Study Desk

And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, SO shall you say to him: Thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which you have heard:

And he said to the Levites who dwelt in all Israel. Sanctify yourselves to the LORD, and put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; for you have no longer to carry it upon your shoulders; serve now the LORD your God and his people Israel,

Then Josiah gave to the people sheep, lambs, and kids of the goats, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks; these were of the kings substance.

And his princes gave willingly to the people and to the priests and to the Levites; Hilkiah and Zechariah and Nehiel, rulers of the house of the LORD, gave to the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred sheep and three hundred oxen.

Conaniah, also, and Shemaiah his nephew and Hashabiah and Jadiel gave to the Levites for passover offerings five thousand sheep and five hundred oxen.

And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering the burnt offerings and the fat until the Levites were through; then the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests the sons of Aaron, who ministered.

And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Haman and Jerithon, the kings seers; and the porters remained at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites served them.

But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with you, O king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, O king of Judah; for indeed I have not come to fight against you. The LORD has told you to frighten me; cease from meddling with God, who is with me, that he may not destroy you.

Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him; for he had gone to fight with him. And he did not listen to the words of Pharaoh the lame; for Josiah did not know that it was from the LORD, so he went forth to fight against him in the plain of Megiddo.

Then Pharaoh the lame shot two arrows at Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Take me away; for I am severely wounded.

So his servants took him out of the chariot, and put him into his own royal chariot; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, saying, All righteous men and righteous women, weep in your lamentations for Josiah. And he made them an ordinance in Israel, to this day; and, behold, these lamentations are written in the Book of Lamentations.

And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver and with gold and with goods and with beasts, together with the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

And they set the altar upon its bases; for fear was upon them because of the peoples who dwelt in the cities, and they offered burnt offerings upon it to the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

They gave money to the masons and to the carpenters; and for the food and drink and oil to the Syrians and the Zidonians, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon by the sea to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

And they sang together in unison in praising and giving thanks to the LORD because he is good, for his mercy endures for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

So that the people could not discern the sound of the trumpets from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people blew trumpets with a loud blast and the noise of weeping was heard afar off.

Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chiefs of the fathers and said to them, Let us also build with you; for we seek your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esarhaddom king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

But Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the chiefs of the fathers of Israel said to them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God; for we ourselves together will build a house to the LORD God of Israel, as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

Now because we have eaten the salt of the palace, and it was not meet for us to see the kings dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king,