1 And Josiah observed the Passover for the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Celebrated} in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover offering on the fourteenth day of the first month {chodesh: lunar cycle}.
2 And he stationed the priests upon their duties and strengthened them for the service {avodah: sacred work} of the house of the LORD {YHWH, Sanctuary Master}.
3 And he said to the Levites, the ones who taught all Israel and who were consecrated to the LORD {YHWH, Holiness Giver}, “Put the holy Ark in the house that Solomon, son of David, King of Israel, built. It is not for you to carry a burden on your shoulder; now serve the LORD your God {Eloheikhem, Covenant Guide} and his people Israel.”
4 Prepare yourselves for your fathers’ houses {leveit-avoteikhem: ancestral clans}, according to your divisions, according to the writing {biktav: written directive} of David, king of Israel, and according to the document of Solomon his son.
5 And stand in the holy place for the divisions {plugot: organized groups} of the ancestral houses for your brothers, the sons of the people, and for the division of the ancestral house of the Levites {lewiim: tribal priests}.
6 And you shall slaughter the Passover {pesach: festival sacrifice}, sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Commander} by the hand of Moses.
7 And Josiah {Yoshiyahu: Faithful Reformer} provided for the sons of the people from the flock—lambs and kids of goats—all for the Passover offerings, for all who were found, according to the count: thirty thousand from the flock and three thousand bulls—these from the possessions of the king {melekh: ruling authority}.
8 And his officials contributed a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites; Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders of the house of God {Elohim, Temple Patron}, gave to the priests 2,600 Passover-offerings {lappəsaḥim: sacrificial festivities} and 300 bulls.
9 Conaniah, Shemaiah, and Nethanel—his brothers—together with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders {sarei: clan chiefs} of the Levites, presented to the Levites for the Passover offerings {pesachim: festival sacrifices} five thousand animals and five hundred cattle.
10 And the service {avodah: liturgical duty} was established, and the priests stood at their stations and the Levites at their divisions, according to the commandment of the king {melekh: royal authority}.
11 They slaughtered the Passover sacrifice, and the priests {kohanim: ritual mediators} dashed the blood they received, and the Levites {leviyim: temple attendants} stripped the skins.
12 And they set aside the burnt offering to give them to the divisions of the houses of the fathers for the sons of the people, to offer to the LORD {YHWH, Law-Giver}, as it is written in the Book of Moses {Moshe: Covenant Mediator}, and likewise for the bulls.
13 And they roasted the Passover sacrifice over the fire as required {mishpat: legal ordinance}, and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans. Then they brought them swiftly to all the people {benei ha’am: community members}.
14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests {kohanim: temple ministers}, because the priests, sons of Aaron {Aharon: first high priest}, were offering up the burnt offering and the fat portions until night. And the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were at their stations {ma'amad: appointed posts} according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer {chozeh: royal prophet}, and the gatekeepers stood at every gate. They were not required to leave their service, for their brothers the Levites had prepared for them.
16 And all the service of the LORD {YHWH, Ritual Overseer} was prepared on that day to perform the Passover {pesach: lamb sacrifice} and to offer up burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of King Josiah.
17 And the sons of Israel {Yisrael: covenant people} who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Festival of Unleavened Bread {matzot: bread without leaven} for seven days.
18 And no Passover {pesach: national covenant festival} like it had been celebrated in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor did any of the kings of Israel celebrate such a Passover as Josiah {Yoshiyahu: reforming king} did, together with the priests, the Levites, all of Judah and all the Israelites present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
19 In the eighteenth year of the reign {malkhut: royal authority} of Josiah, this Passover {pesakh: festival commemorating deliverance} was celebrated.
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the house {bayit: temple sanctuary}, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet {likrato: in opposition} him.
21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What is there between me and you, king of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house {beit: ruling house in conflict} with which I am at war; and God {Elohim: Divine Commander} has commanded me to hurry. Cease for your own sake from opposing God, who is with me, so that He does not destroy you.”
22 But Josiah did not turn away his face from him, for he disguised himself {hitchapes: altered appearance} to fight against him; he did not listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God {Elohim: Sovereign Speaker}, and he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
23 And the archers {ha-yorim: skilled bowmen} shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Carry me away, for I am severely wounded {hacholeiti: struck down}.”
24 And his servants took him out of the chariot and set him upon the second chariot {mishneh: alternate vehicle} which was his, and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died and was buried in the graves of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem were mourning for Josiah {Yoshiyahu: faithful king}.
25 And Jeremiah {Yirmeyahu, Prophet-Lamenter} lamented over Josiah, and all the singers, male and female, have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They established these as a statute in Israel, and behold, they are written in the Laments {kinot: Dirges}.
26 And the rest of the words of Josiah and his acts of devotion, as it is written in the law {Torah: divine teaching} of the LORD {YHWH, Instruction Giver}.
27 And his acts, the earlier and the later—behold, they are written {ketuvim: established records} upon the book {sefer: official historical record} of the kings of Israel and Judah.