341 A son of eight years 'is' Josiah in his reigning, and thirty and one years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, 2 and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walketh in the ways of David his father, and hath not turned aside—right or left.
3 And in the eighth year of his reign (and he yet a youth), he hath begun to seek to the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he hath begun to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images. 4 And they break down before him the altars of the Baalim, and the images that 'are' on high above them he hath cut down, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images, he hath broken and beaten small, and streweth on the surface of the graves of those sacrificing to them, 5 and the bones of the priests he hath burnt on their altars, and cleanseth Judah and Jerusalem, 6 and in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their tools, round about. 7 And he breaketh down the altars and the shrines, and the graven images he hath beaten down very small, and all the images he hath cut down in all the land of Israel, and turneth back to Jerusalem.
8 And in the eighteenth year of his reign, to purify the land and the house he hath sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah head of the city, and Joah son of Johaz the remembrancer, to strengthen the house of Jehovah his God. 9 And they come in unto Hilkiah the high priest, and they give the money that is brought in to the house of God, that the Levites, keeping the threshold, have gathered from the hand of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 10 and they give 'it' into the hand of the workmen, those appointed over the house of Jehovah, and they give it 'to' the workmen who are working in the house of Jehovah, to repair and to strengthen the house; 11 and they give 'it' to artificers, and to builders, to buy hewn stones, and wood for couplings and for beams to the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men are working faithfully in the business, and over them are appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathite, to overlook; and of the Levites, every one understanding about instruments of song, 13 and over the burden-bearers, and overseers of every one doing work for service and service; and of the Levites 'are' scribes, and officers, and gatekeepers.
14 And in their bringing out the money that is brought in to the house of Jehovah, hath Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses, 15 and Hilkiah answereth and saith unto Shaphan the scribe, 'A book of the law I have found in the house of Jehovah;' and Hilkiah giveth the book unto Shaphan, 16 and Shaphan bringeth in the book unto the king, and bringeth the king back word again, saying, 'All that hath been given into the hand of thy servants they are doing, 17 and they pour out the money that is found in the house of Jehovah, and give it into the hand of those appointed, and into the hands of those doing the work.' 18 And Shaphan the scribe declareth to the king, saying, 'A book hath Hilkiah the priest given to me;' and Shaphan readeth in it before the king. 19 And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the law, that he rendeth his garments, 20 and the king commandeth Hilkiah, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Abdon son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, servant of the king, saying, 21 'Go, seek Jehovah for me, and for him who is left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found, for great 'is' the fury of Jehovah that is poured on us, because that our fathers kept not the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written on this book.' 22 And Hilkiah goeth, and they of the king, unto Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments, and she is dwelling in Jerusalem in the Second, and they speak unto her thus. 23 And she saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Say to the man who hath sent you unto me, 24 Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am bringing in evil on this place, and on its inhabitants, all the execrations that are written on the book that they read before the king of Judah; 25 because that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, so as to provoke Me with all the works of their hands, and poured out is My fury upon this place, and it is not quenched. 26 'And unto the king of Judah, who is sending you to inquire of Jehovah, thus do ye say unto him: Thus said Jehovah God of Israel, whose words thou hast heard: 27 Because thy heart 'is' tender, and thou art humbled before God in thy hearing His words concerning this place, and concerning its inhabitants, and art humbled before Me, and dost rend thy garments, and weep before Me: even I also have heard—the affirmation of Jehovah. 28 Lo, I am gathering thee unto thy fathers, and thou hast been gathered unto thy graves in peace, and thine eyes do not look on all the evil that I am bringing upon this place, and upon its inhabitants;' and they bring the king back word.
29 And the king sendeth and gathereth all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, 30 and the king goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, even all the people, from great even unto small, and he readeth in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that is found in the house of Jehovah. 31 And the king standeth on his station, and maketh the covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commands, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that are written on this book. 32 And he presenteth every one who is found in Jerusalem and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem do according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah turneth aside all the abominations out of all the lands that the sons of Israel have, and causeth every one who is found in Israel to serve, to serve Jehovah their God; all his days they turned not aside from after Jehovah, God of their fathers.
