1 Esdras

Josias held the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem for his Lord, and offered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

1And Josias held the feast of the passover in Jerusalem unto his Lord, and offered the passover the fourteenth day of the first month;

NoteJosias is the Greek form of the name Josiah. This whole book survives in Greek, so nearly every name in it wears a Greek shape: Jeremy for Jeremiah, Nabuchodonosor for Nebuchadnezzar, Joacim for Jehoiakim, Zedechias for Zedekiah. The Passover was the yearly festival recalling Israel's escape from slavery in Egypt, marked by killing and eating a lamb. It fell on the fourteenth day of the first month of the religious year, in early spring, the month later called Nisan.

2He had placed the priests in the temple of the Lord in their regular daily groups, dressed in their long robes.

2Having set the priests according to their daily courses, being arrayed in long garments, in the temple of the Lord.

Note"Daily courses" means the rotating shifts of duty. The priests were divided into groups, each serving at the temple in turn rather than all at once, so the phrase describes a duty roster, not something done every day by everyone.

3He spoke to the Levites, the holy servants of Israel, telling them to make themselves holy for the Lord, so they could set the holy ark of the Lord in the house that King Solomon the son of David had built.

3And he spake unto the Levites, the holy ministers of Israel, that they should hallow themselves unto the Lord, to set the holy ark of the Lord in the house that king Solomon the son of David had built:

NoteThe Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who were not descended from Aaron, and so were not priests. They did the supporting work of the sanctuary: carrying, guarding, singing, slaughtering and preparing the animals. The ark was the gold-covered wooden chest holding the tablets of the law, the most sacred object Israel owned, and in earlier centuries it had been carried from place to place.

4He said, "You will not carry the ark on your shoulders anymore. So now serve the Lord your God, and serve his people Israel, and get yourselves ready by your families and family groups,

4And said, Ye shall no more bear the ark upon your shoulders: now therefore serve the Lord your God, and minister unto his people Israel, and prepare you after your families and kindreds,

NoteIn the wilderness years the ark was fitted with poles so the Levites could carry it on their shoulders from camp to camp. Solomon's temple gave it a permanent home, so that job had ended, and the Levites are told to turn to other duties instead.

5just as David the king of Israel wrote down, and matching the splendor of his son Solomon. Stand in the temple in the divisions of your Levite families, who serve in front of your brothers, the people of Israel.

5According as David the king of Israel prescribed, and according to the magnificence of Solomon his son: and standing in the temple according to the several dignity of the families of you the Levites, who minister in the presence of your brethren the children of Israel,

Note"Several dignity" in the King James means separate rank or standing, not a large number of them. Each Levite family had its own assigned place and task.

6Offer the Passover in good order, and prepare the sacrifices for your brothers, and keep the Passover the way the Lord commanded, as the command was given to Moses."

6Offer the passover in order, and make ready the sacrifices for your brethren, and keep the passover according to the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto Moses.

7To the people who were there Josias gave thirty thousand lambs and young goats, and three thousand calves. These came from the king's own goods, just as he had promised, and were given to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites.

7And unto the people that was found there Josias gave thirty thousand lambs and kids, and three thousand calves: these things were given of the king’s allowance, according as he promised, to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites.

Note"The king's allowance" means the animals came out of Josias's own royal herds and property, a personal gift rather than a levy on the people.

8Helkias, Zacharias, and Syelus, the rulers of the temple, gave the priests two thousand six hundred sheep and three hundred calves for the Passover.

8And Helkias, Zacharias, and Syelus, the governors of the temple, gave to the priests for the passover two thousand and six hundred sheep, and three hundred calves.

9Jeconias, Samaias, Nathanael his brother, Assabias, Ochiel, and Joram, who were commanders over thousands of men, gave the Levites five thousand sheep and seven hundred calves for the Passover.

9And Jeconias, and Samaias, and Nathanael his brother, and Assabias, and Ochiel, and Joram, captains over thousands, gave to the Levites for the passover five thousand sheep, and seven hundred calves.

Note"Captains over thousands" were army officers. Israel's fighting men were organized in units of tens, hundreds and thousands, so these are senior commanders.

