Josiah

1King Josiah held the Passover for the LORD in Jerusalem. They killed the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

NotePassover was a special meal Israel ate every year. It helped them remember when God saved them from Egypt. Long ago in Egypt, each family cooked a lamb that night. The first month came in the spring, near the start of harvest.

2Josiah gave the priests their jobs. He cheered them on in their work at the LORD's house, the temple.

And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,

NotePriests were men who worked at God's temple. They brought the people's gifts to God for them.

3The Levites taught all Israel, and they were holy to the LORD. Josiah said to them, "Put the holy ark in the temple that Solomon built. Solomon was the son of David, king of Israel. You do not need to carry the ark on your shoulders anymore. Now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.

And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel,

NoteThe ark was a gold-covered box with God's rules inside. Long ago the Levites carried it from place to place. Once the temple was built, the ark stayed in one room. The Levites were helpers at the temple.

4"Get yourselves ready, family by family, in your work groups. Follow the written orders of King David and his son Solomon."

And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.

NoteThe Levites took turns working, like teams taking turns. Each family group had its own week to serve.

5"Stand in the holy place. Match your family groups of Levites to the family groups of the people."

And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.

NoteThe holy place was the part of the temple where only workers went.

6"Kill the Passover lambs. Make yourselves clean for God. Get everything ready for the people. Do what the LORD told Moses to say."

So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

NoteMaking yourself clean for God meant washing and getting ready. It was a way of showing God you were serious. Moses was the leader who brought Israel out of Egypt long before.

7Josiah gave the people 30,000 lambs and young goats for the Passover offerings. He gave 3,000 bulls too. Every animal came from his own flocks and herds.

And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king’s substance.

NoteAn offering is a gift given to God. Here the gift was an animal from the flock. Every family needed one, so the king gave away many.

8His leaders gave gladly to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel were in charge of God's house. They gave the priests 2,600 sheep and goats and 300 bulls.

And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.

9Conaniah gave too, with his brothers Shemaiah and Nethaneel. So did Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad. All of them were leaders of the Levites. They gave the Levites 5,000 sheep and goats and 500 bulls.

Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.

10So everything was ready. The priests stood in their places. The Levites stood in their groups, just as the king had said.

So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king’s commandment.

11They killed the Passover lambs. The priests took the blood and sprinkled it. The Levites took the skins off the animals.

And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.

NoteThe blood was sprinkled to show the animal was given to God. The skins were pulled off before the meat was cooked.

12They set aside the animals for burnt offerings. These were handed out to the family groups of the people to offer to the LORD. The book of Moses said to do it this way. They did the same with the bulls.

And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.

NoteA burnt offering was an animal burned all the way up on the fire. Nobody ate it. The whole thing was a gift for God.

13They roasted the Passover meat over fire, the way the rule said. They boiled the other holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. Then they handed the food out quickly to all the people.

And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people.

NoteThe rules said Passover meat must be roasted over fire, not boiled. Other gift animals could be boiled in water instead.

14After that, the Levites made food ready for themselves and for the priests. The priests come from the family of Aaron. They were busy burning offerings and fat until night. So the Levites did the work for them.

And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.

NoteAaron was Moses' brother. God chose his family to be the priests. The fat of the animals was burned on the fire as God's part.

15The singers from Asaph's family stood in their places. King David had set this up with Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. Jeduthun was the king's seer, a man who heard messages from God. The gatekeepers stayed at every gate. They did not have to leave, because other Levites brought their food.

And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.

NoteAsaph's family had sung at the temple for many years. Gatekeepers were men who watched the doors and let people in.

16So that day the whole service for the LORD was done. They kept the Passover and burned offerings on the LORD's altar. King Josiah had told them to do it.

So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.

NoteAn altar was a big stone table. Gifts for God were burned on top of it.

17The people of Israel who were there kept the Passover that day. They also kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. That is bread made without yeast, so it does not rise.

And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

NoteBread without yeast bakes fast and stays flat. Israel ate it when they left Egypt in a big hurry.

18No Passover like this one had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. A prophet told people what God said. No king of Israel had ever kept a Passover like Josiah's. He kept it with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who came, and the people of Jerusalem.

And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

NoteSamuel lived long before Israel had any kings. He led the people and spoke God's words to them.

19This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year that Josiah was king.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.

20After all this, Josiah had the temple in good order. Then Necho, king of Egypt, marched out to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates River. Josiah went out to stop him.

After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.

NoteCarchemish was a far city up north, past Israel. The Euphrates is a very long river there. Egypt's army had to march past Josiah's land to get there.

21Necho sent messengers to Josiah. They said, "Why are you fighting me, king of Judah? I did not come to fight you today. I came to fight another royal family. God told me to hurry. Stop standing against God, who is with me, or he will destroy you."

But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.

NoteA royal family means a king and the family that rules with him. Necho meant he was going to fight a different king, not Josiah.

22But Josiah would not turn back. He put on a disguise so he could fight. He did not listen to Necho's words, which came from God. He went to fight on the plain of Megiddo.

Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

NoteJosiah dressed like a normal soldier so nobody would spot the king. Megiddo was a wide flat place where armies often fought.

23The archers shot King Josiah with arrows. The king said to his servants, "Take me away. I am badly hurt."

And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.

NoteArchers were soldiers who fought with bows and arrows.

24So his servants lifted him out of his chariot. They put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. There he died. They buried him in a tomb where his family was buried. All Judah and Jerusalem cried for Josiah.

His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

NoteA chariot was a cart with wheels pulled by horses. Kings rode in them to battle. Families were buried together in caves cut into rock.

25Jeremiah sang a sad song for Josiah. Even now, men and women singers sing sad songs about him. Israel made this a rule to keep. Those songs are written in the book of sad songs.

And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.

NoteJeremiah was a prophet, a man who told people what God said. A sad song like this is called a lament. People sang it to show how much they missed someone.

26The rest of what Josiah did is written down. So is the kind and faithful way he followed the LORD's law.

Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD,

27Everything he did, from first to last, is written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

11The LORD says this about Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah. He became king after his father Josiah. Then he was taken away from this place. He will never come back here.

For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

NoteShallum is another name for King Jehoahaz. He was king for only three months. Then the king of Egypt took him away.

12He will die in the land where they took him. He will never see this land again.

But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

13How sad for the man who builds his palace by cheating. He builds his upper rooms by doing wrong. He makes his own people work for nothing. He never pays them what they earned.

Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

14He says, "I will build myself a big palace with large upper rooms." He cuts windows into it. He covers the walls with cedar wood. He paints it bright red.

That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

NoteThis bright red paint was made from a special rock. It cost a great deal, so only rich people used it.

15Does fine cedar wood make you a king? Your father had plenty to eat and drink. He was fair and did what was right. So things went well for him.

Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

NoteHis father was King Josiah. People remembered Josiah as a king who treated people fairly.

16He made sure poor and needy people were treated fairly. So things went well for him. Isn't this what it means to know me? says the LORD.

He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

17But your eyes and your heart want only one thing. You want money you have no right to. You want to kill innocent people. You want to bully and hurt others.

But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.