35:1 約西亞在耶路撒冷向耶和華守逾越節。正月十四日，就宰了逾越節的羊羔。
35:2 王分派祭司各盡其職，又勉勵他們辦耶和華殿中的事；
35:3 又對那歸耶和華為聖、教訓以色列人的利未人說：「你們將聖約櫃安放在以色列王大衛兒子所羅門建造的殿裡，不必再用肩扛抬。現在要事奉耶和華─你們的上帝，服事他的民以色列。
35:4 你們應當按著宗族，照著班次，遵以色列王大衛和他兒子所羅門所寫的，自己預備。
35:5 要按著你們的弟兄，這民宗族的班次，站在聖所，每班中要利未宗族的幾個人。
35:6 要宰逾越節的羊羔，潔淨自己，為你們的弟兄預備了，好遵守耶和華藉摩西所吩咐的話。」
35:7 約西亞從群畜中賜給在那裡所有的人民，綿羊羔和山羊羔三萬隻，牛三千隻，作逾越節的祭物；這都是出自王的產業中。
35:8 約西亞的眾首領也樂意將犧牲給百姓和祭司利未人；又有管理上帝殿的希勒家、撒迦利亞、耶歇將羊羔二千六百隻，牛三百隻，給祭司作逾越節的祭物。
35:9 利未人的族長歌楠雅和他兩個兄弟示瑪雅、拿坦業，與哈沙比雅、耶利、約撒拔將羊羔五千隻，牛五百隻，給利未人作逾越節的祭物。
35:10 這樣，供獻的事齊備了。祭司站在自己的地方，利未人按著班次站立，都是照王所吩咐的。
35:11 利未人宰了逾越節的羊羔，祭司從他們手裡接過血來灑在壇上；利未人剝皮，
35:12 將燔祭搬來，按著宗族的班次分給眾民，好照摩西書上所寫的，獻給耶和華；獻牛也是這樣。
35:13 他們按著常例，用火烤逾越節的羊羔。別的聖物用鍋，用釜，用罐煮了，速速地送給眾民。
35:14 然後為自己和祭司預備祭物；因為祭司亞倫的子孫獻燔祭和脂油，直到晚上。所以利未人為自己和祭司亞倫的子孫，預備祭物。
35:15 歌唱的亞薩之子孫，照著大衛、亞薩、希幔，和王的先見耶杜頓所吩咐的，站在自己的地位上。守門的看守各門，不用離開他們的職事，因為他們的弟兄利未人給他們預備祭物。
35:16 當日，供奉耶和華的事齊備了，就照約西亞王的吩咐守逾越節，獻燔祭在耶和華的壇上。
35:17 當時在耶路撒冷的以色列人守逾越節，又守除酵節七日。
35:18 自從先知撒母耳以來，在以色列中沒有守過這樣的逾越節，以色列諸王也沒有守過，像約西亞、祭司、利未人、在那裡的猶大人，和以色列人，以及耶路撒冷居民所守的逾越節。
35:19 這逾越節是約西亞作王十八年守的。
35:20 這事以後，約西亞修完了殿，有埃及王尼哥上來，要攻擊靠近幼發拉底河的迦基米施；約西亞出去抵擋他。
35:21 他差遣使者來見約西亞，說：「猶大王啊，我與你何干？我今日來不是要攻擊你，乃是要攻擊與我爭戰之家，並且上帝吩咐我速行，你不要干預上帝的事，免得他毀滅你，因為上帝是與我同在。」
35:22 約西亞卻不肯轉去離開他，改裝要與他打仗，不聽從上帝藉尼哥之口所說的話，便來到米吉多平原爭戰。
35:23 弓箭手射中約西亞王。王對他的臣僕說：「我受了重傷，你拉我出陣吧！」
35:24 他的臣僕扶他下了戰車，上了次車，送他到耶路撒冷，他就死了，葬在他列祖的墳墓裡。猶大人和耶路撒冷人都為他悲哀。
35:25 耶利米為約西亞作哀歌。所有歌唱的男女也唱哀歌，追悼約西亞，直到今日；而且在以色列中成了定例。這歌載在哀歌書上。
35:26 約西亞其餘的事和他遵著耶和華律法上所記而行的善事，
35:27 並他自始至終所行的，都寫在以色列和猶大列王記上。
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.
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約西亞王也透過守逾越節來恢復敬拜耶和華的信仰，然而可惜的是處於亞述和埃及兩大國之間，最後在與埃及戰爭之時，犧牲了性命！
