Josiah Celebrates the Passover
(2 Kings 23.21-23)1 King Josiah celebrated the Passover at Jerusalem in honor of the Lord; on the fourteenth day of the first month they killed the animals for the festival. 2 He assigned to the priests the duties they were to perform in the Temple and encouraged them to do them well. 3 He also gave these instructions to the Levites, the teachers of Israel, who were dedicated to the Lord: “Put the sacred Covenant Box in the Temple that King Solomon, the son of David, built. You are no longer to carry it from place to place, but you are to serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Take your places in the Temple by clans, according to the responsibilities assigned to you by King David and his son King Solomon, 5 and arrange yourselves so that some of you will be available to help each family of the people of Israel. 6 You are to kill the Passover lambs and goats. Now make yourselves ritually clean and prepare the sacrifices in order that your fellow Israelites may follow the instructions which the Lord gave through Moses.”
7 For the use of the people at the Passover, King Josiah contributed from his own herds and flocks 30,000 sheep, lambs, and young goats, and 3,000 bulls. 8 His officials also made contributions for the people, the priests, and the Levites to use. And the officials in charge of the Temple—Hilkiah, the High Priest, Zechariah, and Jehiel—gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats and 300 bulls for sacrifices during the festival. 9 The leaders of the Levites—Conaniah, Shemaiah and his brother Nethanel, Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad—contributed 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls for the Levites to offer as sacrifices.
10 When everything was arranged for the Passover, the priests and the Levites took their posts, as commanded by the king. 11 After the lambs and goats had been killed, the Levites skinned them, and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. 12 Then they divided among the people, by family groups, the animals for burnt offerings, so that they could offer them according to the instructions in the Law of Moses. 13 The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire, according to the regulations, and boiled the sacred offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and quickly distributed the meat to the people. 14 After this was done, the Levites provided meat for themselves and for the priests descended from Aaron, for the priests were kept busy until night, burning the animals that were burned whole and the fat of the sacrifices. 15 The following musicians of the Levite clan of Asaph were in the places assigned to them by King David's instructions: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's prophet. The guards at the Temple gates did not need to leave their posts, because the other Levites prepared the Passover for them. 16 So, as King Josiah had commanded, everything was done that day for the worship of the Lord, the keeping of the Passover Festival, and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar. 17 For seven days all the people of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 18 Since the days of the prophet Samuel, the Passover had never been celebrated like this. None of the former kings had ever celebrated a Passover like this one celebrated by King Josiah, the priests, the Levites, and the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem 19 in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.
The End of Josiah's Reign
(2 Kings 23.28-30)20 After King Josiah had done all this for the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led an army to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. Josiah tried to stop him, 21 but Neco sent Josiah this message: “This war I am fighting does not concern you, King of Judah. I have not come to fight you, but to fight my enemies, and God has told me to hurry. God is on my side, so don't oppose me, or he will destroy you.” 22 But Josiah was determined to fight. He refused to listen to what God was saying through King Neco, so he disguised himself and went into battle on the plain of Megiddo.
23 During the battle King Josiah was struck by Egyptian arrows. He ordered his servants, “Take me away; I'm badly hurt!” 24 They lifted him out of his chariot, placed him in a second chariot which he had there, and took him to Jerusalem. There he died and was buried in the royal tombs. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned his death.
25 The prophet Jeremiah composed a lament for King Josiah. It has become a custom in Israel for the singers, both men and women, to use this song when they mourn for him. The song is found in the collection of laments.
26 Everything that Josiah did—his devotion to the Lord, his obedience to the Law, 27 and his history from beginning to end—is all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Oshivilo shaPaasa pefimbo laJosia
1 Konima yoinima ei Josia okwa dana muJerusalem oshivilo shaPaasa okufimanekifa Omwene. Ndele va dipaa odi yaPaasa mefiku etimulongo netine mohani yotete. 2 Nokwa tula ovapristeli moilonga yavo ndele te va nyatipaleke okulonga mongulu yOmwene. 3 Nokwa lombwela Ovalevi ava va longa Ovaisraeli aveshe ndele ovo va li ve liyapulila Omwene: “Tuleni oshikefa shiyapuki mongulu oyo Salomo yaDavid, ohamba yaIsrael, e i tunga. Itamu pumbwa vali oku shi humbata komapepe. Longeleni paife Omwene Kalunga keni novanhu vaye Ovaisraeli. 4 Ndele kaleni mwe lilongekida pamapata eni paengudu deni ngaashi David, ohamba yaIsrael, ya pangela omhangela nopalombwelo lomona waye Salomo: 5 indeni mo mu kale ofika motembeli paengudu domapata ovamwaxo, ovakweni, nokutya opamalufo omatanga omapata Ovalevi. 6 Ndele dipaeni odi yaPaasa mu liyapule, ndele i longekidileni oovakweni mu longe pandjovo yOmwene, e i lombwela Moses.”
7 Ndele Josia okwa yandja kovanhu vomoshiwana oimuna: oudjona veedi noukombwena, aveshe ovo omayambo aPaasa, kwaaveshe ava va li po, ve fike pomayovi omilongo nhatu, neengobe deemhedi omayovi atatu. Odo adishe oda li dohamba. 8 Nomalenga yo a yandja kovanhu, kovapristeli nokOvalevi. Hilkia naSakaria naJehiel, ovakulunhu vongulu yaKalunga, ova yandja kovapristeli omayambo aPaasa eedi omayovi avali nomafele ahamano neengobe deemhedi omafele atatu. 9 Ndele Konanja novamwaina Shemaia naNetanel naHasabja naJeiel naJosabad, ovakulunhu vOvalevi va yandja omayambo aPaasa eedi omayovi atano, neengobe deemhedi omafele atano.
10 Elongelokalunga ola ningwa ngaha: ovapristeli va kala ofika ponhele yavo, nOvalevi paengudu davo palombwelo lohamba. 11 Opo nee va dipaa odi yaPaasa, novapristeli va tambula ohonde momake Ovalevi ndele ve i tilashi. Ndelenee Ovalevi va yuva 12 ndele va tukula mo osho shokexwikiloyambo, ve shi yandje kovanhu vomoshiwana pamaumbo avo, ve shi yambele Omwene, ngaashi pa shangwa membo laMoses. Nosho yo va ninga neengobe. 13 Ndele va yofa odi yaPaasa komundilo pamapukululo, ndelenee eeshali diyapuki ve di teleka meembiya nomoiyuma nomomatiti, ndele ve di twaalela diva kovanhu aveshe. 14 Konima ve i lilongekidila yo nove i longekidila ovapristeli, osheshi ovapristeli, oludalo laAron, va li moilonga fiyo oufiku okuyamba exwikiloyambo nomakaadi. Onghee hano Ovalevi ve i lilongekidila ndele va longekidila yo ovapristeli, oludalo laAron. 15 Novaimbi, vomoludalo laAsaf, va li ponhele yavo palombwelo laDavid nolaAsaf nolaHeman nolaJedutun, omumonikokule wohamba, nosho yo ovanangeli vopoivelo poshivelo keshe. Vo inava pumbwa okudja po nokweefa oshilonga shavo, osheshi Ovalevi vakwao ve i va longekidila.
16 Osho ngaha hano elongelokalunga alishe la ningwa mefiku tuu olo, noshivilo shaPaasa nokuyamba omaxwikiloyambo koaltari yOmwene pashipango shohamba Josia. 17 Novana vaIsrael ovo va li po, va dana Opaasa pefimbo olo, nosho yo oshivilo shomingome dihe nonhafi, omafiku aheyali. 18 Opaasa ya fa oyo inai danwa muIsrael okudja komafiku omuxunganeki Samuel, osheshi ohamba nande imwe yOvaisraeli inai dana Opaasa ya tya ngaha ngaashi oyo ya danwa kuJosia novapristeli nOvalevi nOvajuda aveshe nOvaisraeli ovo va li po noonakukala muJerusalem. 19 Opaasa ei oya dana momudo omutimulongo nomutihetatu wepangelo laJosia.
Josia ta file moita
20 Konima yoinima aishe oyo, Josia eshi a yapula otembeli, Neko, ohamba yaEgipiti, ya fikama a ka lwife puKarkemis puEufrat, ndele Josia okwa fikama e ke mu shakeneke. 21 Opo nee ye ta tumu kuye ovatumwa, va tye kuye: “Ondi na shike naave, ohamba yaJuda? Nena itandi uya kwoove, ndelenee okepata olo tali lwifa nge alushe. Ndele Kalunga okwa tya ndi nokweendelela. Ino kondjifa Kalunga ou e li pamwe naame, opo Ye ehe ku nyone po.” 22 Ndelenee Josia ina kanduka po puye, ndelenee okwe lidimbika a lwe naye. Ina pwilikina eendjovo daNeko, da dja mokanya kaKalunga. Nokwa ya mepumbu laMegido e ke mu lwife. 23 Novaumbi va yasha Josia. Opo nee ohamba tai ti kovapiya vayo: “Tumbe i nge po, ame nda yashwa nai.” 24 Ovapiya vaye ve mu kufa mo metemba loita ndele ve mu nangeka metemba laye limwe, ndele ve mu twala kuJerusalem. Nokwa fya nokwa pakwa meembila dooxe, fimbo Ovajuda aveshe noonakukalamo muJerusalem va lila Josia. 25 Ndele Jeremia okwa tota eimbilokemo omolwaJosia. Novaimbi aveshe ovalumenhu novakainhu hava imbi Josia momaimbilokemo avo fiyo onena eli, ndele ve shi ninga onghedimhango muIsrael. Ndele tala, osho osha shangelwa mOmaimbilokemo.
26 Noinima imwe tai hepaulula Josia noilonga yaye iyuki pakushangwa momhango yOmwene, 27 inya yotete naayo yaxuuninwa, tala, oya shangwa membo leehamba daIsrael nodaJuda.
