约西亚守逾越节
1约西亚在耶路撒冷为耶和华守逾越节。一月十四日，众人宰杀逾越节的祭牲。 2他指派祭司各尽其职，鼓励他们在耶和华的殿里事奉， 3又对将自己献给耶和华、负责教导以色列人的利未人说：“你们把圣约柜放在以色列王大卫的儿子所罗门建的殿里，不用再扛在肩上。现在你们去事奉你们的上帝耶和华和祂的以色列子民吧。 4你们要按宗族和班次，依照以色列王大卫和他儿子所罗门所写的指示，预备自己。 5你们要按你们弟兄所在宗族的班次，侍立在圣所，每个班次中要有几个利未宗族的人。 6你们要宰杀逾越节的羊羔，洁净自己，为你们的弟兄做好准备，依照耶和华借摩西所吩咐的去行。”
7约西亚从自己的产业中，捐出三万只绵羊羔和山羊羔，以及三千头公牛，赐给所有在场的人做逾越节的祭牲。 8他的众官员也自愿为民众、祭司和利未人捐献。管理上帝殿的希勒迦、撒迦利亚和耶歇献出两千六百只羊羔和三百头牛，给祭司做逾越节的祭牲。 9利未人的首领歌楠雅和他的两个兄弟示玛雅和拿坦业，及哈沙比雅、耶利、约撒拔献出五千只羊羔和五百头牛，给利未人做逾越节的祭牲。
10一切都准备好后，依照王的吩咐，祭司站在自己的地方，利未人按照班次侍立。 11利未人宰杀逾越节的羊羔，祭司从他们手中接过血，洒在坛上，又剥去祭牲的皮。 12他们按照宗族把燔祭分给众人，好使他们按照摩西书上所写的，把祭物献给耶和华。献牛也是这样。 13他们按规定用火烤逾越节的羊羔，在锅里、罐里和盆里煮圣物，然后迅速分给民众。 14之后，利未人为自己和祭司预备祭物，因为做祭司的亚伦子孙要继续献燔祭和脂肪一直到晚上。 15负责歌乐的亚萨子孙依照大卫、亚萨、希幔和王的先见耶杜顿的吩咐，站在自己的岗位上；殿门守卫都看守各门，不必离开工作岗位，因为他们的弟兄利未人为他们预备了祭物。
16当天，一切事奉的事都办好了，他们就按约西亚王的命令守逾越节，又在耶和华的坛上献燔祭。 17所有在场的以色列人都在那时守逾越节，又守除酵节七天。 18自撒母耳先知以来，在以色列从来没有守过这样的逾越节，以色列从没有君王像约西亚、祭司、利未人、所有在场的犹大人和以色列人，以及耶路撒冷的居民这样守过逾越节。 19这次逾越节是在约西亚执政第十八年庆祝的。
约西亚逝世
20约西亚办理完殿里的事后，埃及王尼哥上来，要攻打幼发拉底河附近的迦基米施。约西亚出兵拦阻。 21尼哥派使者对约西亚说：“犹大王啊，我与你没有恩怨。我今天来不是要攻击你，乃是要攻击与我作战的那一家。上帝吩咐我要速速完成，你不要与上帝作对，免得祂毁灭你，因为上帝与我同在。” 22约西亚却不听上帝借尼哥说的话。他没有退兵，反而乔装上阵，与尼哥会战于米吉多平原。 23约西亚王在战场上中箭受伤，就对仆人说：“我受了重伤，带我离开吧。” 24他的仆人就扶他下战车，上另一辆战车，送到耶路撒冷。约西亚死在那里，葬在他祖先的坟墓里。所有犹大和耶路撒冷的人都为他哀悼。 25耶利米为约西亚作了哀歌，所有的男女歌乐手至今仍用这些哀歌纪念约西亚，成了以色列的传统。这些哀歌都记在《哀歌书》上。
26约西亚其他的事迹和他怎样忠心地遵行耶和华的律法， 27自始至终都记在《以色列和犹大的列王史》上。
Josiah Celebrates the Passover Feast
1Josiah celebrated the Passover Feast in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. The Passover lamb was killed on the 14th day of the first month. 2Josiah appointed the priests to their duties. He cheered them up as they served the Lord at his temple. 3The Levites taught all the people of Israel. The Levites had been set apart to the Lord. Josiah said to them, “Put the sacred ark of the covenant in the temple Solomon built. He was the son of David and king of Israel. The ark must not be carried around on your shoulders. Serve the Lord your God. Serve his people Israel. 4Prepare yourselves by families in your groups. Do it based on the directions written by David, the king of Israel, and by his son Solomon.
