2 Chronicles 35

Chapter context

What is happening in 2 Chronicles 35?

templereformprayerjudgment

2 Chronicles 35 belongs to the late movement of the book, especially the section often described as exile and Cyrus’s decree. Second Chronicles recounts Solomon’s temple, the Judahite kings, reform movements, the fall of Jerusalem, and Cyrus’s decree of return. Read this chapter with the wider themes of temple, reform, and prayer in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth 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, ³ And said unto the Levites that taught 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 houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. ⁵ And stand 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 sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 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. 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 priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed 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. ¹³ And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod 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. 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 passover 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. ²⁰ After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish 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 not. ²² Nevertheless Josiah 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. ²⁵ And Jeremiah lamented 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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Glossary

Jerusalem Place v. 1, 17-18, 24: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Jerusalem.
Josiah Person v. 1, 7, 16, 18-20, 22-26: Healed by Jehovah, or Jehovah will support. The son of Amon, and his successor on the throne of Judah ( 2 Kings 22:1 ; 2 Chr. 34:1 ). His history is contained in 2 Kings 22, 23.
Ark Object v. 3: Noah’s ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high.
David Person v. 3-4, 15: Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25 .
Holy Place Place v. 5: Biblical room. Modern identification: Mount Moriah.
Hilkiah Person v. 8: Portion of Jehovah. (1. ) 1 Chr. 6:54 . (2. ) 1 Chr. 26:11 . (3. ) The father of Eliakim ( 2 Kings 18:18 , 26, 37). (4. ) The father of Gemariah ( Jer. 29:3 ). (5. ) The father of the prophet Jeremiah (1:1).
Zechariah Person v. 8: Jehovah is renowned or remembered. (1. ) A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. He describes himself (1:1) as.
Hashabiah Person v. 9: Regarded by Jehovah. (1. ) Merarite Levite ( 1 Chr. 6:45 ; 9:14 ). (2. ) A son of Jeduthun (25:3, 19). (3. ) Son of Kemuel (26:30). (4. ) One of the chief Levites ( 2 Chr. 35:9 ). (5. ) A Levite ( Neh. 11:22 ).
Jozabad Tribe v. 9: Whom Jehovah bestows. (1. ) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag ( 1 Chr. 12:4 ). (2. ) A chief of the tribe of Manasseh ( 1 Chr. 12:20 ).
Nethaneel Person v. 9: Given of God. (1. ) The son of Zuar, chief of the tribe of Issachar at the Exodus ( Num. 1:8 ; 2:5 ). (2. ) One of David’s brothers ( 1 Chr. 2:14 ).
Shemaiah Person v. 9: Whom Jehovah heard. (1. ) A prophet in the reign of Rehoboam ( 1 Kings 12:22-24 ). (2. ) Neh. 3:29 . (3. ) A Simeonite ( 1 Chr. 4:37 ). (4. ) A priest ( Neh. 12:42 ). (5. ) A Levite ( 1 Chr. 9:16 ). (6. ) 1 Chr. 9:14 ; Neh. 11:15 .
Asaph Person v. 15: Convener, or collector. (1. ) A Levite; one of the leaders of David’s choir ( 1 Chr. 6:39 ). Psalms 50 and 73-83 inclusive are attributed to him. He is mentioned along with David as skilled in music, and a “seer”.
Heman Person v. 15: Faithful. (1. ) 1 Kings 4:31 ; 1 Chr. 2:6 , a son of Zerah, noted for his wisdom. (2. ) Grandson of Samuel ( 1 Chr. 6:33 ; 15:17 ), to whom the 88th Psalm probably was inscribed. He was one of the “seers” named in 2 Chr.
Jeduthun Person v. 15: Lauder; praising, a Levite of the family of Merari, and one of the three masters of music appointed by David ( 1 Chr. 16:41 , 42; 25:1-6). He is called in 2 Chr. 35:15 .
Samuel Person v. 18: Heard of God. The peculiar circumstances connected with his birth are recorded in 1 Sam. 1:20 .
Carchemish Place v. 20: Fortress of Chemosh, a city on the west bank of the Euphrates. Modern identification: Jerabis.
Egypt Place v. 20: The land of the Nile and the pyramids, the oldest kingdom of which we have any record, holds a place of great significance in Scripture. Modern identification: Ain Shams.
Euphrates Place v. 20: Biblical river. Modern identification: Euphrates River.
Megiddo Place v. 22: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel Megiddo.
Jeremiah Person v. 25: Raised up or appointed by Jehovah. (1. ) A Gadite who joined David in the wilderness ( 1 Chr. 12:10 ). (2. ) A Gadite warrior ( 1 Chr. 12:13 ). (3. ) A Benjamite slinger who joined David at Ziklag ( 1 Chr. 12:4 ).