1   Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the passover lamb was killed on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2   He appointed the priests to their offices and encouraged them to perform the service of the house of the Lord. 3   He said to the Levites, the teachers of Israel, who were dedicated to the Lord, ‘Put the holy Ark in the house which Solomon son of David king of Israel built; it is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now is the time to serve the Lord your God and his people Israel: 4   prepare yourselves by families according to your divisions, following the written instructions of David king of Israel and those of Solomon his sons; 5   and stand in the Holy Place as representatives of the family groups of the lay people, your brothers, one division of Levites to each family group. 6   Kill the passover lamb and hallow yourselves and prepare for your brothers to fulfil the word of the Lord given through Moses.’

7   Josiah contributed on behalf of all the lay people present thirty thousand small cattle, that is young rams and goats, for the Passover, in addition to three thousand bulls; all these were from the king's own resources. 8   And his officers contributed willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave on behalf of the priests two thousand six hundred small cattle for the Passover, in addition to three hundred bulls. 9   And Conaniah, Shemaiah and Nethaneel his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave on behalf of the Levites for the Passover five thousand small cattle in addition to five hundred bulls.

10   When the service had been arranged, the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king's command. 11   They killed the passover victim, and the priests flung the blood ^note against the altar as the Levites flayed the animals. 12   Then they removed the fat flesh, ^note which they allocated to the people by groups of families for them to offer to the Lord, as prescribed in the book of Moses; and so with the bulls. 13   They cooked the passover victim over the fire according to custom, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and served them quickly to all the people. 14   After that they

The kings from Hezekiah to the exile made the necessary preparations for themselves and the priests, because the priests of Aaron's line were engaged till nightfall in offering whole-offerings and the fat portions; so the Levites made the necessary preparations for themselves and for the priests of Aaron's line. 15   The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places according to the rules laid down by David and by Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's seers. ^noteThe door-keepers stood, each at his gate; there was no need for them to leave their posts, because their kinsmen the Levites had made the preparations for them.

16   In this manner all the service of the Lord was arranged that day, to keep the Passover and to offer whole-offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. 17   The people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time and the pilgrim-feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18   No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; none of the kings of Israel had ever kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and Levites and all Judah and Israel who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19   In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign this Passover was kept.

20   After Josiah had thus organized all the service of the house, Necho king of Egypt marched up to attack Carchemish on the Euphrates; and Josiah went out to confront him. 21   But Necho sent envoys to him, saying, ‘What do you want with me, king of Judah? I have no quarrel with you today, only with those with whom I am at war. God has purposed to speed me on my way, and God is on my side; do not stand in his way, or he will destroy you.’ 22   Josiah would not be deflected from his purpose but insisted on fighting; he refused to listen to Necho's words spoken at God's command, and he sallied out to join battle in the vale of Megiddo. 23   The archers shot at him; he was severely wounded and told his bodyguard to carry him off. 24   They lifted him out of his chariot and carried him in his viceroy's chariot to Jerusalem. There he died and was buried among the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. 25   Jeremiah also made a lament for Josiah; and to this day the minstrels, both men and women, commemorate Josiah in their lamentations. Such laments have become traditional in Israel, and they are found in the written collections.

26   The other events of Josiah's reign, and his works of piety, all performed in accordance with what is laid down in the law of the Lord, and his acts, 27   from first to last, are recorded in the annals of the kings of Israel and Judah.

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