5“Stand at the temple. Stand there with a group of Levites for each group of families among your people. 6Kill the Passover lambs. Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Prepare the lambs for your people. Do what the Lord commanded through Moses.”
7Josiah provided animals for the Passover offerings. He gave them for all the people who were there. He gave a total of 30,000 lambs and goats and 3,000 oxen. He gave all of them from his own possessions.
8His officials also gave freely. They gave to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel were in charge of God’s temple. They gave the priests 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 oxen. 9Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel also gave offerings. So did Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad. All of them were the leaders of the Levites. They gave 5,000 Passover lambs and 500 oxen for the Levites.
10The Passover service was arranged. The priests stood in their places. The Levites were in their groups. That’s what the king had ordered. 11The Passover lambs were killed. The priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them. The Levites skinned the animals. 12They set the burnt offerings to one side. These offerings were for the smaller family groups to offer to the Lord. That’s what was written in the Book of Moses. The Levites did the same thing with the oxen. 13They cooked the Passover animals over the fire, just as the law required. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, large kettles and pans. They served the offerings quickly to all the people. 14After that, they got things ready for themselves and the priests. That’s because the priests, who were from the family line of Aaron, were busy until dark. They were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat parts. The Levites got things ready for themselves and for the priests, who belonged to Aaron’s family line.
15Those who played music were from the family line of Asaph. They were in the places that had been set up by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. Jeduthun had been the king’s prophet. The guards at each gate didn’t have to leave their places. That’s because their brother Levites got things ready for them.
16So at that time the entire service to honor the Lord was carried out. The Passover Feast was celebrated. The burnt offerings were sacrificed on the Lord’s altar. That’s what King Josiah had ordered. 17The Israelites who were there celebrated the Passover Feast at that time. They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18The Passover Feast hadn’t been observed like that in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover Feast like Josiah’s. He celebrated it with the priests and Levites. All the people of Judah and Israel were there along with the people of Jerusalem. He celebrated it with them too. 19That Passover Feast was celebrated in the 18th year of Josiah’s rule.
Josiah Dies
20Josiah had put the temple in order. After all of that, Necho went up to fight at Carchemish. He was king of Egypt. Carchemish was on the Euphrates River. Josiah marched out to meet Necho in battle. 21But Necho sent messengers to him. They said, “Josiah king of Judah, there isn’t any trouble between you and me. I’m not attacking you at this time. I’m at war with another country. God told me to hurry. He’s with me. So stop opposing him. If you don’t, he’ll destroy you.”
22But Josiah wouldn’t turn away from Necho. Josiah wore different clothes so people wouldn’t recognize him. He wanted to go to war against Necho. He wouldn’t listen to what God had commanded Necho to say. Instead, Josiah went out to fight him on the plains of Megiddo.
23Men who had bows shot arrows at King Josiah. After he was hit, he told his officers, “Take me away. I’m badly wounded.” 24So they took him out of his chariot. They put him in his other chariot. They brought him to Jerusalem. There he died. He was buried in the tombs of his family. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.
25Jeremiah wrote songs of sadness about Josiah. To this day all the male and female singers remember Josiah by singing those songs. That became a practice in Israel. The songs are written down in the Book of the Songs of Sadness.
26Josiah did many things that showed he was faithful to the Lord. Those things and the other events of Josiah’s rule were in keeping with what is written in the Law of the Lord. 27All the events from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah.
