The Passover of Josiah
1 Josiah then celebrated a Pass over in honor of Yahweh in Jeru salem and they killed the passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2 He appointed certain functions to the priests and let them discharge the duties of Yahweh’s House.
3 Then he said to the Le vites, who were to instruct all Israel and who were consecrated to Yahweh, “The holy ark has been put in the house built by Solomon son of David, king of Israel, and it is no longer a burden for your shoulders. So you shall serve Yahweh your God and Israel your people in this way.
4 Stand in the holy place by families and orders, according to the written decree of David king of Israel and his son Solomon,
5 and let some be available to help each family of the people of Israel; for the Levites are to have a portion in each family.
6 Kill the animals for the festival, sanctify yourselves, and be at the disposal of your brothers in acting in accordance with the word of Yahweh which was spoken through Moses.”
7 Josiah then provided for the use of the people, lambs and kids from the flocks to the number of thirty thousand, all as Passover offerings for all who were pre sent, and three thousand bulls as well; all these animals came from the king’s possessions.
8 His officials, for their part, made provision for what the people, the priests and the Levites would use. The senior officials of the house of God, Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, also gave the priests two thousand six hundred lambs and kids and three hundred bulls as Passover victims.
9 The heads of the Levites, Cona niah, Shemaiah and his brothers Na thanel, Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, provided five thousand lambs and kids and five hundred bulls as Pass over victims for the Levites.
10 When everything for the Passover had been pre pared, the priests took their posts, and the Levites also in their orders as commanded by the king.
11 They killed the lambs and goats, and while the priests sprinkled the blood they received, the Levites cut up the victims.
12 They put aside the animals for the burnt offering and distributed to family groupings of the lay people, giving to each his offering to Yah weh, as is written in the Book of Moses; they did the same with the bulls.
13 They roasted the passover, as or dained, and boiled the sacred foods in pots, dishes, and pans, carrying them speedily to the people.
14 Afterward they prepared the passover for themselves and for the priests. Because the priests, the sons of Aaron, had been busy till nightfall offering the burnt offering and the fatty parts, the Levites prepared the passover for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
15 The musicians, the sons of Asaph, were at their places, in accordance with the ordinances of David; neither Asaph, Heman, Jedu thun the king’s pro phet, nor the keepers of each gate had to leave their duties, since their brothers the Le vites made all the preparations for them.
16 So the whole service of Yahweh was prepared that day to celebrate the Pass over and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, in accordance with the ordinances of King Josiah.
17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover and, for seven days, the feast of Unleavened Bread.
18 No Pass over like this one had ever been celebrated in Is rael since the days of the pro ph et Samuel; no king of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah with the priests, the Le vites, all of Judah and of Israel who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.
The tragic end of the reign
19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.
20 After all this, when Josiah had already repaired the House, Neco king of Egypt came up to fight at Carche mish on the Euphrates and Josiah marched out to stop him.
21 Neco sent him messengers to say, “There is no quarrel between me and you, king of Judah. I have not come today to attack you, but to fight my enemies, and God has told me to hurry. Do not oppose God who is with me, lest he destroy you.”
22 But Josiah continued to challenge him for he was determined to fight him, and would not listen to what God was saying through Neco. So he went out to fight in the plain of Megiddo.
23 Egyptian arrows struck King Josiah, and the king said to his followers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.”
24 His servants lifted him out of his own chariot, transferred him to another one and took him back to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25 Je remiah composed a lament for Josiah which all the women singers use when speaking of Josiah in their laments to this day; this has become a custom in Israel; the song is found in the collection of laments.
26 The rest of the history of Josiah and all his good deeds according to the Law,
29 and his acts from the first to last, are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.