10When this was done, the priests and Levites took the bread made without yeast and stood in proper order, grouped by their families,

10And when these things were done, the priests and Levites, having the unleavened bread, stood in very comely order according to the kindreds,

NoteBread made without yeast was eaten at Passover because the Israelites left Egypt in such haste that there was no time to let dough rise.

11and by the divisions of their fathers' households, in front of the people, to make the offering to the Lord as it is written in the book of Moses. This is what they did in the morning.

11And according to the several dignities of the fathers, before the people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses: and thus did they in the morning.

12They roasted the Passover lamb over fire, as the rule requires. They boiled the other sacrifices in bronze pots and pans, and the smell was pleasing.

12And they roasted the passover with fire, as appertaineth: as for the sacrifices, they sod them in brass pots and pans with a good savour,

NoteThe distinction matters in the law: the Passover lamb had to be roasted whole over fire and specifically not boiled in water, while the other offerings eaten at the festival could be boiled. "Sod" is the old past tense of "seethe," meaning boiled. "A good savour" means a pleasing smell, the standard phrase for the smoke and aroma of an accepted offering. The King James "brass" covers copper alloys generally, so bronze is meant.

13Then they set the food before all the people. Afterward they prepared some for themselves and for their brothers the priests, the sons of Aaron.

13And set them before all the people: and afterward they prepared for themselves, and for the priests their brethren, the sons of Aaron.

14The priests were busy offering the fat until night, so the Levites prepared food for themselves and for their brothers the priests, the sons of Aaron.

14For the priests offered the fat until night: and the Levites prepared for themselves, and the priests their brethren, the sons of Aaron.

NoteThe fat of a sacrificed animal was burned on the altar as God's portion and was never eaten. Doing this for tens of thousands of animals kept the priests at the altar all day and into the night, which is why others had to cook their food for them.

15The holy singers, the sons of Asaph, were also in their places, as David had appointed: Asaph, Zacharias, and Jeduthun, who was one of the king's attendants.

15The holy singers also, the sons of Asaph, were in their order, according to the appointment of David, to wit, Asaph, Zacharias, and Jeduthun, who was of the king’s retinue.

NoteAsaph was a singer appointed by David, and his descendants formed one of the guilds of temple musicians. "To wit" means "namely." The Greek manuscripts give the third name as Eddinus and describe him as acting for the king; the King James translators read the name as Jeduthun, another of David's chief musicians, and took the phrase to mean he belonged to the royal household.

16The gatekeepers were at every gate as well. None of them needed to leave his regular duty, because their brothers the Levites prepared food for them.

16Moreover the porters were at every gate; it was not lawful for any to go from his ordinary service: for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

Note"Porters" here means gatekeepers, the men who guarded and controlled the temple doors. It has nothing to do with carrying loads. Since a gatekeeper could not leave his post to cook, food was brought to him.

17So everything belonging to the sacrifices of the Lord was completed that day, so that they could hold the Passover

17Thus were the things that belonged to the sacrifices of the Lord accomplished in that day, that they might hold the passover,

18and offer sacrifices on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josias.

18And offer sacrifices upon the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of king Josias.

19So the people of Israel who were there held the Passover at that time, and the feast of bread made without yeast for seven days.

19So the children of Israel which were present held the passover at that time, and the feast of sweet bread seven days.

Note"Sweet bread" is the King James term for unleavened bread. "Sweet" here means unsoured, that is, made without yeast, not sugary. The seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread followed immediately on the Passover meal and was counted with it as one festival season.

20No Passover like this had been kept in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel.

20And such a passover was not kept in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel.

NoteSamuel was the prophet and leader who anointed Israel's first kings, roughly four hundred years before Josias. The claim is that no Passover on this scale had been held in all the centuries of the monarchy.

21In fact, none of the kings of Israel had held such a Passover as the one Josias held, along with the priests, the Levites, and the Jews, together with all Israel who were living in Jerusalem at that time.

21Yea, all the kings of Israel held not such a passover as Josias, and the priests, and the Levites, and the Jews, held with all Israel that were found dwelling at Jerusalem.

22This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias.

22In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was this passover kept.

NoteThe eighteenth year of Josias is about 622 BC, the year in which, according to Kings and Chronicles, a book of the law was found during repairs to the temple and set off his reforms.

