Chronicles of the Past Dynasties_Chapter 35

Josiah kept the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. On the fourteenth day of the first month, the Passover lambs were slaughtered.

The king assigned priests to perform their duties and encouraged them to do the work in the temple of the Lord.

And he said to the Levites, who were holy to the Lord and taught the Israelites, Put the ark of the covenant in the temple built by Solomon son of David, king of Israel, and do not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.

Prepare yourselves according to your clans, according to your divisions, as David the king of Israel and his son Solomon wrote.

Stand in the holy place according to the divisions of your brothers and the families of this people, with a few members of the Levi family in each division.

Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourself, and prepare them for your brothers to keep the word that the Lord commanded through Moses.

Josiah gave to all the people there from among the herds thirty thousand lambs and three thousand oxen as offerings for the Passover. This all comes from Wang’s industry.

The leaders of Josiah were also willing to sacrifice themselves to the people and the priests and Levites. And Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, who were in charge of the temple, offered the priests 2600 lambs and 300 oxen as offerings for the Passover.

The chief of the Levites, Gnaniah, and his two brothers Shemaiah, Nethanel, Hashabiah, Jeri, and Jozabad, brought five thousand lambs and five hundred oxen as offerings for the Levites during the Passover.

In this way, all the offerings are ready. The priests stood in their own places, and the Levites stood according to their orders, as the king had commanded.

The Levites slaughtered the Passover lambs, and the priests took the blood from their hands and sprinkled it on the altar. The Levites stripped their skin,

Bring the burnt offering and distribute it among the people according to the order of their families, so that it may be offered to the Lord, as written in the Book of Moses. The same goes for sacrificing cows.

They roasted the Passover lambs over fire as usual. Boil other sacred objects in pots, cauldrons, and jars, and quickly give them to the people.

Then prepare offerings for oneself and the priests. Because the descendants of Aaron the priest offered burnt offerings and fat until evening. So the Levites prepared sacrifices for themselves and the descendants of Aaron the priest.

The descendants of Asaph, who sang, stood in their own place according to the orders of David, Asaph, Heman, and the king’s seer Jedudun. The gatekeepers guard each door and do not need to leave their duties, because their brothers, the Levites, have prepared sacrifices for them.

On that day, all the offerings to the Lord were prepared, and as King Josiah commanded, he kept the Passover and offered burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord.

At that time, the Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

Since the prophet Samuel, such a Passover has not been observed in Israel, nor have the kings of Israel observed it, like the Passover observed by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, the Jews, the Israelites, and the residents of Jerusalem.

This Passover was celebrated during the eighteen years of Josiah’s reign.

After this, after Josiah had finished repairing the temple, King Nico of Egypt came up to attack Kakimesh near the Euphrates River. Josiah went out to resist him.

He sent messengers to Josiah and said, ‘What have I to do with you, King of Judah?’. I am not here today to attack you, but to attack the house that is at war with me. God has commanded me to act quickly and not interfere in God’s affairs, so that he may not destroy you, for God is with me.

But Josiah refused to turn away from him and disguised himself to fight against him. He did not listen to what God had said through the mouth of Nico, so he came to the plain of Megiddo to fight.

The archer hit King Josiah. The king said to his servants, “I have been seriously injured. Take me out to battle.”.

His servants helped him out of the chariot, got into the chariot, and sent him to Jerusalem. He died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors. Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

Jeremiah mourned for Josiah. All the singing men and women also sang mournful songs, mourning Josiah to this day. And it has become a norm in Israel. This song is recorded in a book of laments.

And the other things that Josiah did, and the good deeds that he did according to the law of the Lord,

And all his actions from beginning to end are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.