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and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the Levites—all the people from
the greatest to the least. There the king read to them the entire Book of
the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. The king took
his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the
Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey
all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll. And he required everyone in Jerusalem and the people of Benjamin to make a similar pledge. The people of Jerusalem did so, renewing their covenant with
God, the God of their ancestors.
So Josiah removed all detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and
required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And throughout the
rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their
ancestors.
Then Josiah announced that the Passover of the Lord would be celebrated
in Jerusalem, and so the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth
day of the first month. Josiah also assigned the priests to their duties and
encouraged them in their work at the Temple of the Lord. He issued this
order to the Levites, who were to teach all Israel and who had been set
apart to serve the Lord: “Put the holy Ark in the Temple that was built
by Solomon son of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it
back and forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving the Lord
your God and his people Israel. Report for duty according to the family
divisions of your ancestors, following the directions of King David of Israel
and the directions of his son Solomon.
“Then stand in the sanctuary at the place appointed for your family
division and help the families assigned to you as they bring their offerings to the Temple. Slaughter the Passover lambs, purify yourselves, and
prepare to help those who come. Follow all the directions that the Lord
gave through Moses.”
Then Josiah provided 30,000 lambs and young goats for the people’s
Passover offerings, along with 3,000 cattle, all from the king’s own flocks
and herds. The king’s officials also made willing contributions to the
people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the administrators of God’s Temple, gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats
and 300 cattle as Passover offerings. The Levite leaders—Conaniah and
his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Joz
abad—gave 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 cattle to the Levites for
their Passover offerings.
When everything was ready for the Passover celebration, the priests and
the Levites took their places, organized by their divisions, as the king had
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