23The deeds of Josias were upright before his Lord, and his heart was full of devotion to God.

23And the works or Josias were upright before his Lord with an heart full of godliness.

24As for the things that happened in his time, they were written down long before: about those who sinned and acted wickedly against the Lord more than any other people or kingdom, and how they grieved him deeply, so that the words of the Lord were carried out against Israel.

24As for the things that came to pass in his time, they were written in former times, concerning those that sinned, and did wickedly against the Lord above all people and kingdoms, and how they grieved him exceedingly, so that the words of the Lord rose up against Israel.

25Now after all these acts of Josias, Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to make war at Carchamis on the Euphrates, and Josias went out against him.

25Now after all these acts of Josias it came to pass, that Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to raise war at Carchamis upon Euphrates: and Josias went out against him.

NotePharaoh is the title of the Egyptian king, here Necho II. Carchamis, usually spelled Carchemish, was a fortress city at a crossing of the upper Euphrates in what is now northern Syria, the strategic gateway between Mesopotamia and the west. The Egyptian army was marching north through Josias's territory to fight there.

26But the king of Egypt sent word to him, saying, "What quarrel is there between you and me, king of Judea?

26But the king of Egypt sent to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, O king of Judea?

Note"What have I to do with thee" translates a Hebrew idiom that literally asks "what is there between you and me?" It means: we have no quarrel, this is not your fight.

27I have not been sent out by the Lord God against you. My war is at the Euphrates. The Lord is with me now, yes, the Lord is with me and is hurrying me forward. Get away from me, and do not stand against the Lord."

27I am not sent out from the Lord God against thee; for my war is upon Euphrates: and now the Lord is with me, yea, the Lord is with me hasting me forward: depart from me, and be not against the Lord.

28But Josias did not turn his chariot back away from him. He set out to fight him, paying no attention to the words of the prophet Jeremy, which came from the mouth of the Lord.

28Howbeit Josias did not turn back his chariot from him, but undertook to fight with him, not regarding the words of the prophet Jeremy spoken by the mouth of the Lord:

NoteJeremy is Jeremiah, the prophet active in Jerusalem through these years. In the parallel account in 2 Chronicles 35 it is the Egyptian king's own warning that Josias ignores; this book puts the warning in Jeremiah's mouth instead.

29Instead he joined battle with him on the plain of Magiddo, and the leaders came against King Josias.

29But joined battle with him in the plain of Magiddo, and the princes came against king Josias.

NoteMagiddo, usually spelled Megiddo, was a fortified town guarding the pass through the Carmel ridge, where the main road from Egypt to the north squeezed through the hills. It was the natural place to block an advancing army, and armies fought there for centuries.

30Then the king said to his servants, "Carry me out of the battle, for I am very weak." His servants took him out of the battle at once.

30Then said the king unto his servants, Carry me away out of the battle; for I am very weak. And immediately his servants took him away out of the battle.

31Then he got up into his second chariot. He was brought back to Jerusalem, and there he died, and he was buried in the tomb of his ancestors.

31Then gat he up upon his second chariot; and being brought back to Jerusalem died, and was buried in his father’s sepulchre.

NoteA king went into battle in a war chariot and kept a second, lighter chariot in reserve. Moving the wounded Josias to it was a way of getting him off the field quickly.

32All Judea mourned for Josias. The prophet Jeremy sang a song of grief for Josias, and the leading men, together with the women, mourned for him, as they still do to this day. This was made a rule to be kept always throughout the whole nation of Israel.

32And in all Jewry they mourned for Josias, yea, Jeremy the prophet lamented for Josias, and the chief men with the women made lamentation for him unto this day: and this was given out for an ordinance to be done continually in all the nation of Israel.

Note"Jewry" is the older English word for Judea, the territory around Jerusalem. The lament is a formal song of grief, and the last clause says such songs became a fixed custom, sung year after year rather than only at the funeral.

33These things are written in the book of the records of the kings of Judah. Every one of the acts that Josias did, and his glory, and his understanding of the law of the Lord, and the things he had done before, and the things told here, are reported in the book of the kings of Israel and Judea.

33These things are written in the book of the stories of the kings of Judah, and every one of the acts that Josias did, and his glory, and his understanding in the law of the Lord, and the things that he had done before, and the things now recited, are reported in the book of the kings of Israel and Judea.

Note"The book of the stories of the kings" means a book of records or histories. "Story" in 1611 English carried the sense of history, not fiction.

34The people took Joachaz the son of Josias and made him king in place of Josias his father, when he was twenty-three years old.

34And the people took Joachaz the son of Josias, and made him king instead of Josias his father, when he was twenty and three years old.

35He reigned in Judea and in Jerusalem for three months. Then the king of Egypt removed him from ruling in Jerusalem.

35And he reigned in Judea and in Jerusalem three months: and then the king of Egypt deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem.

36He set a tax on the land of a hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

36And he set a tax upon the land of an hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

NoteA talent was a weight of roughly seventy-five pounds, about thirty-four kilograms. A hundred talents of silver is therefore something like three and a half tons of it, an enormous levy, exacted as tribute from a defeated vassal.

37The king of Egypt also made Joacim, the brother of Joachaz, king of Judea and Jerusalem.

37The king of Egypt also made king Joacim his brother king of Judea and Jerusalem.

NoteJoacim is Jehoiakim, an older brother of Joachaz and another son of Josias. A victorious overlord commonly removed one royal son and installed another as a client ruler who owed him tribute and loyalty.

38Joacim put the nobles in chains, and he seized his brother Zaraces and brought him up out of Egypt.

38And he bound Joacim and the nobles: but Zaraces his brother he apprehended, and brought him out of Egypt.

NoteThe Greek text is confused at this point and the King James follows it closely, which is why the subject of "he bound" is unclear and the note about Zaraces, elsewhere Zarakes, is hard to place. Parallel accounts say only that the deposed brother was carried off to Egypt.

39Joacim was twenty-five years old when he was made king in the land of Judea and Jerusalem, and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

39Five and twenty years old was Joacim when he was made king in the land of Judea and Jerusalem; and he did evil before the Lord.

40So Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon came up against him, tied him with a bronze chain, and carried him off to Babylon.

40Wherefore against him Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon came up, and bound him with a chain of brass, and carried him into Babylon.

NoteNabuchodonosor is Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, the dominant power after Egypt and Assyria were pushed back. "A chain of brass" means bronze fetters, the standard restraint for a captured king being paraded home.

41Nabuchodonosor also took some of the holy vessels of the Lord, carried them away, and put them in his own temple in Babylon.

41Nabuchodonosor also took of the holy vessels of the Lord, and carried them away, and set them in his own temple at Babylon.

NoteThe holy vessels were the gold and silver bowls, basins, lamps and utensils used in temple worship. Carrying a defeated nation's sacred objects into your own god's temple was a public display that your god had won.

42But the things that are recorded about him, and about his unclean and irreverent acts, are written in the records of the kings.

42But those things that are recorded of him, and of his uncleaness and impiety, are written in the chronicles of the kings.

43Then Joacim his son reigned in his place. He was eighteen years old when he was made king,

43And Joacim his son reigned in his stead: he was made king being eighteen years old;

NoteThis is Jehoiachin, whose name in Hebrew is close to his father Jehoiakim's. The Greek spells both men Joacim, which is why father and son here look as though they share a name and the two short reigns are easy to confuse.

44and he reigned only three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

44And reigned but three months and ten days in Jerusalem; and did evil before the Lord.

45So after a year Nabuchodonosor sent men and had him brought to Babylon, together with the holy vessels of the Lord.

45So after a year Nabuchodonosor sent and caused him to be brought into Babylon with the holy vessels of the Lord;

46He made Zedechias king of Judea and Jerusalem when Zedechias was twenty-one years old, and he reigned eleven years.

46And made Zedechias king of Judea and Jerusalem, when he was one and twenty years old; and he reigned eleven years:

NoteZedechias is Zedekiah, another son of Josias and therefore uncle to the boy king he replaced, installed by Babylon as a client ruler.

47He too did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he paid no attention to the words spoken to him by the prophet Jeremy from the mouth of the Lord.

47And he did evil also in the sight of the Lord, and cared not for the words that were spoken unto him by the prophet Jeremy from the mouth of the Lord.

