Josiah Celebrates the Great Passover
Josiah keeps a Passover unmatched since Samuel's day, providing thousands of animals himself and putting every priest, Levite, singer and gatekeeper at his post. Then he insists on fighting Neco, ignoring a warning he is told came from our Father, and dies at Megiddo.
35 1Josiah kept Passover to our Father in Jerusalem; they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2He assigned priests their duties and encouraged them in service of our Father's house. 3He told the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to our Father: "Put the holy ark in the house Solomon son of David, king of Israel, built. You need no longer carry it on your shoulders. Now serve your Father and his people Israel. 4Prepare yourselves by your fathers' houses, by your divisions, by David king of Israel's written instructions, and his son Solomon's instructions. 5Stand in the holy place by family groups of your lay brothers, one Levite division per group. 6Slaughter the Passover lamb, dedicate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, following the word of our Father through Moses."
7Josiah gave the lay people 30,000 lambs and young goats, 3,000 bulls, for Passover offerings—for everyone present, from his own possessions. 8His officials also gave willingly to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, chief officers of our Father's house, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls. 9Conaniah, with his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, Levite leaders, gave the Levites 5,000 Passover offerings and 500 bulls.
10The service was set; priests stood at their posts, Levites by their divisions, as the king commanded. 11They slaughtered the Passover lambs; priests sprinkled the blood passed to them, and Levites skinned them. 12They set aside the burnt offerings, distributing them by family division among the common people, to offer to our Father as written in the book of Moses; likewise with the bulls. 13They roasted the Passover lamb in fire as required, boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and quickly brought them to all the common people. 14Afterward they prepared for themselves and the priests, since the priests, Aaron's sons, were busy offering burnt offerings and fat portions until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and the priests, Aaron's sons. 15The singers, Asaph's sons, stood at their posts as David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer had commanded. The gatekeepers stayed at each gate; they had no need to leave their duty, for their fellow Levites prepared for them.
16So all the service of our Father was arranged that day: to keep Passover and offer burnt offerings on the altar of our Father, by King Josiah's command. 17The Israelites present kept Passover then, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since Samuel the prophet's days; none of Israel's kings kept a Passover like Josiah's, with the priests, Levites, all Judah and Israel present, and Jerusalem's residents. 19This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.
Josiah Falls in Battle at Megiddo
20After all this, once Josiah had prepared the temple, Egypt's king Neco marched up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 21But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What do we have to do with each other, king of Judah? I'm not coming against you today, but against the house I'm at war with. God told me to hurry—stop opposing God, who is with me, or he'll destroy you."
22Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself to fight him. He ignored Neco's words from the mouth of our Father, and went to fight in the plain of Megiddo. a a v22 Our Father's warning reached Josiah even through a foreign king's mouth, but Josiah would not listen — and what was meant to protect him went unheeded. 23Archers shot King Josiah; he told his servants, "Get me out—I'm badly wounded."
24His servants moved him from the chariot to his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried in his fathers' tombs. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah.
25Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the singers, men and women, sing laments for Josiah. This became a custom in Israel, and it is written in the Laments. 26The rest of Josiah's acts, and his faithful deeds in keeping with what is written in our Father's law. 27His acts, first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