351 And Josiah maketh in Jerusalem a passover to Jehovah, and they slaughter the passover-offering on the fourteenth of the first month, 2 and he stationeth the priests over their charges, and strengtheneth them for the service of the house of Jehovah, 3 and saith to the Levites—who are teaching all Israel—who are sanctified to Jehovah, 'Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David king of Israel built; it is not to you a burden on the shoulder. 'Now, serve Jehovah your God, and His people Israel, 4 and prepare, by the house of your fathers, according to your courses, by the writing of David king of Israel, and by the writing of Solomon his son, 5 and stand in the sanctuary, by the divisions of the house of the fathers of your brethren, sons of the people, and the portion of the house of a father of the Levites, 6 and slaughter the passover-offering and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do according to the word of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.' 7 And Josiah lifteth up to the sons of the people a flock of lambs and young goats, the whole for passover-offerings, for every one who is found, to the number of thirty thousand, and oxen three thousand: these 'are' from the substance of the king. 8 And his heads, for a willing-offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites, have lifted up; Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in the house of God, to the priests have given for passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred, and oxen three hundred; 9 and Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of the Levites, have lifted up to the Levites, for passover-offerings, five thousand, and oxen five hundred. 10 And the service is prepared, and the priests stand on their station, and the Levites on their courses, according to the command of the king, 11 and they slaughter the passover-offering, and the priests sprinkle out of their hand, and the Levites are striping; 12 and they turn aside the burnt-offering, to put them by the divisions of the house of the fathers of the sons of the people, to bring near to Jehovah, as it is written in the book of Moses—and so to the oxen. 13 And they cook the passover with fire, according to the ordinance, and the sanctified things they have cooked in pots, and in kettles, and in pans—for all the sons of the people. 14 And afterward they have prepared for themselves, and for the priests: for the priests, sons of Aaron, 'are' in the offering up of the burnt-offering and of the fat till night; and the Levites have prepared for themselves, and for the priests, sons of Aaron. 15 And the singers, sons of Asaph, 'are' on their station, according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun seer of the king, and the gate keepers 'are' at gate and gate; it is not for them to turn aside from off their service, for their brethren the Levites have prepared for them. 16 And all the service of Jehovah is prepared on that day, to keep the passover, and to cause to ascend burnt-offering upon the altar of Jehovah, according to the command of king Josiah. 17 And the sons of Israel who are found make the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened things, seven days. 18 And there hath not been made a passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, and none of the kings of Israel made such a passover as Josiah hath made, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who are found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah hath this passover been made.
20 After all this, when Josiah hath prepared the house, come up hath Necho king of Egypt, to fight against Carchemish by Phrat, and Josiah goeth forth to meet him; 21 and he sendeth unto him messengers, saying, 'What—to me and to thee, O king of Judah? not against thee do I come to-day, but unto the house with which I have war, and God said to haste me; cease for thee from God who 'is' with me, and He doth not destroy thee.' 22 And Josiah hath not turned round his face from him, but to fight against him hath disguised himself, and hath not hearkened unto the words of Necho, from the mouth of God, and cometh in to fight in the valley of Megiddo; 23 and the archers shoot at king Josiah, and the king saith to his servants, 'Remove me, for I have become very sick.' 24 And his servants remove him from the chariot, and cause him to ride on the second chariot that he hath, and cause him to go to Jerusalem, and he dieth, and is buried in the graves of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem are mourning for Josiah, 25 and Jeremiah lamenteth for Josiah, and all the singers and the songstresses speak in their lamentations of Josiah unto this day, and set them for a statute on Israel, and lo, they are written beside the lamentations. 26 And the rest of the matters of Josiah, and his kind acts, according as it is written in the law of Jehovah, 27 even his matters, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
361 And the people of the land take Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and cause him to reign instead of his father in Jerusalem. 2 A son of three and twenty years 'is' Jehoahaz in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem, 3 and turn him aside doth the king of Egypt in Jerusalem, and fineth the land a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold; 4 and the king of Egypt causeth Eliakim his brother to reign over Judah and Jerusalem, and turneth his name to Jehoiakim; and Jehoahaz his brother hath Necho taken, and bringeth him in to Egypt.
5 A son of twenty and five years 'is' Jehoiakim in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah his God; 6 against him hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon come up, and bindeth him in brazen fetters to take him away to Babylon. 7 And of the vessels of the house of Jehovah hath Nebuchadnezzar brought in to Babylon, and putteth them in his temple in Babylon. 8 And the rest of the matters of Jehoiakim, and his abominations that he hath done, and that which is found against him, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, and reign doth Jehoiachin his son in his stead.
9 A son of eight years is Jehoiachin in his reigning, and three months and ten days he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; 10 and at the turn of the year hath king Nebuchadnezzar sent and bringeth him in to Babylon, with the desirable vessels of the house of Jehovah, and causeth Zedekiah his brother to reign over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 A son of twenty and one years 'is' Zedekiah in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem; 12 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah his God, he hath not been humbled before Jeremiah the prophet 'speaking' from the mouth of Jehovah; 13 and also, against king Nebuchadnezzar he hath rebelled, who had caused him to swear by God, and he hardeneth his neck, and strengtheneth his heart, against turning back unto Jehovah, God of Israel. 14 Also, all the heads of the priests, and the people, having multiplied to commit a trespass according to all the abominations of the nations, and they defile the house of Jehovah that He hath sanctified in Jerusalem. 15 And Jehovah, God of their fathers, sendeth unto them by the hand of His messengers—rising early and sending—for He hath had pity on His people, and on His habitation, 16 and they are mocking at the messengers of God, and despising His words, and acting deceitfully with His prophets, till the going up of the fury of Jehovah against His people—till there is no healing.
17 And He causeth to go up against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he slayeth their chosen ones by the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and hath had no pity on young man and virgin, old man and very aged—the whole He hath given into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king and of his princes—the whole he hath brought in to Babylon. 19 And they burn the house of God, and break down the wall of Jerusalem, and all its palaces they have burnt with fire, and all its desirable vessels—to destruction. 20 And he removeth those left of the sword unto Babylon, and they are to him and to his sons for servants, till the reigning of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfil the word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, till the land hath enjoyed its sabbaths; all the days of the desolation it kept sabbath—to the fulness of seventy years.