48King Nabuchodonosor had made him swear an oath by the name of the Lord, but he broke his oath and rebelled. He made his neck and his heart stubborn, and he broke the laws of the Lord, the God of Israel.

48And after that king Nabuchodonosor had made him to swear by the name of the Lord, he forswore himself, and rebelled; and hardening his neck, his heart, he transgressed the laws of the Lord God of Israel.

NoteA vassal king swore loyalty to his overlord by the name of his own god, so breaking the oath was both a political revolt and a violation of something sworn before God. "Hardening his neck" is a farming image, taken from an ox that stiffens its neck and refuses the yoke.

49The rulers of the people and of the priests also did many things against the laws, going beyond all the unclean practices of all the nations, and they made unclean the temple of the Lord, which had been set apart as holy in Jerusalem.

49The governors also of the people and of the priests did many things against the laws, and passed all the pollutions of all nations, and defiled the temple of the Lord, which was sanctified in Jerusalem.

Note"Pollutions" means practices that made a person or place ritually unclean and so unfit for worship. To say they "passed" them is to say they went beyond even those.

50Even so, the God of their ancestors sent word by his messenger to call them back, because he had pity on them and on his dwelling place.

50Nevertheless the God of their fathers sent by his messenger to call them back, because he spared them and his tabernacle also.

Note"Tabernacle" is the King James word for a dwelling or tent, originally the portable sanctuary of the wilderness years. Here it stands for the place where God was held to dwell among the people, the temple.

51But they laughed at his messengers, and on the day the Lord spoke to them, they made fun of his prophets.

51But they had his messengers in derision; and, look, when the Lord spake unto them, they made a sport of his prophets:

52This went so far that he became angry with his people for their great ungodliness, and he commanded the kings of the Chaldeans to come up against them.

52So far forth, that he, being wroth with his people for their great ungodliness, commanded the kings of the Chaldees to come up against them;

NoteThe Chaldees, or Chaldeans, were the people of southern Babylonia who came to rule the Babylonian empire. The name is used loosely for the Babylonians as a whole. The plural "kings" reflects the fact that the attacks came in waves over about twenty years.

53They killed their young men with the sword, even in the area of their holy temple, and they spared no young man or young woman, no old man or child among them, for he handed them all over to them.

53Who slew their young men with the sword, yea, even within the compass of their holy temple, and spared neither young man nor maid, old man nor child, among them; for he delivered all into their hands.

54They took all the holy vessels of the Lord, both large and small, along with the chests of the ark of God and the king's treasures, and carried them away to Babylon.

54And they took all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, with the vessels of the ark of God, and the king’s treasures, and carried them away into Babylon.

Note"The vessels of the ark" renders a Greek word for chests or coffers, the containers in which the sacred equipment was stored and moved.

55As for the house of the Lord, they burned it, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem and set its towers on fire.

55As for the house of the Lord, they burnt it, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem, and set fire upon her towers:

NoteThe burning of the temple and the breaking of Jerusalem's walls took place in 587 or 586 BC, at the end of a long siege.

56As for her glorious things, they did not stop until they had destroyed them and brought them all to nothing. And he carried the people who were not killed by the sword away to Babylon.

56And as for her glorious things, they never ceased till they had consumed and brought them all to nought: and the people that were not slain with the sword he carried unto Babylon:

Note"Brought them all to nought" means reduced them all to nothing. "Nought" is simply the older spelling of naught, that is, zero.

57They became servants to him and to his sons until the Persians reigned, so that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremy would come true:

57Who became servants to him and his children, till the Persians reigned, to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremy:

NoteBabylon fell to Cyrus of Persia in 539 BC. The exiles' status changed with the change of empire, which is how the period of servitude is measured here.

58"Until the land has enjoyed its sabbath rests, it will rest for the whole time it lies empty, until seventy years are complete."

58Until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths, the whole time of her desolation shall she rest, until the full term of seventy years.

NoteThe law required that fields be left unplanted every seventh year, a sabbath rest for the land itself. Leviticus warned that if those rests were not kept, the land would take them all at once while its people were away. Seventy years is the figure Jeremiah gave for the exile.