2 Chronicles 34; 2 Chronicles 35; 2 Chronicles 36; John 19:1-22

2 Chronicles 34

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king; he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.

2 He did what was right in the Lord's sight and walked in the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left.

3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.

4 Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and the incense altars that were above them he chopped down. The Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images he shattered, crushed to dust, and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

5 He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

6 [He did the same] in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali [and] on their surrounding mountain shrines.

7 He tore down the altars, and he smashed the Asherah poles and the carved images to powder. He chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel and returned to Jerusalem.

8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor of the city and the recorder Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

9 So they went to Hilkiah the high priest, and gave him the money brought into God's temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected [money] from Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

10 They put it into the hands of those doing the work-those who oversaw the Lord's temple. They [in turn] gave it to the workmen who were working in the Lord's temple, to repair and restore the temple;

11 they gave it to the carpenters and builders and [also used it] to buy quarried stone and timbers-for joining and to make beams-for the buildings that Judah's kings had destroyed.

12 The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled on musical instruments.

13 [They were] also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

14 When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the Lord's temple, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord [written] by the hand of Moses.

15 Consequently, Hilkiah told Shaphan the court secretary, "I have found the book of the law in the Lord's temple," and he gave the book to Shaphan.

16 Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, "Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands.

17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the Lord's temple and have put it into the hand of the overseers and the hand of those doing the work."

18 Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, "Hilkiah the priest gave me a book," and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.

20 Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king's servant Asaiah,

21 "Go. Inquire of the Lord for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the Lord's wrath that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord in order to do everything written in this book."

22 So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke with her about this.

23 She said to them, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to Me,

24 'This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, [fulfilling] all the curses written in the book that they read in the presence of the king of Judah,

25 because they have abandoned Me and burned incense to other gods in order to provoke Me with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched.'

26 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord: 'This is what the Lord God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,

27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard'-this is the Lord speaking.

28 'I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and on its inhabitants.' " Then they reported to the king.

29 So the king sent [messengers] and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 Then the king went up to the Lord's temple with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites-all the people from great to small. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord's temple.

31 Next the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the Lord's presence to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments, His decrees, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

32 Then he had all those present in Jerusalem and Benjamin enter [the covenant]. So all the inhabitants of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

33 So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

2 Chronicles 35

1 Josiah observed the Lord's Passover and slaughtered the Passover [lambs] on the fourteenth day of the first month.

2 He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in the Lord's temple.

3 He said to the Levites who taught all Israel the holy things of the Lord, "Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel.

4 "Organize your ancestral houses by your divisions according to the written instruction of David king of Israel and that of his son Solomon.

5 Serve in the holy place by the divisions of the ancestral houses for your brothers, the lay people, and the distribution of the tribal household of the Levites.

6 Slaughter the Passover [lambs], consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your brothers to carry out the word of the Lord through Moses."

7 Then Josiah donated 30,000 sheep, lambs, and kid goats, plus 3,000 bulls from his own possessions, for the Passover sacrifices for all the lay people who were present.

8 His officials also donated willingly for the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders of God's temple, gave 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 bulls for the priests.

9 Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, donated 5,000 Passover sacrifices for the Levites, plus 500 bulls.

10 So the service was established; the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command.

11 Then they slaughtered the Passover [lambs], and while the Levites were skinning the [animals], the priests sprinkled the blood they had been given.

12 They removed the burnt offerings so that they might be given to the divisions of the ancestral houses of the lay people to offer to the Lord, according to what is written in the book of Moses; [they did] the same with the bulls.

13 They roasted the Passover [lambs] with fire according to regulation. They boiled the holy [sacrifices] in pots, in kettles, and in bowls; and they quickly brought [them] to the lay people.

14 Afterwards, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering up burnt offerings and fat until night. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

15 The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each gate. Because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them, none of them left their tasks.

16 So all the service of the Lord was established that day for observing the Passover and for offering burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah.

17 The Israelites who were present [in Judah] also observed the Passover at that time and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

18 No Passover had been observed like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present [in Judah], and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, this Passover was observed.