22 And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, 23 'Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that 'is' in Judah; who is among you of all His people? Jehovah his God 'is' with him, and he doth go up.'
191 Then, therefore, did Pilate take Jesus and scourge 'him', 2 and the soldiers having plaited a crown of thorns, did place 'it' on his head, and a purple garment they put around him, 3 and said, 'Hail! the king of the Jews;' and they were giving him slaps. 4 Pilate, therefore, again went forth without, and saith to them, 'Lo, I do bring him to you without, that ye may know that in him I find no fault;' 5 Jesus, therefore, came forth without, bearing the thorny crown and the purple garment; and he saith to them, 'Lo, the man!' 6 When, therefore, the chief priests and the officers did see him, they cried out, saying, 'Crucify, crucify;' Pilate saith to them, 'Take ye him—ye, and crucify; for I find no fault in him;' 7 the Jews answered him, 'We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, for he made himself Son of God.' 8 When, therefore, Pilate heard this word, he was the more afraid, 9 and entered again to the praetorium, and saith to Jesus, 'Whence art thou?' and Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Pilate, therefore, saith to him, 'To me dost thou not speak? hast thou not known that I have authority to crucify thee, and I have authority to release thee?' 11 Jesus answered, 'Thou wouldst have no authority against me, if it were not having been given thee from above; because of this, he who is delivering me up to thee hath greater sin.' 12 From this 'time' was Pilate seeking to release him, and the Jews were crying out, saying, 'If this one thou mayest release, thou art not a friend of Caesar; every one making himself a king, doth speak against Caesar.' 13 Pilate, therefore, having heard this word, brought Jesus without—and he sat down upon the tribunal—to a place called, 'Pavement,' and in Hebrew, Gabbatha; 14 and it was the preparation of the passover, and as it were the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews, 'Lo, your king!' 15 and they cried out, 'Take away, take away, crucify him;' Pilate saith to them, 'Your king shall I crucify?' the chief priests answered, 'We have no king except Caesar.'
16 Then, therefore, he delivered him up to them, that he may be crucified, and they took Jesus and led 'him' away,
17 and bearing his cross, he went forth to the place called 'Place' of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha; 18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, on this side, and on that side, and Jesus in the midst.
19 And Pilate also wrote a title, and put 'it' on the cross, and it was written, 'Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews;' 20 this title, therefore, read many of the Jews, because the place was nigh to the city where Jesus was crucified, and it was having been written in Hebrew, in Greek, in Roman. 21 The chief priests of the Jews said, therefore, to Pilate, 'Write not—The king of the Jews, but that one said, I am king of the Jews;' 22 Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.'
(Read John 19:1-18)
Little did Pilate think with what holy regard these sufferings of Christ would, in after-ages, be thought upon and spoken of by the best and greatest of men. Our Lord Jesus came forth, willing to be exposed to their scorn. It is good for every one with faith, to behold Christ Jesus in his sufferings. Behold him, and love him; be still looking unto Jesus. Did their hatred sharpen their endeavours against him? and shall not our love for him quicken our endeavours for him and his kingdom? Pilate seems to have thought that Jesus might be some person above the common order. Even natural conscience makes men afraid of being found fighting against God. As our Lord suffered for the sins both of Jews and Gentiles, it was a special part of the counsel of Divine Wisdom, that the Jews should first purpose his death, and the Gentiles carry that purpose into effect. Had not Christ been thus rejected of men, we had been for ever rejected of God. Now was the Son of man delivered into the hands of wicked and unreasonable men. He was led forth for us, that we might escape. He was nailed to the cross, as a Sacrifice bound to the altar. The Scripture was fulfilled; he did not die at the altar among the sacrifices, but among criminals sacrificed to public justice. And now let us pause, and with faith look upon Jesus. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? See him bleeding, see him dying, see him and love him! love him, and live to him!
(Read John 19:19-30)
Here are some remarkable circumstances of Jesus' death, more fully related than before. Pilate would not gratify the chief priests by allowing the writing to be altered; which was doubtless owing to a secret power of God upon his heart, that this statement of our Lord's character and authority might continue. Many things done by the Roman soldiers were fulfilments of the prophecies of the Old Testament. All things therein written shall be fulfilled. Christ tenderly provided for his mother at his death. Sometimes, when God removes one comfort from us, he raises up another for us, where we looked not for it. Christ's example teaches all men to honour their parents in life and death; to provide for their wants, and to promote their comfort by every means in their power. Especially observe the dying word wherewith Jesus breathed out his soul. It is finished; that is, the counsels of the Father concerning his sufferings were now fulfilled. It is finished; all the types and prophecies of the Old Testament, which pointed at the sufferings of the Messiah, were accomplished. It is finished; the ceremonial law is abolished; the substance is now come, and all the shadows are done away. It is finished; an end is made of transgression by bringing in an everlasting righteousness. His sufferings were now finished, both those of his soul, and those of his body. It is finished; the work of man's redemption and salvation is now completed. His life was not taken from him by force, but freely given up.
