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2
Chronicles Chapter Thirty-five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 35
In
this chapter we have an account of the keeping of the passover and its
preparation, for which the priests and Levites were ordered to prepare, and to
which Josiah, and his princes, gave liberally, and such an one was kept as had
not been for ages past, 2 Chronicles 35:1,
and of Josiah's rash engagement in battle with the king of Egypt, in which he
was slain, 2 Chronicles 35:20
and of the great lamentations that were made for him, 2 Chronicles 35:24.
2 Chronicles
35:1 Now Josiah kept
a Passover to the Lord
in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day
of the first month.
YLT
1And Josiah maketh in
Jerusalem a passover to Jehovah, and they slaughter the passover-offering on
the fourteenth of the first month,
Moreover, Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem,.... Where
only it was to be kept:
and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first
month; the month Nisan, as the Targum, which was the exact time of
killing the passover lamb, according to the law of Moses, Exodus 12:6, in the
Vulgate Latin version of the Apocrypha in:"And Josias held the feast of
the passover in Jerusalem unto his Lord, and offered the passover the
fourteenth day of the first month;' (1 Esdras 1:1)it is called
the fourteenth moon of the first month; a phrase often used in ecclesiastical
writers, when speaking of the time of the passover; and so we now call one of
the days of the week "dies lunae", Monday.
2 Chronicles
35:2 2 And
he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the
house of the Lord.
YLT
2and he stationeth the
priests over their charges, and strengtheneth them for the service of the house
of Jehovah,
And he set the priests in their charges,.... In their
offices, and in their proper places, to execute them:
and encouraged them to the service of the house of the Lord; to attend it
with cheerfulness and constancy, and do it according to the will of God,
promising his favour and protection.
2 Chronicles
35:3 3 Then he said to the Levites
who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: “Put the holy
ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It
shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and
His people Israel.
YLT
3and saith to the Levites --
who are teaching all Israel -- who are sanctified to Jehovah, `Put the holy ark
in the house that Solomon son of David king of Israel built; it is not to you a
burden on the shoulder. `Now, serve Jehovah your God, and His people Israel,
And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel,.... Whose
business it was to go through the several tribes, and instruct them in the
knowledge of God, his word and worship, statutes and ordinances. In an ancient MS.
mentioned by Junius, it is read, "who prepared for all Israel the holy
things", &c.
which were holy unto the Lord; who were consecrated to
the name of the Lord, as the Targum, dedicated to his worship and service; or
it may signify the holy things they taught or prepared:
these put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David
king of Israel did build; which some think was removed from thence by Amon, and an idol
put in its room, which is the greater trespass he is said to be guilty of, 2 Chronicles 33:23
others, that it was privately removed by the high priest in idolatrous times,
and laid up in some secret place for the preservation of it; but rather the
truth is, that it had been removed by the order of Josiah, for the sake of the
repairs of the most holy place; and this being done, he orders it to be
replaced; and though the Levites might not go into the holy of holies, yet they
could carry it to the entrance of the holy place, and the priests from thence
to the door of the most holy place, where the high priest could receive it, and
fix it in its proper place:
it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders; it was not
now to be carried from place to place, having a fixed abode in the most holy
place, and therefore they were at leisure to attend other service:
serve now the Lord your God, and his people Israel; by singing
the praises of God, and slaying the passover lambs for the people.
2 Chronicles
35:4 4 Prepare
yourselves according to your fathers’ houses, according to your
divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the
written instruction of Solomon his son.
YLT
4and prepare, by the house
of your fathers, according to your courses, by the writing of David king of
Israel, and by the writing of Solomon his son,
And prepare yourselves,.... To do their work in
this service of the sanctuary, the passover; that they be ready to do it, and
diligent in it, and perform it according to the law of God:
by the houses of your fathers, after your courses; such of them
whose turn in course it was to officiate:
according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to
the writing of Solomon his son; who had given in writing directions in what
manner their courses should be observed, see 1 Chronicles 23:1.
2 Chronicles
35:5 5 And
stand 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.
YLT
5and stand in the sanctuary,
by the divisions of the house of the fathers of your brethren, sons of the
people, and the portion of the house of a father of the Levites,
And stand in the holy place,.... The court of the
priests, where their ministrations were:
according to the divisions of the families of your brethren the
people; of the other tribes, who were according to their families to
provide a lamb for the passover:
and after the division of the families of the Levites; who were
obliged to observe the same ordinance in their respective families, and for
whom, as well as for the other families of Israel, they were to slay the lamb.
2 Chronicles
35:6 6 So
slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them
for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of
Moses.”
YLT
6and slaughter the passover-offering
and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do according to the
word of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.'
