2Chronicles:35

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* Now Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem , and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month . * And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the LORD . * Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel , who were holy to the LORD : "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David , king of Israel , built . It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders . Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel . * Prepare yourselves according to your fathers ' houses , according to your divisions , following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son . * And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers ' houses of your brethren the lay people , and according to the division of the father 's house of the Levites . * So slaughter the Passover offerings , consecrate yourselves , and prepare them for your brethren , that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses ." * Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock , all for Passover offerings for all who were present , to the number of thirty thousand , as well as three thousand cattle ; these were from the king 's possessions . * And his leaders gave willingly to the people , to the priests , and to the Levites . Hilkiah , Zechariah , and Jehiel , rulers of the house of God , gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock , and three hundred cattle . * Also Conaniah , his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel , and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad , chief of the Levites , gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle . * So the service was prepared , and the priests stood in their places , and the Levites in their divisions , according to the king 's command . * And they slaughtered the Passover offerings ; and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands , while the Levites skinned the animals . * Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers ' houses of the lay people , to offer to the LORD , as it is written in the Book of Moses . And so they did with the cattle . * Also they roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance ; but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots , in caldrons , and in pans , and divided them quickly among all the lay people . * Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests , because the priests , the sons of Aaron , were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night ; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests , the sons of Aaron . * And the singers , the sons of Asaph , were in their places , according to the command of David , Asaph , Heman , and Jeduthun the king 's seer . Also the gatekeepers were at each gate ; they did not have to leave their position , because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them . * So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day , to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD , according to the command of King Josiah . * And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time , and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days . * There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet ; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept , with the priests and the Levites , all Judah and Israel who were present , and the inhabitants of Jerusalem . * In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept . * After all this , when Josiah had prepared the temple , Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates ; and Josiah went out against him . * But he sent messengers to him , saying , "What have I to do with you , king of Judah ? I have not come against you this day , but against the house with which I have war ; for God commanded me to make haste . Refrain from meddling with God , who is with me , lest He destroy you ." * Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him , but disguised himself so that he might fight with him , and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God . So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo . * And the archers shot King Josiah ; and the king said to his servants , "Take me away , for I am severely wounded ." * 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 . So he died , and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers . And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah . * Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah . And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations . They made it a custom in Israel ; and indeed they are written in the Laments . * Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness , according to what was written in the Law of the LORD , * and his deeds from first to last , indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah .

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