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2 Chronicles 35-36
New English Translation

Josiah Observes the Passover

35 Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord’s temple. 3 He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel! 4 Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions, as instructed in writing by King David of Israel and his son Solomon. 5 Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites, represent the family divisions of your countrymen.[a] 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to celebrate[b] according to the Lord’s message which came through Moses.”

7 From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle.[c] 8 His officials also willingly contributed to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the leaders of God’s temple, gave the priests 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle. 9 Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle. 10 Preparations were made,[d] and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king. 11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood,[e] while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses.[f] 13 They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They quickly served them to all the people. 14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet.[g] The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them. 16 So all the preparations for the Lord’s service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, as prescribed by King Josiah. 17 So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the residents of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

Josiah’s Reign Ends

20 After Josiah had done all this for the temple,[h] King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River.[i] Josiah marched out to oppose him. 21 Necho[j] sent messengers to him, saying, “Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah?[k] I am not attacking you today, but the kingdom with which I am at war.[l] God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, or else he will destroy you.”[m] 22 But Josiah did not turn back from him;[n] he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously[o] the words of Necho which he had received from God; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo. 23 Archers shot King Josiah; the king ordered his servants, “Take me out of this chariot,[p] for I am seriously wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors;[q] all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah. 25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah which all the male and female singers use to mourn Josiah to this very day. It has become customary in Israel to sing these; they are recorded in the Book of Laments.

26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign, including the faithful acts he did in obedience to what is written in the law of the Lord[r] 27 and his accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded[s] in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Jehoahaz’s Reign

36 The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 The king of Egypt prevented him from ruling in Jerusalem and imposed on the land a special tax[t] of 100 talents[u] of silver and a talent of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s[v] brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Necho seized his brother Jehoahaz and took him to Egypt.

Jehoiakim’s Reign

5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of[w] the Lord his God. 6 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked him,[x] bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away[y] to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar took some of the items in the Lord’s temple to Babylon and put them in his palace[z] there.[aa]

8 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign, including the horrible sins he committed and his shortcomings, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.[ab] His son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.

Jehoiachin’s Reign

9 Jehoiachin was eighteen[ac] years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of[ad] the Lord. 10 At the beginning of the year King Nebuchadnezzar ordered him to be brought[ae] to Babylon, along with the valuable items in the Lord’s temple. In his place Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s relative[af] Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah’s Reign

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of[ag] the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance[ah] in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return[ai] to the Lord God of Israel. 14 All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations.[aj] They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Babylonians Destroy Jerusalem

15 The Lord God of their ancestors[ak] continually warned them through his messengers,[al] for he felt compassion for his people and his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings,[am] and ridiculed his prophets.[an] Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.[ao] 17 He brought against them the king of the Babylonians, who slaughtered[ap] their young men in their temple.[aq] He did not spare[ar] young men or women, or even the old and aging. God[as] handed everyone over to him. 18 He carried away to Babylon all the items in God’s temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. 19 They burned down God’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items. 20 He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power. 21 This took place to fulfill the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah[at] and lasted until the land experienced[au] its sabbatical years.[av] All the time[aw] of its desolation the land rested in order to fulfill the seventy years.[ax]

Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Go Home

22 In the first year[ay] of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah,[az] the Lord motivated[ba] King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation[bb] throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read:

23 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:

‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone of his people among you may go up there, and may the Lord his God be with him.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 35:5 tn Heb “and stand in the sanctuary by the divisions of the house of the fathers for your brothers, the sons of the people, and a division of the house of a father for the Levites.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 35:6 tn Heb “to do,” here to celebrate Passover.
  3. 2 Chronicles 35:7 tn Heb “and Josiah supplied for the sons of the people sheep, lambs and sons of goats, the whole for the Passover sacrifices for everyone who was found according to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand cattle. These were from the property of the king.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 35:10 tn Heb “and the service was prepared.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 35:11 tn Heb “from their hand.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 35:12 tn Heb “and they put aside the burnt offering[s] to give them to the divisions of the house of the fathers for the sons of the people to bring near to the Lord as it is written in the scroll of Moses—and the same with the cattle.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 35:15 tn Or “seer.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 35:20 tn Heb “After all this, [by] which Josiah prepared the temple.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 35:20 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  10. 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Neco) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “What to me and to you, king of Judah?”
  12. 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “Not against you, you, today, but against the house of my battle.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 35:21 tn Heb “Stop yourself from [opposing] God who is with me and let him not destroy you.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 35:22 tn Heb “and Josiah did not turn his face from him.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 35:22 tn Heb “listen to.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 35:23 tn Heb “carry me away.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 35:24 tn Heb “fathers.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 35:26 tn Heb “and his faithful acts according to what is written in the law of the Lord.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 35:27 tn Heb “look, they are written.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 36:3 tn Or “a fine.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 36:3 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
  22. 2 Chronicles 36:4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehoahaz) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  23. 2 Chronicles 36:5 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 36:6 tn Heb “came up against him.”
  25. 2 Chronicles 36:6 tn Heb “to carry him away.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 36:7 tn Or “temple.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 36:7 tn Heb “in Babylon.” Repeating the proper name “Babylon” here would be redundant in contemporary English, so “there” has been used in the translation.
  28. 2 Chronicles 36:8 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and his horrible deeds which he did and that which was found against him, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Israel and Judah.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 36:9 tc The Hebrew text reads “eight,” but some ancient textual witnesses, as well as the parallel text in 2 Kgs 24:8, have “eighteen.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 36:9 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 36:10 tn Heb “sent and brought him.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 36:10 tn Heb “and he made Zedekiah his brother king.” According to the parallel text in 2 Kgs 24:17, Zedekiah was Jehoiachin’s uncle, not his brother. Therefore many interpreters understand אח (ʾakh) here in its less specific sense of “relative” (NEB “made his father’s brother Zedekiah king”; NASB “made his kinsman Zedekiah king”; NIV “made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, king”; NRSV “made his brother Zedekiah king”).
  33. 2 Chronicles 36:12 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  34. 2 Chronicles 36:13 tn Or “made him swear an oath.”
  35. 2 Chronicles 36:13 tn Heb “and he stiffened his neck and strengthened his heart from returning.”
  36. 2 Chronicles 36:14 tn Heb “like all the abominable practices of the nations.”
  37. 2 Chronicles 36:15 tn Heb “fathers.”
  38. 2 Chronicles 36:15 tn Heb “and the Lord God of their fathers sent against them by the hand of his messengers, getting up early and sending.”
  39. 2 Chronicles 36:16 tn Heb “his words.”
  40. 2 Chronicles 36:16 tn All three verbal forms (“mocked,” “despised,” and “ridiculed”) are active participles in the Hebrew text, indicating continual or repeated action. They made a habit of rejecting God’s prophetic messengers.
  41. 2 Chronicles 36:16 tn Heb “until the anger of the Lord went up against his people until there was no healer.”
  42. 2 Chronicles 36:17 tn Heb “killed with the sword.”
  43. 2 Chronicles 36:17 tn Heb “in the house of their sanctuary.”
  44. 2 Chronicles 36:17 tn Or “show compassion to.”
  45. 2 Chronicles 36:17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  46. 2 Chronicles 36:21 tn Heb “by the mouth of Jeremiah.”
  47. 2 Chronicles 36:21 tn The verb may be seen as either of two homophonous roots רָצָה (ratsah) meaning “to restore” or “to accept, take pleasure in.”
  48. 2 Chronicles 36:21 sn According to Lev 25:4, the land was to remain uncultivated every seventh year. Lev 26:33-35 warns that the land would experience a succession of such sabbatical rests if the people disobeyed God, for he would send them away into exile.
  49. 2 Chronicles 36:21 tn Heb “days of.”
  50. 2 Chronicles 36:21 sn Concerning the seventy years see Jer 25:11. Cyrus’ edict (see vv. 22-23) occurred about fifty years after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., which is most naturally understood as the beginning point of the “days of desolation” mentioned in v. 21. The number “seventy” is probably used in a metaphorical sense, indicating a typical lifetime and suggesting a thorough or complete judgment that would not be lifted until an entirely new generation emerged.
  51. 2 Chronicles 36:22 sn The first year of Cyrus would be ca. 539 b.c. Cyrus reigned in Persia from ca. 539-530 b.c.
  52. 2 Chronicles 36:22 tn Heb “by the mouth of Jeremiah.”sn See Jer 25:11; 29:10.
  53. 2 Chronicles 36:22 tn Heb “stirred the spirit of.” The Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) has a broad range of meanings (see BDB 924-26 s.v.). Here, it probably refers to (1) “mind” as the seat of mental acts (e.g., Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 29:24; 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 6) or (2) “will” as the seat of volitional decisions (e.g., Exod 35:5, 22; Pss 51:12, 14; 57:8; 2 Chr 29:31; cf. BDB 925 s.v. 7). So also in Ezra 1:5. The entire phrase “stirred the spirit” has been rendered as “motivated” to better reflect normal English.
  54. 2 Chronicles 36:22 tn Heb “a voice.” The Hebrew noun קוֹל (qol, “voice, sound”) has a broad range of meanings, including the metonymical (cause—effect) nuance “proclamation” (e.g., Exod 36:6; 2 Chr 24:9; 30:5; 36:22; Ezra 1:1; 10:7; Neh 8:15). See BDB 877 s.v. 3.a.2.
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