So kill the passover,.... In the manner, time,
and place, and for the persons it should be killed:
and sanctify yourselves: by washing themselves
and garments, that they might be fit for this service:
and prepare your brethren; prepare a lamb for your
brethren, or instruct them how to perform their office that needed instruction:
that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of
Moses; celebrate the ordinance of the passover in all its rites,
according to the law of Moses, at least in every rite in which they were more
peculiarly concerned.
2 Chronicles 35:7 7 Then Josiah gave 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 possessions.
YLT
7And Josiah lifteth up to
the sons of the people a flock of lambs and young goats, the whole for
passover-offerings, for every one who is found, to the number of thirty
thousand, and oxen three thousand: these [are] from the substance of the king.
And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all
for the passover offerings,.... Which be either lambs or kids of the
goats, Exodus 12:5, for
all that were present, to the number of 30,000; that is, 30,000 lambs or kids,
which would serve 30,000 families:
and three thousand bullocks; these were for the
"chagigah" or feast, kept on the day following the passover:
these were of the king's substance; taken out of his flocks
and herds, or bought with his money, and liberally given to the people, to such
poor families as could not afford well to be at the expense of such a festival.
2 Chronicles 35:8 8 And his leaders 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.
YLT
8And his heads, for a
willing-offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites, have lifted
up; Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in the house of God, to the
priests have given for passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred, and
oxen three hundred;
And his princes gave willingly to the people, to the priests and
the Levites,.... Besides, to some other families, they gave also to poor
priests and Levites, which the king's bounty did not extend to; and these
princes were not secular, but ecclesiastical princes, as follows:
Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house; of the
temple; Hilkiah was high priest, and the other two were chief priests, the one
of the line of Eleazar, and the other of the line of Ithamar:
these gave unto the priests for the passover lambs; 2600 small
cattle; which were lambs, or kids, or both:
and three hundred oxen; for peace offerings on
the seven days of unleavened bread, to feast upon.
2 Chronicles 35:9 9 Also Conaniah, 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.
YLT
9and Conaniah, and Shemaiah,
and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of
the Levites, have lifted up to the Levites, for passover-offerings, five
thousand, and oxen five hundred.
Cononiah also, and Shemaiah and Nathaneel his brethren,.... See 2 Chronicles 31:12.
and Hashabiah, and Jehiel, and Jozabad, chief of the Levites; men of
considerable substance, and in good posts and offices:
gave unto the Levites; their poor brethren of
that order:
for passover offerings five thousand small cattle; lambs, or
kids, or both:
and five hundred oxen; for the feast that followed
the passover.
2 Chronicles 35:10 10 So the service was
prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their
divisions, according to the king’s command.
YLT
10And the service is
prepared, and the priests stand on their station, and the Levites on their
courses, according to the command of the king,
So the service was prepared,.... Every thing was got
ready both for the passover and the feast of unleavened bread, for all sorts of
people, rich and poor:
and the priests stood in their place; in their
court near the altar, to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices about it, as in
the following verse:
and the Levites in their courses; whose turn it was to
officiate:
according to the king's commandment, 2 Chronicles 35:4.
2 Chronicles 35:11 11 And they slaughtered the
Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with
their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals.
YLT
11and they slaughter the
passover-offering, and the priests sprinkle out of their hand, and the Levites
are striping;
And they killed the passover,.... The lambs for the
passover, which was done by the Levites:
and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands; which they
received from the Levites, see 2 Chronicles 30:16.
and the Levites flayed them; the passover lambs, took
off their skins.
2 Chronicles 35:12 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 in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle.
YLT
12and they turn aside the
burnt-offering, to put them by the divisions of the house of the fathers of the
sons of the people, to bring near to Jehovah, as it is written in the book of
Moses -- and so to the oxen.
And they removed the burnt offerings,.... Either such
of the lambs and kids as were designed for burnt offerings for the people;
these they separated from those that were for the passover; or they removed
from them what was to be burnt, the fat of the inwards, of the kidneys, and the
caul on the liver:
that they might give; the rest for the
passover:
according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer
unto the Lord; according to the number of them:
as it is written in the book of Moses; see Leviticus 3:3,
and so did they with the oxen; such of them as were
appointed for burnt offerings were set apart by themselves, and such as were
for peace offerings; what of them were to be burnt, as those before mentioned,
were taken from them.
2 Chronicles 35:13 13 Also they roasted the
Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other
holy offerings they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and
divided them quickly among all the lay people.
YLT
13And they cook the passover
with fire, according to the ordinance, and the sanctified things they have
cooked in pots, and in kettles, and in pans -- for all the sons of the people.
