Josiah Restores the Passover (2 Kings 23:21–27)
1 UDB Josiah commanded that the people should celebrate the Passover Festival in Jerusalem. So they slaughtered the lambs for the Passover on the 14th day of the first month. BSB BSB: Then Josiah kept the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2 UDB Josiah assigned to the priests to the tasks that they should perform at the temple, and encouraged them do their work well. BSB BSB: He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD.
3 UDB The descendants of Levi were the ones who taught all the Israelite people; they had been set apart for Yahweh. Josiah said to them, "Put the sacred chest in the temple that the workers of David's son King Solomon of Israel built. But carry it on poles; do not carry it on your shoulders. And do well your work for Yahweh your God and for his Israelite people. BSB BSB: To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the LORD, Josiah said: “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. It is not to be carried around on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.
4 UDB Divide yourselves into your traditional clans, obeying the instructions that King David and his son Solomon wrote. BSB BSB: Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and Solomon his son.
5 UDB Then stand in the temple area, with each of you in your own Levite clan, ready to help your fellow Israelites when they bring their offerings to the temple. BSB BSB: Moreover, stand in the Holy Place by the divisions of the families of your kinsmen the lay people, and by the divisions of the families of the Levites.
6 UDB Slaughter the lambs for the Passover. Do this for your fellow Israelites. Perform the rituals to set yourselves apart for God's honor and to serve Yahweh and do his work. Prepare the sacrifices, doing what Yahweh told Moses to tell you that you should do." BSB BSB: Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your fellow countrymen to carry out the word of the LORD given by Moses.”
7 UDB Josiah provided from his own flocks and herds thirty thousand young sheep and goats for the Passover sacrifices. He also provided three thousand bulls from his own herds. BSB BSB: From his own flocks and herds Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present.
8 UDB His officials also voluntarily contributed animals for the people and the priests and the other descendants of Levi. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the officials who were in charge of the temple, gave to the priests 2,600 lambs and three hundred cattle to be sacrifices for the Passover. BSB BSB: His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.
9 UDB Also, Konaniah, along with his younger brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the descendants of Levi, provided five thousand lambs and five hundred cattle for the other descendants of Levi, to be sacrifices for the Passover. BSB BSB: Additionally, Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites 5,000 Passover offerings and 500 bulls.
10 UDB Everything for the Passover was arranged: The priests and the other descendants of Levi stood in their places in their groups, as the king had commanded. BSB BSB: So the service was prepared; the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command.
11 UDB Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests sprinkled the blood from the bowls that were handed to them, while the other descendants of Levi removed the skins from the animals. BSB BSB: And they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests splattered the blood handed to them and the Levites skinned the animals.
12 UDB They set aside the animals to be completely burned on the altar, in order to give them to the various family groups to offer to Yahweh, obeying the instructions that were written in the laws God gave Moses. They did the same thing with the cattle. BSB BSB: They set aside the burnt offerings to be given to the divisions of the families of the people to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And they did the same with the bulls.
13 UDB Obeying those regulations, they roasted over the fire the lambs for the Passover. And they boiled the meat of the sacred offerings in pots and kettles and pans, and served the meat immediately to all the people who were there. BSB BSB: They roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the regulation, and they boiled the other holy offerings in pots, kettles, and bowls and quickly brought them to all the people.
14 UDB After that, they prepared meat for themselves and for the priests, because the priests were busy until nighttime, sacrificing the offerings to be completely burned and burning the fat parts of the offerings. So the descendants of Levi prepared meat for themselves and for the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, the first high priest. BSB BSB: Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering up burnt offerings and fat until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
15 UDB The musicians, who were descendants of Asaph, stood in their places, as had been commanded by King David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's prophet. The men who guarded the gates of the temple did not need to leave their places, because their fellow descendants of Levi prepared food for them to eat. BSB BSB: The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.
16 UDB So on that day everything that needed to done for worshiping Yahweh was done. They celebrated the Passover Festival, and they presented offerings to be completely burned on the altar, which was what Josiah had commanded. BSB BSB: So on that day the entire service of the LORD was carried out for celebrating the Passover and offering burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.
17 UDB The Israelites who were there celebrated the Passover on that day, and for seven days they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread. BSB BSB: The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.
18 UDB The Passover Festival had not been celebrated like that in Israel since the time that the prophet Samuel lived. And none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated the Passover like Josiah did, along with the priests, the other descendants of Levi, and all the other people of Judah and Israel who were there with the people who lived in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.
19 UDB They celebrated this Passover Festival when Josiah had been ruling for almost eighteen years. BSB BSB: In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed.
The Death of Josiah (2 Kings 23:28–30)
21 UDB Necho sent some messengers to Josiah, to tell him, "You are the king of Judah, and there is certainly no reason for you to fight me; we are attacking the army of Babylonia. God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is for me. If you do not stop, God will get rid of you." BSB BSB: But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty, and God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!”
22 UDB But Josiah would not listen to him. Instead, he disguised himself in order to be able to attack the army of Egypt without anyone recognizing him. He did not pay any attention to what God had told Necho to say. Instead, he and his army went to fight Necho's army at the plain of Megiddo. BSB BSB: Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.
23 UDB Some archers shot King Josiah. He told his officers, "Take me away from here because I am badly wounded." BSB BSB: There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded!”
24 UDB So they took him out of his chariot and put him in another chariot that he had brought with him, and they took him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs where his ancestors had been buried, and all the people of Jerusalem and other places in Judah mourned for him. BSB BSB: So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.
Laments over Josiah 25 UDB The prophet Jeremiah composed a song to lament for Josiah, and all the men and women singers in Israel still mourn for Josiah by singing that song. That became a custom in Israel; the words of that song are written in a scroll of funeral songs. BSB BSB: Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.
26 UDB A record of the other things that happened while Josiah ruled, from the time he started to rule until he died, including how he faithfully was devoted to honoring God by obeying all that was written in the laws of Yahweh, is written in the book of the kings ofIsrael and Judah. BSB BSB: As for the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of loving devotion according to what is written in the Law of the LORD—
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