4 And prepare your selves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the wri∣ting 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 sanctifie your selves, and prepare your brethren , that they may do ac∣cording to the word of the LORD, by the hand of Moses.
7 And Josiah gave to the people of the stock, lambs and kids , all for the passover-offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thou∣sand, and three thousand bullocks : these were of the kings substance.
8 And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests and to the Levites : Hil∣kiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God , gave unto the priests for the passover∣offerings, two thousand and six hundred small cattel, and five hundred oxen.
9 Conaniah also, and Shemajah, and Netha∣neel, his brethren, and Hashabiah, and Jehiel, and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Le∣vites for passover-offerings, five thousand small cattel, 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 kings commandment.
11 And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hand, and the Le∣vites 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 rosted the passover with fire, ac∣cording to the ordinance: but the other holy offer∣ings 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 them∣selves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt-offe∣rings, and the fat until night: therefore the Le∣vites 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 kings 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 prepa∣red the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt-offerings upon the altar of the LORD, ac∣cording to the commandment of king Josiah.
17 And the children of Israel, that were pre∣sent, 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 pro∣phet: 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 Carchemish by Euphrates, and Jo∣siah went out against him.
21 But he sent Embassadors 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 com∣manded me to make hast: forbear thee from