And they roasted the passover with fire, according to the
ordinance,.... Of the Lord by Moses, Exodus 12:8.
but the other holy offerings; which were the peace
offerings:
sod they in pots, and in cauldrons, and pans; which was
forbid to be done with the passover lamb, but might with the other sacrifices,
which were to be eaten, Exodus 12:9.
and divided them speedily among all the people; the parts
which belonged to the offerer, who was the king; but he gave his part to the
people, and therefore the Levites delivered them to them as soon as they could.
2 Chronicles 35:14 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.
YLT
14And afterward they have prepared
for themselves, and for the priests: for the priests, sons of Aaron, [are] in
the offering up of the burnt-offering and of the fat till night; and the
Levites have prepared for themselves, and for the priests, sons of Aaron.
And afterwards they made ready for themselves, and for the priests,.... The
passover lambs, and such parts of the peace offerings that belonged to them:
because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering
burnt offerings; such as are before said to be removed or separated for that
purpose:
and the fat; of the peace offerings that was to be burnt: and this employed
them
until night; so that they could not prepare the passover for themselves:
and therefore the Levites prepared, not only for themselves, but
and also for the priests the sons of Aaron; who were otherwise
engaged in the service of the day.
2 Chronicles 35:15 15 And the singers, the sons
of Asaph, were in their places, according to the command of David,
Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers were at each
gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the
Levites prepared portions for them.
YLT
15And the singers, sons of
Asaph, [are] on their station, according to the command of David, and Asaph,
and Heman, and Jeduthun seer of the king, and the gate keepers [are] at gate
and gate; it is not for them to turn aside from off their service, for their
brethren the Levites have prepared for them.
And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place,.... In the court
of the priests, singing and playing on their instruments while the sacrifices
were offering:
according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and
Jeduthun the king's seer; the same with Ethan; and everyone were seers, as Jarchi
interprets it, that is, the three last:
and the porters waited at every gate; such of the
Levites as were in, that post and office:
they might not depart from their service; to let people
in and out, that came for their passover lamb, and share in their other offerings:
for their brethren the Levites prepared for them; because they
were not at leisure to prepare for themselves.
2 Chronicles 35:16 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.
YLT
16And all the service of
Jehovah is prepared on that day, to keep the passover, and to cause to ascend
burnt-offering upon the altar of Jehovah, according to the command of king
Josiah.
So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day,.... With
every sacrifice, and for all sorts of persons:
to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar
of the Lord; which were required to be done on that day:
according to the commandment of King Josiah; which was,
that every thing be provided, prepared, and done, as the law required.
2 Chronicles 35:17 17 And the children of Israel
who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened
Bread for seven days.
YLT
17And the sons of Israel who
are found make the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened things,
seven days.
And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at
that time,.... In its proper time, on the fourteenth day of Nisan:
and the feast of unleavened bread seven days; the seven
days following the passover, as the Lord by Moses appointed.
2 Chronicles 35:18 18 There 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.
YLT
18And there hath not been
made a passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, and none
of the kings of Israel made such a passover as Josiah hath made, and the
priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who are found, and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Verse 18-19
And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel,.... So
exactly according to the law, so universally by Israel and Judah, and with such
liberality shown by the king, and the chief of the priests and Levites; of
this, and the following verse; see Gill on 2 Kings 23:22; see
Gill on 2 Kings 23:23
2 Chronicles 35:19 19 In the eighteenth year of
the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.
YLT
19In the eighteenth year of
the reign of Josiah hath this passover been made.
2 Chronicles 35:20 20 After all this, when
Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against
Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.
YLT
20After all this, when Josiah
hath prepared the house, come up hath Necho king of Egypt, to fight against
Carchemish by Phrat, and Josiah goeth forth to meet him;
After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple,.... Purified
it, and cleansed it from the filth in it, and from all idolatry, and had
repaired it, and put the service of it in good order, and on a good footing,
after which great prosperity in church and state might have been expected:
Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by
Euphrates; now called Querquisia, supposed by some to be the same with the
Cadytis of Herodotus, which that historian calls a great city of Syria, whither
he says Necho went after the battle with the SyriansF24Euterpe,
sive, l. 2. c. 159. & Galei not. in ib. ; of which See Gill on Isaiah 10:9 and of
this king of Egypt; see Gill on 2 Kings 23:29, Jeremiah 46:2.
and Josiah went out against him; or to meet him, and stop
him from going through his land, which lay between Egypt and Syria; Egypt being
on the south of Israel, and Euphrates on the north of it, as Jarchi observes.
2 Chronicles 35:21 21 But he sent messengers to
him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come
against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God
commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is
with me, lest He destroy you.”
