1 Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the LORD's temple.3 He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the LORD: "Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.4 Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.5 "Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people.6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the LORD commanded through Moses."7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle —all from the king's own possessions.8 His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God's temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.9 Also Konaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered.11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals.12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people.14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.16 So at that time the entire service of the LORD was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, as King Josiah had ordered.17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem.19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle.21 But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, "What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you."22 Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God's command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.23 Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, "Take me away; I am badly wounded."24 So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.26 The other events of Josiah's reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with what is written in the Law of the LORD —27 all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

1 Fecit autem Josias in Jerusalem Phase Domino, quod immolatum est quartadecima die mensis primi : 2 et constituit sacerdotes in officiis suis, hortatusque est eos ut ministrarent in domo Domini : 3 Levitis quoque, ad quorum eruditionem omnis Isral sanctificabatur Domino, locutus est : Ponite arcam in sanctuario templi, quod dificavit Salomon filius David rex Isral, nequaquam enim eam ultra portabitis : nunc autem ministrate Domino Deo vestro, et populo ejus Isral. 4 Et prparate vos per domos et cognationes vestras in divisionibus singulorum, sicut prcepit David rex Isral, et descripsit Salomon filius ejus. 5 Et ministrate in sanctuario per familias turmasque Leviticas, 6 et sanctificati immolate Phase : fratres etiam vestros, ut possint juxta verba qu locutus est Dominus in manu Moysi facere, prparate. 7 Dedit prterea Josias omni populo qui ibi fuerat inventus in solemnitate Phase, agnos et hdos de gregibus et reliqui pecoris triginta millia, boum quoque tria millia : hc de regis universa substantia. 8 Duces quoque ejus sponte quod voverant, obtulerunt, tam populo quam sacerdotibus et Levitis. Porro Helcias, et Zacharias, et Jahiel principes domus Domini dederunt sacerdotibus ad faciendum Phase pecora commixtim duo millia sexcenta, et boves trecentos. 9 Chonenias autem, et Semeias, etiam Nathanal fratres ejus, necnon Hasabias, et Jehiel, et Jozabad principes Levitarum, dederunt ceteris Levitis ad celebrandum Phase quinque millia pecorum, et boves quingentos. 10 Prparatumque est ministerium, et steterunt sacerdotes in officio suo : Levit quoque in turmis, juxta regis imperium. 11 Et immolatum est Phase : asperseruntque sacerdotes manu sua sanguinem, et Levit detraxerunt pelles holocaustorum : 12 et separaverunt ea ut darent per domos et familias singulorum, et offerrentur Domino, sicut scriptum est in libro Moysi : de bobus quoque fecerunt similiter. 13 Et assaverunt Phase super ignem, juxta quod in lege scriptum est : pacificas vero hostias coxerunt in lebetibus, et cacabis, et ollis, et festinato distribuerunt univers plebi : 14 sibi autem et sacerdotibus postea paraverunt, nam in oblatione holocaustorum et adipum usque ad noctem sacerdotes fuerunt occupati, unde Levit sibi et sacerdotibus filiis Aaron paraverunt novissimis. 15 Porro cantores filii Asaph stabant in ordine suo, juxta prceptum David, et Asaph, et Heman, et Idithun prophetarum regis : janitores vero per portas singulas observabant, ita ut nec puncto quidem discederent a ministerio : quam ob rem et fratres eorum Levit paraverunt eis cibos. 16 Omnis igitur cultura Domini rite completa est in die illa, ut facerent Phase, et offerrent holocausta super altare Domini, juxta prceptum regis Josi. 17 Feceruntque filii Isral, qui reperti fuerant ibi, Phase in tempore illo, et solemnitatem azymorum septem diebus. 18 Non fuit Phase simile huic in Isral a diebus Samuelis prophet : sed nec quisquam de cunctis regibus Isral fecit Phase sicut Josias, sacerdotibus, et Levitis, et omni Jud et Isral qui repertus fuerat, et habitantibus in Jerusalem. 19 Octavodecimo anno regni Josi hoc Phase celebratum est.20 Postquam instauraverat Josias templum, ascendit Nechao rex gypti ad pugnandum in Charcamis juxta Euphraten : et processit in occursum ejus Josias. 21 At ille, missis ad eum nuntiis, ait : Quid mihi et tibi est, rex Juda ? non adversum te hodie venio, sed contra aliam pugno domum, ad quam me Deus festinato ire prcepit : desine adversum Deum facere, qui mecum est, ne interficiat te. 22 Noluit Josias reverti, sed prparavit contra eum bellum, nec acquievit sermonibus Nechao ex ore Dei : verum perrexit ut dimicaret in campo Mageddo. 23 Ibique vulneratus a sagittariis, dixit pueris suis : Educite me de prlio, quia oppido vulneratus sum. 24 Qui transtulerunt eum de curru in alterum currum, qui sequebatur eum more regio, et asportaverunt eum in Jerusalem : mortuusque est, et sepultus in mausoleo patrum suorum, et universus Juda et Jerusalem luxerunt eum. 25 Jeremias maxime : cujus omnes cantores atque cantatrices, usque in prsentem diem, lamentationes super Josiam replicant, et quasi lex obtinuit in Isral : Ecce scriptum fertur in lamentationibus. 26 Reliqua autem sermonum Josi, et misericordiarum ejus, qu lege prcepta sunt Domini, 27 opera quoque illius prima et novissima, scripta sunt in libro regum Juda et Isral.