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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 35
Josiah and all Judah keep a most solemn passover—Josiah slain by the
Egyptians at Megiddo.
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1 MOREOVER Josiah kept a
apassover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the
passover on the bfourteenth day of the first
month.
2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,
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3 And said unto the Levites that
ataught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the
holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did
build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders:
serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel,
4 And prepare yourselves by the
ahouses of your fathers, after your courses,
baccording to the cwriting of David king
of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his
sona.
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4a according to the writings of David king
of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son Other
than a repreentative sample as such applies to the compiled texts of the Old
Testament, we do not have the comlete 'Writings of David' nor the complete
'Writings of Solomon'. Not that they were necessarily all scriptural in their
context, but it does illustrate that the Bible is a selection of writings and
facts as such as its compilers considered relavent to their preparation. In
Kings and Chronicles we have such as may refer and relate to such 'writings'
of the Kings, but cerainly not their 'complete works'. David wrote or is
responsible and given credit for many of the Psalms and Solomon even has a
book or two attributed to him, one being under his own name. But such is not
a comlete text or history of either of those two prominate kings of Israel.
And of such illustration the Bible ought not be considered to be a complete
record, for certainly from the righteous portion of David's life would have
come much spiritually based writings, as is also the case of Solomon and his
exercise of his gift of great wisdom from God. But as a matter of abridged
condensation of histories and records, many such authors and even prophets
and their writings were left out of today's Bible record. Many prophets of God
came forth and spoke prophecies and warnings to Israel and Judah and we have
virtually none of their detailed writings and prophecies in the Bible. Such
illustrative case is that which the Book of Mormon gives of Zenos, Zenock and
others mentioned and quoted in the Book of Mormon as taken from the plates of
brass (a parallel record with the Jewish Bible). And to this distinct
likelihood we may look to other records and writings that may well come forth
in time from other such sources and peoples apart from the Biblical realm.
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5 And astand in the holy
place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of
your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.
6 So kill the passover, and
asanctify yourselves, and bprepare your
brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the
hand of Moses.
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7 And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance.
8 And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.
9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.
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10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment.
11 And they killed the passover, and the
apriests sprinkled the bblood from
their hands, and the Levites cflayed them.
12 And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.
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13 And they roasted the passover with fire according
to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings
asod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and
divided them speedily among all the people.
14 And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.
15 And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.
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16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.
17 And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.
18 And there was no apassover like
to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all
the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and
the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem.
19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.
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20 ¶ After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.
21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have
I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this
day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make
haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with
me, that he destroy thee nota.
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21a forbear thee from meddling with
God, who is with me, that he destroy the not Now righteous
men do make mistakes. Wither 'God' was with the Egyptians or with the King
of Judah may not have been the real question. The prophets had told the
kings of Judah not to become allied to any other nation but to serve their own
God only and not to 'meddle' in such affairs between nations on one side or
the other. In Josiah's actions he made himself a confederate of 'Carchemish'
or Assyria as it were, in standing against Egypt, standing in their way of
fighting Carchemish. Now Josiah was the most righteous King that the Kingdom
of Judah ever had, but as God had warned the kings of Judah to not form any
form of alliance with other nations, Josiah had transgressed the warning or
word of God. And though it was not a 'moral sin' per say, it was as Adam and
Eve had done, that is trangressed the word of God in partaking of the forbidden
fruit, so it was with Josiah in transgressing aginst God's warning not to form
any alliance with other nations. And as with Adam and Eve, King Josiah suffered
the consequence of disobeying the word of God. Again not that he was a sinful
man, as he was the most righteous, but in this one thing he failed to following
the warning of God; and so he did suffer the consequence of his actions. So
we also must suffer the consequence of our actions, not that they are sinful
in breaking the 'moral commandments of God', but that we stand responsible
for our actions of agency and will suffer the logical consequence of those
action whether to our ill or benefit as the case may be.
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22 Nevertheless aJosiah would not
turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
23 And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded.
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, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
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25 ¶ And Jeremiah alamented for
Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in
their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and,
behold, they are written in the lamentations.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD,
27 And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
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