YLT
21and he sendeth unto him
messengers, saying, `What -- to me and to thee, O king of Judah? not against
thee do I come to-day, but unto the house with which I have war, and God said
to haste me; cease for thee from God who [is] with me, and He doth not destroy
thee.'
But he sent ambassadors to him,.... That is, Necho sent
to Josiah:
saying, what have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? signifying he
had no quarrel with him, he did not come to fight with him, and he had no
business to intermeddle between him and another prince:
I come not against thee this day; in an hostile manner:
but against the house wherewith I have war; the king of
Assyria:
for God commanded me to make haste; and oppose his enemy:
according to the Targum, it was his idol; and which is the sense of other
Jewish writersF25T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 22. 2. ; but the true God
might have appeared to him in a dream, or sent a prophet to him; or at least he
might pretend this, that it might have the greater effect on Josiah; and indeed
it seems to be real from the following verse:
forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he
destroy thee not; he concluded God was with him, and would succeed him, because he
had put him upon this enterprise, and hastened him to it; therefore Josiah, in
opposing him, might expect to be resisted by him, and fall.
2 Chronicles 35:22 22 Nevertheless Josiah would
not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with
him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to
fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
YLT
22And Josiah hath not turned
round his face from him, but to fight against him hath disguised himself, and
hath not hearkened unto the words of Necho, from the mouth of God, and cometh
in to fight in the valley of Megiddo;
Nevertheless, Josiah would not turn his face from him,.... Or
withdraw his forces, and go back:
but disguised himself that he might fight with him; without being
personally known, and aimed at, see 1 Kings 22:30.
and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God: not believing
that what he said came from the Lord, though it might; and his infirmity was,
that he did not inquire of the Lord about it:
and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo; which was in
the tribe of Manasseh, thought to be the Magdolum of Herodotus, where he says
Necho fought the battleF26Gale in Herodot. ut supra. (Euterpe, sive,
l. 2. c. 159. & Galei not. in ib.) ; See Gill on 2 Kings 23:29.
2 Chronicles 35:23 23 And the archers shot King
Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely
wounded.”
YLT
23and the archers shoot at
king Josiah, and the king saith to his servants, `Remove me, for I have become
very sick.'
And the archers shot at King Josiah,.... For, though
disguised, he appeared to be a general officer, and indeed chief commander, and
therefore aimed at him, and pressed him hard:
and the king said to his servants, have me away, for I am wounded; as Ahab said,
when in the like case, 1 Kings 22:34.
2 Chronicles 35:24 24 His servants therefore
took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and
they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the
tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
YLT
24And his servants remove him
from the chariot, and cause him to ride on the second chariot that he hath, and
cause him to go to Jerusalem, and he dieth, and is buried in the graves of his
fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem are mourning for Josiah,
And his servants therefore took him out of that chariot,.... Dead, and
had him to Jerusalem, and buried him; See Gill on 2 Kings 23:30,
and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah; he having
been so good a king, so tender of them, and such an happy instrument in
restoring the true religion, and the service of God; this was the sense of the
generality of them, who were sincere in their mourning; but it is not
improbable that those who were inclined to idolatry were secretly glad, though
they dissembled mourning with the rest.
2 Chronicles 35:25 25 Jeremiah also lamented for
Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of
Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are
written in the Laments.
YLT
25and Jeremiah lamenteth for
Josiah, and all the singers and the songstresses speak in their lamentations of
Josiah unto this day, and set them for a statute on Israel, and lo, they are
written beside the lamentations.
And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah,.... Composed a
lamentation for him, which is now lost; for what is said in Lamentations 4:20
respects Zedekiah, and not Josiah:
and all the singing men, and all the singing women, spake of
Josiah in their lamentations unto this day; who were made use of on
mournful occasions, as the "preficae" among the Romans, see Jeremiah 9:17 these
in their mournful ditties used to make mention of his name, and the disaster
that befell him:
and made them an ordinance in Israel; an annual constitution,
as the Targum calls it, appointing a solemn mourning for him once a year, which
Jarchi says was on the ninth of Ab or July:
and, behold, they are written in the lamentations; not of
Jeremiah; though the Targum is,
"lo,
they are written in the book which Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah,
concerning the lamentations,'but respect a collection of lamentations on
various subjects then in being, but since lost.
2 Chronicles 35:26 26 Now the rest of the acts
of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of
the Lord,
YLT
26And the rest of the matters
of Josiah, and his kind acts, according as it is written in the law of Jehovah,
Verse 26-27
His
piety towards God, and liberality to the people; of these two verses; see Gill
on 2 Kings 23:28.
2 Chronicles 35:27 27 and his deeds from first
to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and
Judah.
YLT
27even his matters, the first
and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and
Judah.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》