Josiah Keeps the Passover

¹gJosiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb hon the fourteenth day of the first month. ²He appointed the priests to their offices iand encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. ³And he said to the Levites jwho taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. ⁴Prepare yourselves kaccording to your fathers' houses by your divisions, las prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel mand the document of Solomon his son. ⁵And nstand in the Holy Place oaccording to the groupings of the fathers' houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers' household. ⁶And slaughter the Passover lamb, and pconsecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by1 Moses.”

⁷Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; qthese were from the king's possessions. ⁸And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. rHilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. ⁹Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls.

¹⁰When the service had been prepared for, the priests sstood in their place, tand the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command. ¹¹uAnd they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests vthrew the blood that they received from them wwhile the Levites flayed the sacrifices. ¹²And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. ¹³xAnd they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they yboiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. ¹⁴And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place zaccording to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's aseer; band the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, cand the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ¹⁸dNo Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Killed in Battle

²⁰eAfter all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at fCarchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. ²¹But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” ²²Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but gdisguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of hMegiddo. ²³And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, i“Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. jAll Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵kJeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all lthe singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

¹Then I saw ya new heaven and a new earth, for zthe first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw athe holy city, bnew Jerusalem, ccoming down out of heaven from God, dprepared eas a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, fthe dwelling place1 of God is with man. He will gdwell with them, and they will be his people,2 and God himself will be with them as their God.3 ⁴hHe will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ideath shall be no more, jneither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵And khe who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I lam making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for mthese words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶And he said to me, n“It is done! oI am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. pTo the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ⁷qThe one who conquers will have this heritage, and rI will be his God and she will be my son. ⁸tBut as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, utheir portion will be in vthe lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is wthe second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹Then came xone of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ythe seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you zthe Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰And ahe carried me away in the Spirit to ba great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ¹¹chaving the glory of God, dits radiance elike a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹²It had a great, high wall, fwith twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴And the wall of the city had twelve gfoundations, and hon them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵And the one who spoke with me ihad a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.4 Its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷He also measured its wall, 144 cubits5 by jhuman measurement, which is also kan angel's measurement. ¹⁸The wall was built of ljasper, while the city was pure gold, like lclear glass. ¹⁹mThe foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and nthe street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²²And oI saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city phas no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for qthe glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴By its light rwill the nations walk, and the kings of the earth swill bring their glory into it, ²⁵and tits gates will never be shut by day—and uthere will be no night there. ²⁶They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But vnothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's wbook of life.

¹g“Behold, I send hmy messenger, and ihe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For mhe is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. ³He will sit nas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.1 ⁴pThen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

⁶“For tI the Lord do not change; utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ⁷vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ yIn your tithes and contributions. ⁹zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ¹⁰aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹I will rebuke dthe devourer2 for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²Then eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

¹³g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ ¹⁴You have said, i‘It is vain to serve God. jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵And now we call kthe arrogant blessed. kEvildoers not only prosper but lthey put God to the test and they escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶Then those who feared the Lord mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and na book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ¹⁷“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, oin the day when I make up pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸Then once more you shall qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

The Resurrection

¹eNow on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that fthe stone had been taken away from the tomb. ²So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, gthe one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and hwe do not know where they have laid him.” ³iSo Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵And stooping to look in, he saw jthe linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷and kthe face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, lwho had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹for as yet mthey did not understand the Scripture, nthat he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹²And oshe saw ptwo angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³They said to her, q“Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, r“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴Having said this, she turned around and ssaw Jesus standing, tbut she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, u“Woman, why are you weeping? vWhom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be wthe gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 x“Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to ymy brothers and say to them, z‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to amy God and your God.’” ¹⁸Mary Magdalene bwent and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

¹⁹cOn the evening dof that day, the first day of the week, ethe doors being locked where the disciples were ffor fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, g“Peace be with you.” ²⁰When he had said this, hhe showed them his hands and his side. Then ithe disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As jthe Father has sent me, keven so I am sending you.” ²²And when he had said this, he lbreathed on them and said to them, m“Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³nIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas

²⁴Now oThomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, p“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. qAlthough the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, q“Peace be with you.” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, r“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, s“My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? tBlessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of This Book

³⁰uNow Jesus did many other signs vin the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹wbut these are written so that you may xbelieve that Jesus is the Christ, ythe Son of God, and that by believing zyou may have life ain his name.