20 After all this that Josiah had prepared for the temple, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.

21 But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, "What is [the issue] between you and me, king of Judah? I have not come against you today but to the dynasty I am fighting. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God who is with me; don't make Him destroy you!"

22 But Josiah did not turn away from him; instead, in order to fight with him he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco's words from the mouth of God, but went to the Valley of Megiddo to fight.

23 The archers shot King Josiah, and he said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am severely wounded!"

24 So his servants took him out of the war chariot, carried him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem. Then he died, and they buried him in the tomb of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

25 Jeremiah chanted a dirge over Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women still speak of Josiah in their dirges to this very day. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Dirges.

26 The rest of the events of Josiah's [reign], along with his deeds of faithful love according to what is written in the law of the Lord,

27 and his words, from beginning to end, are written about in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

2 Chronicles 36

1 Then the common people took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.

2 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king; he reigned three months in Jerusalem.

3 The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold.

4 Then [Neco] king of Egypt made Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took his brother Jehoahaz and brought him to Egypt.

5 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king; he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God.

6 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him in bronze [shackles] to take him to Babylon.

7 Also Nebuchadnezzar took some of the utensils of the Lord's temple to Babylon and put them in his temple in Babylon.

8 The rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim, the detestable things he did, and what was found against him, are written about in the Book of Israel's Kings. His son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

9 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king; he reigned three months and 10 days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight.

10 In the spring Nebuchadnezzar sent [for him] and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable utensils of the Lord's temple. Then he made Jehoiachin's brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king; he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem.

12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet at the Lord's command.

13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. He became obstinate and hardened his heart against returning to the Lord God of Israel.

14 All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, imitating all the detestable practices of the nations, and they defiled the Lord's temple that He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

15 But the Lord God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.

16 But they kept ridiculing God's messengers, despising His words, and scoffing at His prophets, until the Lord's wrath was so stirred up against His people that there was no remedy.

17 So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their choice young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no pity on young man and virgin or elderly and aged; He handed them all over to him.

18 He took everything to Babylon-all the articles of God's temple, large and small, the treasures of the Lord's temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials.

19 Then the Chaldeans burned God's temple. They tore down Jerusalem's wall, burned down all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable utensils.

20 Those who escaped from the sword he deported to Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the rise of the Persian kingdom.

21 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Jeremiah and the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation until 70 years were fulfilled.

22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and also [to put it] in writing:

23 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah. Whoever among you of His people may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him.

John 19:1-22

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged.

2 The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and threw a purple robe around Him.

3 And they repeatedly came up to Him and said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and were slapping His face.

4 Pilate went outside again and said to them, "Look, I'm bringing Him outside to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging Him."

5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"

6 When the chief priests and the temple police saw Him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" Pilate responded, "Take Him and crucify Him yourselves, for I find no grounds for charging Him."

7 "We have a law," the Jews replied to him, "and according to that law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God."

8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was more afraid than ever.

9 He went back into the headquarters and asked Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus did not give him an answer.

10 So Pilate said to Him, "You're not talking to me? Don't You know that I have the authority to release You and the authority to crucify You?"

11 "You would have no authority over Me at all," Jesus answered him, "if it hadn't been given you from above. This is why the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin."

12 From that moment Pilate made every effort to release Him. But the Jews shouted, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Anyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar!"

13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge's bench in a place called the Stone Pavement (but in Hebrew Gabbatha).

14 It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about six in the morning. Then he told the Jews, "Here is your king!"

15 But they shouted, "Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Should I crucify your king?" "We have no king but Caesar!" the chief priests answered.

16 So then, because of them, he handed Him over to be crucified. Therefore they took Jesus away.

17 Carrying His own cross, He went out to what is called Skull Place, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

18 There they crucified Him and two others with Him, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate also had a sign lettered and put on the cross. The inscription was: JESUS THE NAZARENE THE KING OF THE JEWS

20 Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Don't write, 'The King of the Jews,' but that He said, 'I am the King of the Jews.' "

22 Pilate replied, "What I have written, I have written."