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.
Yosiya Achita Chikondwerero cha Paska
1Yosiya anachita chikondwerero cha Paska wa Yehova mu Yerusalemu, ndipo mwana wankhosa wa Paska anaphedwa pa tsiku la khumi ndi chinayi la mwezi woyamba. 2Iye anasankha ansembe pa maudindo awo ndipo anawalimbikitsa pa ntchito ya mʼnyumba ya Yehova. 3Iye anati kwa Alevi amene amalangiza Aisraeli onse omwe anadzipatula kwa Yehova: Ikani bokosi lopatulika mʼNyumba ya Mulungu amene Solomoni mwana wa Davide mfumu ya Israeli anamanga. Lisamanyamulidwe pa mapewa anu. Tsopano tumikirani Yehova Mulungu wanu ndi anthu ake Aisraeli. 4Mukhale mʼmagulu anu molingana ndi mabanja anu, molingana ndi momwe analembera Davide mfumu ya Israeli ndiponso mwana wake Solomoni.
5“Muziyima ku malo opatulika pamodzi ndi gulu la Alevi oyimira gulu lililonse lalingʼono la mabanja a abale anu amene ndi anthu wamba. 6Muzipha ana ankhosa a Paska, muzidzipatula nokha ndi kuwakonzera abale anu ana ankhosa awo, kuchita zimene Yehova analamulira mwa Mose.”
7Yosiya anapereka kwa anthu wamba onse ana ankhosa ndi ana ambuzi okwanira 30,000 ndi ngʼombe zazimuna 3,000, zopereka za Paska zonse zochokera pa chuma chake cha mfumu.
8Akuluakulu akenso anapereka mwaufulu kwa anthu ndi kwa ansembe ndi Alevi. Hilikiya, Zekariya ndi Yehieli oyangʼanira ntchito ya mʼNyumba ya Mulungu anapereka kwa ansembe zopereka za Paska 2,600 ndi ngʼombe 300. 9Konaniya nayenso pamodzi ndi Semaya ndi Netaneli, abale ake ndi Hasabiya, Yeiyeli ndi Yozabadi, atsogoleri a Alevi, anapereka nsembe za Paska 5,000 ndi ngʼombe 500 kwa Alevi.
10Mwambo unakonzedwa ndipo ansembe anayima pamalo pawo pamodzi ndi Alevi mʼmagulu awo monga mfumu inalamulira. 11Ana ankhosa a Paska anaphedwa ndipo ansembe anawaza magazi amene anaperekedwa kwa iwo pamene Alevi anali kusenda nyamazo. 12Iwo anayika padera nsembe zopsereza kuti azipereke kwa magulu angʼonoangʼono a mabanja a anthu kuti apereke kwa Yehova monga zinalembedwa mʼbuku la Mose. Ndipo anachita chimodzimodzi ndi ngʼombe. 13Anawotcha nyama za Paska monga momwe zinalembedwera ndi kuwiritsa zopereka zopatulika mʼmiphika, mʼmitsuko ndi mʼziwaya ndipo anazipereka mofulumira kwa anthu onse. 14Izi zitatha, anakonza zawo ndi za ansembe chifukwa ansembe, zidzukulu za Aaroni, anali otanganidwa kupereka nsembe zopsereza ndi mafuta a nyama mpaka madzulo. Choncho Alevi amakonza zawo ndi za ansembe, ana a Aaroni.
15Anthu oyimba nyimbo, zidzukulu za Asafu, anali pa malo awo potsata zomwe analemba Davide, Asafu, Hemani ndi Yedutuni mlosi wa mfumu. Alonda apazipata anali pa chipata chilichonse ndipo kunali kosafunika kuti achoke pa ntchito yawo, poti abale awo Alevi ankawakonzera zonse.
16Kotero pa nthawi imeneyi ntchito yonse ya Yehova ya chikondwerero cha Paska ndi nsembe zopsereza pa guwa la Yehova inachitika monga analamulira mfumu Yosiya. 17Aisraeli amene analipo anachita chikondwerero cha Paska pa nthawi imeneyi ndi kuchita mwambo wa chikondwerero cha Buledi Wopanda Yisiti, kwa masiku asanu ndi awiri. 18Paska yofanana ndi iyi sinachitikepo ku Israeli kuyambira nthawi ya Samueli ndipo palibe mmodzi mwa mafumu a Israeli anachitapo chikondwerero cha Paska ngati anachitira Yosiya pamodzi ndi ansembe, Alevi ndi Ayuda onse ndi Aisraeli amene anali pamodzi ndi anthu a mu Yerusalemu. 19Chikondwerero cha Paska ichi chinachitika mʼchaka cha 18 cha ulamuliro wa Yosiya.
Imfa ya Yosiya
20Zimenezi zitachitika, pamene Yosiya anakonzanso Nyumba ya Mulungu, Neko mfumu ya Igupto inapita kukachita nkhondo ku Karikemesi ku mtsinje wa Yufurate, ndipo Yosiya anapita kukamenyana naye. 21Koma Neko anatumiza amithenga kwa iye kunena kuti, “Kodi pali mkangano wanji pakati pa iwe ndi ine, iwe mfumu ya Yuda? Ine sindikuthira nkhondo iwe pa nthawi ino, koma nyumba imene ndili nayo pa nkhondo. Mulungu wandiwuza kuti ndifulumize choncho leka kutsutsana ndi Mulungu amene ali ndi ine, mwina adzakuwononga.”
22Komabe Yosiya sanatembenuke kumusiya iyeyo, koma anadzizimbayitsa ndi kukalowa mʼnkhondo. Iye sanamvere zimene Neko ananena molamulidwa ndi Mulungu koma anapita kukamenyana naye ku chigwa ku Megido.
23Anthu oponya mivi analasa mfumu Yosiya, ndipo iye anawuza akuluakulu ake, “Chotseni. Ndavulazidwa kwambiri.” 24Choncho anamuchotsa iye mʼgaleta lake, ndipo anamuyika mʼgaleta lina limene anali nalo ndipo anabwera naye ku Yerusalemu kumene anamwalirira. Iye anayikidwa mʼmanda a makolo ake. Ndipo Ayuda ndi Yerusalemu yense anamulira.
25Yeremiya anapeka nyimbo za maliro chifukwa cha Yosiya, ndipo mpaka lero lino amuna ndi akazi onse oyimba amakumbukira Yosiya pa nyimbo zawo za maliro. Izi zinakhala mwambo mu Israeli ndipo zinalembedwa mʼNyimbo za Maliro.
26Zochitika zina za ulamuliro wa Yosiya ndi ntchito za kudzipereka kwake, monga zinalembedwa mʼMalamulo a Yehova, 27zochitika zonse, kuyambira pachiyambi mpaka pa mapeto, zalembedwa mʼbuku la mafumu a Israeli ndi Yuda.
