2 Chronicles 35 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
622 to 609 BC, from Josiah's great Passover to his death at the hands of Pharaoh Neco of Egypt
Location
The temple in Jerusalem for the festival, then the plain of Megiddo in the north, the pass controlling the main road between Egypt and Mesopotamia
Audience
Jewish families who had returned from exile and were reviving the annual festivals in a rebuilt but modest temple
Situation
Josiah stages the largest Passover since the days of Samuel, personally donating thousands of animals and organising the Levites by their family divisions. Years later he rides out to block Pharaoh Neco's army at Megiddo, ignores Neco's warning to stay out of it, is shot by archers and dies in Jerusalem.
Key Background
Egypt was marching north to prop up the remnant of Assyria against the rising Babylonians, so Neco's quarrel genuinely was not with Judah, and Josiah's interception was a gamble on which empire would end up ruling him. Megiddo guarded the narrow pass on the coastal highway and had been fought over for a thousand years, which is why its name later became shorthand for a final battlefield. Josiah's disguise before battle mirrors the trick King Ahab tried generations earlier, and Chronicles reports it as one more sign that this was a self-chosen fight, while the professional mourning songs composed for him afterward became a fixed part of Judah's repertoire.
Josiah celebrated the to in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month.
He assigned the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of Yahweh's house.
He told the the ones who taught all Israel and who to "Put the that to in the house that Solomon son of David, king of Israel, built. You don't have to carry it on your shoulders anymore. Now serve your and his people Israel."
"Organize yourselves by your ancestral families, by your divisions, following the written instructions of David king of Israel and the written instructions of his son Solomon."
"Stand in the for grouped by the divisions of the ancestral families of your fellow Israelites, the common people, with a section of a Levite family group for each division."
"Slaughter the Passover lambs, for and get everything for your fellow Israelites, following what Yahweh commanded through Moses."
Josiah provided from his own flocks thirty thousand lambs and young goats for the Passover offerings for all the people who were there, plus three thousand bulls. All these came from the king's own property.
His officials also contributed willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel — the leaders of God's house — gave the priests two thousand six hundred Passover animals and three hundred bulls.
Conaniah, along with Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad — leaders of the Levites — donated five thousand Passover animals and five hundred bulls to the Levites.
So the service was set up: the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions, just as the king had ordered.
They slaughtered the Passover lambs, and the priests the handed to them while the Levites skinned the animals.
They set aside the to distribute them to the groups of the ancestral families of the common people, to present to Yahweh as written in the book of Moses. They did the same with the bulls.
They roasted the Passover animals over the fire according to the regulations, and boiled the other to in pots, kettles, and pans, then quickly served them to all the common people.
Afterward, they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests — the descendants of Aaron — were busy offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were at their posts as David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's had directed. The gatekeepers were at each gate — they didn't need to leave their posts because their fellow Levites prepared portions for them.
So that entire day, the whole service of Yahweh was organized to celebrate the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on Yahweh's altar, just as King Josiah had ordered.
The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, along with the of for seven days.
No Passover like this had been celebrated in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. None of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover like the one Josiah celebrated with the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were present, and the residents of Jerusalem.
This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.
After all this — after Josiah had restored the temple — Neco king of Egypt came up to fight at on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to confront him.
But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What do we have against each other, king of Judah? I'm not coming against you today — I'm fighting another nation. told me to hurry. Stop opposing who is with me, or he'll destroy you."
But Josiah wouldn't turn away from him. He disguised himself to engage him in battle, refusing to listen to Neco's words that came from own He went to fight on the plain of
Archers shot King Josiah, and the king told his servants, "Get me out of here — I'm badly wounded."
His servants lifted him out of his chariot, put him in his backup chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all of Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
composed for Josiah, and all the male and female singers still sing about Josiah in their to this day. These became a tradition in Israel and are recorded in the collection of
The rest of Josiah's acts — his done according to what is written in —
— his acts, from first to last, are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.