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. ² He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord’s temple. ³ 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. ⁴ Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions,^(D) according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

⁵ “Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. ⁶ Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves^(E) and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

⁷ 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)

⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. 36 ¹ And the people^(Z) of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

Jehoahaz King of Judah^(AA)

² Jehoahaz^[a] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. ³ The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents^[b] of silver and a talent^[c] of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Necho^(AB) took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.^(AC)

Jehoiakim King of Judah^(AD)

⁵ Jehoiakim^(AE) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar^(AF) king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.^{(AG) 7} Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the Lord and put them in his temple^[d] there.^(AH)

⁸ The other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoiachin King of Judah^(AI)

⁹ Jehoiachin^(AJ) was eighteen^[e] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. ¹⁰ In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon,^(AK) together with articles of value from the temple of the Lord, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle,^[f] Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah King of Judah^(AL)

¹¹ Zedekiah^(AM) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord^(AN) his God and did not humble^(AO) himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath^(AP) in God’s name. He became stiff-necked^(AQ) and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful,^(AR) following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(AS)(AT)

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers^(AU) again and again,^(AV) because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed^(AW) at his prophets until the wrath^(AX) of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.^{(AY) 17} He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians,^[g](AZ) who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men^(BA) or young women, the elderly or the infirm.^(BB) God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.^{(BC) 18} He carried to Babylon all the articles^(BD) from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. ¹⁹ They set fire^(BE) to God’s temple^(BF) and broke down the wall^(BG) of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed^(BH) everything of value there.^(BI)

²⁰ He carried into exile^(BJ) to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants^(BK) to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests;^(BL) all the time of its desolation it rested,^(BM) until the seventy years^(BN) were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.

²² In the first year of Cyrus^(BO) king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

²³ “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: