Josiah Keeps the Passover

35 Now aJosiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the bfourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their cduties and dencouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord. 3 Then he said to the Levites ewho taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: f“Put the holy ark gin the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. hIt shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves iaccording to your fathers’ 1houses, according to your divisions, following the jwritten instruction of David king of Israel and the kwritten instruction of Solomon his son. 5 And lstand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. 6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, mconsecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”

7 Then Josiah ngave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s opossessions. 8 And his pleaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 9 Also qConaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.

10 So the service was prepared, and the priests rstood in their places, and the sLevites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests tsprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites uskinned the animals. 12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written vin the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 13 Also they wroasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they xboiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. 14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the ycommand of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers zwere at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of aUnleavened Bread for seven days. 18 bThere had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.