2 Chronicles 35

Josiah's Great Passover

¹Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem. They killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

²He set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the LORD’s house.

³He 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 will no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.

⁴Prepare yourselves after your fathers’ houses by your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.

⁵Stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brothers the children of the people, and let there be for each a portion of a fathers’ house of the Levites.

⁶Kill the Passover lamb, sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the LORD’s word by Moses.”

⁷Josiah gave to the children of the people, of the flock, lambs and young goats, all of them for the Passover offerings, to all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bulls. These were of the king’s substance.

⁸His princes gave a free will offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the rulers of God’s house, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred small livestock, and three hundred head of cattle.

⁹Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand small livestock and five hundred head of cattle.

¹⁰So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites by their divisions, according to the king’s commandment.

¹¹They killed the Passover lambs, and the priests sprinkled the blood which they received from their hands, and the Levites skinned them.

¹²They removed the burnt offerings, that they might give them according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the children of the people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.

¹³They roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the children of the people.

¹⁴Afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron were busy with offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night. Therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests the sons of Aaron.

¹⁵The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place, according to the commandment of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and the gatekeepers were at every gate. They didn’t need to depart from their service, because their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the LORD’s altar, according to the commandment of King Josiah.

¹⁷The children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.

¹⁸There was no Passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, nor did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept—with the priests, the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁹This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

Josiah's Death at Megiddo

²⁰After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him.

²¹But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you today, but against the house with which I have war. God has commanded me to make haste. Beware that it is God who is with me, that he not destroy you.”

²²Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and didn’t listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

²³The archers shot at King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, because I am seriously wounded!”

²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women spoke of Josiah in their lamentations to this day; and they made them an ordinance in Israel. Behold, they are written in the lamentations.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his good deeds, according to that which is written in the LORD’s law,

²⁷and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

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Josiah celebrates the most magnificent Passover since the days of Samuel, meticulously organizing priests, Levites, and worship according to Mosaic and Davidic instructions. The king and his officials provide thousands of animals for sacrifice, and the celebration proceeds with unprecedented scale and proper order. However, Josiah's reign ends tragically when he ignores God's warning through Pharaoh Necho and dies in battle at Megiddo, leading to national mourning and the composition of laments by Jeremiah.

Context

This chapter concludes Josiah's reforming reign that began in chapter 34, setting the stage for Judah's final decline under his successors.

Key Themes

Outline

1-6
Passover Preparations Josiah organizes priests and Levites according to Davidic divisions and Mosaic law for proper Passover observance.
7-9
Royal and Official Contributions The king provides 33,000 animals while temple officials and Levitical leaders contribute thousands more for the celebration.
10-19
The Great Passover Celebration The Passover proceeds with perfect order, declared unmatched since Samuel's time, with all participants properly positioned.
20-24
Josiah's Fatal Battle Despite Necho's divine warning, Josiah fights at Megiddo and is mortally wounded, dying upon return to Jerusalem.
25-27
National Mourning and Legacy Jeremiah composes laments for Josiah, whose deeds are recorded in the chronicles of Israel and Judah's kings.

Josiah's Great Passover

35:1–35:19

narrative narration celebratory

Josiah organized a great Passover celebration in Jerusalem with proper priestly organization and generous offerings from the king and leaders.

person_contrast

Josiah's meticulous adherence to Mosaic law in organizing this Passover contrasts sharply with his typical portrayal elsewhere as a king requiring divine judgment for disobedience.

Josiah's Death at Megiddo

35:20–35:27

narrative narration mournful

King Josiah died in battle at Megiddo after unwisely confronting Pharaoh Neco, leading to great mourning throughout Judah and Jerusalem.

person_contrast

Josiah's fatal disobedience at Megiddo ironically mirrors the very rebellion against divine authority that his reforms had sought to eliminate throughout Judah.

Insight Character Study

Josiah's meticulous adherence to Mosaic law in organizing this Passover contrasts sharply with his typical portrayal elsewhere as a king requiring divine judgment for disobedience.

Insight Character Study

Josiah's fatal disobedience at Megiddo ironically mirrors the very rebellion against divine authority that his reforms had sought to eliminate throughout Judah.