truly at no point, that is, they were never absent from their station; and so the Levites, their kinsmen, prepared their meats).

16 Therefore all the religion of the Lord was fulfilled rightfully in that day, that they made pask (And so all the service of the Lord was rightfully done on that day, so that they kept the Passover), and offered burnt sacrifices upon the altar of the Lord, by the commandment of king Josiah.

17 And the sons of Israel, that were found there, made pask in that time, and the solemnity of therf loaves seven days. (And the Israelites, who were found there, kept the Passover at that time, and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.)

18 No pask was like this in Israel, from the days of Samuel, the prophet; but neither any of the kings of Israel made pask as Josiah did, to [the] priests and deacons, and to all Judah and Israel, that was found there, and to the dwellers of Jerusalem. (There was no Passover like this in Israel, since the days of the prophet Samuel; nor did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah did, with the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel, who were found there, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.)

19 This pask was hallowed in the eighteenth year of the realm of Josiah. (This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.)

20 After that Josiah had repaired the temple, Necho, the king of Egypt, went up to fight in Charchemish beside Euphrates; and Josiah went forth into his meeting. (After that Josiah had repaired the Temple, Necho, the king of Egypt, went up to fight in Charchemish, which was on the banks of the Euphrates River; and Josiah went out against him.)

21 And Necho said by messengers sent to Josiah, King of Judah, what cause of strife is to me and to thee? I come not against thee today, but I fight against another household, to which God bade me go in haste; cease thou to do thus against God, that is with me, lest he slay thee. (And Necho sent messengers who said to Josiah, King of Judah, what cause of strife is there between me and thee? I did not come against thee today, but I fight against another household, to whom God hath ordered me to go in haste; cease thou to do thus against God, who is with me, lest he kill thee.)

22 But Josiah would not turn again, but he made ready battle against him; and he assented not to the words of Necho, by God’s mouth, but he went for to fight in the field of Megiddo. (But Josiah would not turn back, but he prepared battle array against him; and he assented not to the words of Necho, which were from God’s mouth, but he went out to fight in the field of Megiddo.)

23 And there he was wounded of archers, and Josiah said to his servants, Lead ye me out of the battle, for I am wounded greatly. (And there he was wounded by archers, and Josiah said to his servants, Lead ye me out of the battle, for I am greatly wounded.)

24 And they bare him over from that chariot into another chariot, that followed him, by custom of the king, and they brought him forth into Jerusalem; and he died there, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem bewailed him,

25 Jeremy most (of all), of whom all [the] singers and singeresses till into [the] present day rehearse (his) lamentations, either wailings, on Josiah (and Jeremiah bewailed him most of all, and all the singers and singeresses recite his lamentations, or his wailings, upon Josiah unto this present day); and it came forth as a law in Israel, Lo! it is said written in [the] Lamentations.

26 Forsooth the residue of [the] words of Josiah, and of his mercies, that be commanded in the law of the Lord, (And the rest of the words concerning Josiah, and the mercies that he did, that is, his righteous works, which be commanded in the Law of the Lord,)

27 and his works, the first and the last, be written in the book of [the] kings of Israel and of Judah. (and his first and last works, be written in The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel.)

Josiah Celebrates the Passover(A)

35 Josiah celebrated the Passover(B) to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord’s temple. He said to the Levites, who instructed(C) 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. Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions,(D) according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

“Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves(E) and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings,(F) and also three thousand cattle—all from the king’s own possessions.(G)

His officials also contributed(H) voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah,(I) Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. Also Konaniah(J) along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad,(K) the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover 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(L) as the king had ordered.(M) 11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered,(N) and the priests splashed against the altar 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 it 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,(O) 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 sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions(P) until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.

15 The musicians,(Q) the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman 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 Festival 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 priests, 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(R)

20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish(S) on the Euphrates,(T) and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21 But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told(U) 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(V) himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.

23 Archers(W) 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 his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments.(X) These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.(Y)

26 The other events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with 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.