Josiya unozana Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi
(2 Bomambo 23:21-23)1 Mambo Josiya kalondolodzela Yahwe Nzano we Kupinda pezhugwi mu Jerusalema, bakabhaya phkwizana dze Nzano we Kupinda pezhugwi mu zhuba le bugumi lina manna (14) le mwedzi we kutanga. 2 Wakakobela bapirisiti mishingo ngono kabakulumbidza mu nshingo we Ng'umba ya Yahwe. 3 Ngono wakadwa Balevi bose ibo bakabe bediya Baiziraela, ibo bakabe bakayengemala kuna Yahwe kati, “Mubige Bhokisi le Tjidumano mu Ng'umba ye Ndzimu yakabakwa ndi Solomoni nkololo wa Dafite. Musitongotja lisenga nge mathudzi enyu koga shingilani Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu ne bathu bawo Baiziraela. 4 Muzwilulwamise kuyenda nge misha ne kuyenda nge mishingo yamakakobegwa ndi Mambo Dafite ne nkololo uwe Mambo Solomoni. 5 Mume mu Bugalo gwakayengemala nge makupo e misha e bakanyi kwenyu, bathu koga, ngono nkoba mmwe ne mmwe kume Balevi be nsha nng'ompela. 6 Mubhaye pkhwizana ye Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi namwi muzwitjenapadze ngono mululwamisile bakanyi kwenyu pkhwizana, muthama itjo Yahwe tjabakadwa Mushe kuti tjithamiwe.”
7 Ngono Mambo Josiya kapa bathu kudwa mu ngubi iye, pkhwizana ne mbudzana dze Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi dzili zwiwulu zwili makumi matatu (30 000) ne mikono ili zwiwulu zwili zwitatu (3 000). 8 Makulukota awe naiwo kadusila bathu be bapirisiti ne Balevi. Hilikiya na Zakhariya na Jehiele bayendisi be Ng'umba ye Ndzimu bakapa bapirisiti zwiwulu zwili zwibili ne mazana ali tathatu (2 600) e zwibhayilo zwe pkhwizana ne mbudzana zwe Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi ne mazana matatu (300) e ng'ombe. 9 Konaniya ne banung'una babe Shemaya na Nethanele na Hashabiya na Jeyele na Jozabadi batungamili be Balevi bakadusa zwipo zwe Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi zwili zwiwulu zwili zwishanu (5 000) ne mikono ili mazana mashanu (500) bakazwipa Balevi.
10 Ngono kwakati tjimwe ne tjimwe tje Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi tjalulwamisiwa bapirisiti ne Balevi bakatola magalo koga mambo sekwa bakalaula. 11 Ngono bakabhaya pkhwizana dze Nzano we Kupinda pezhugwi ngono bapirisiti bakan'nyasa malopa abakabe bepiwa, Balevi ibo beviya phuka dzabhayiwa. 12 Bakabigila ntome zwibhayilo zwinopisiwa kuti ndizo bazwikobe nge makupo e misha ye bathu koga kuti ndizo badusilabo Yahwe koga sekwa kwakakwagwa mu lukwalo gwe nlayo wa Mushe. Bakathama saikoku bo ne zwikondolo. 13 Balevi bakagotja zwibhayilo zwe Nzano we Kupinda pezhugwi mu moto koga sekwa kwakakwagwa ngono bakakapayidza zwipo zwakayengemala mu hali ngothubukana kwadzo ngono bakakobela bathu bose tjinyolotjo. 14 Shule kwa ikoku, Balevi bakalulwamisa nyama yabo neye bapirisiti ibo zwizekugwana zwa Aroni ngoti bapirisiti bakabe basina gwe kugala, bakabe bepisa zwibhayilo zwakabe zwipisiwa zose ne zwibhayilo zwe mafuta kudzina kukabe busiku. 15 Ngono bambi ibo bakabe bali Balevi be nsha wa Asafa bakabe bali mu magalo abo Mambo Dafite sekwa akabe aleba, ibo bakabe bali bo Asafa na Hemani na Jeduthuni iye ali nlebesambeli wa mambo. Balisi be mikoba ibo akuzobe kusheteka kuti bangasiya mikoba ngoti Balevi bakabalulwamisila. 16 Ndizo nshingo wose wa Yahwe wakalulwamisiwa zhuba ilelo, kulondolodza Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi, Mambo Josiya sekwa akabe aleba. 17 Baiziraela bakabe balipo bakalondolodza Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi nge tjibaka itjetjo bakalondolodza ne Nzano we Tjiwunga tjisina Mbidzo kwe mazhuba ali kutendeka. 18 Akuzotongofa kwabe ne Nzano we Kupinda Pezhugwi wakanga iwoyu mu Iziraela tjinga kwe mazhuba a Samuele nlebesambeli, akuna wa bomambo be Baiziraela wakatongolondolodza Nzano we Kupinda pezhugwi iwoyu nge zila inonga yakathamiwa ndi Josiya ne bapirisiti ne Balevi ne Juda yose ne Baiziraela bakabe balipo ne bagali be Jerusalema. 19 Mu gole le bugumi lina zhanakadzi (18) le mbuso wa Josiya, Nzano we Kupinda pezhugwi wakalondolodziwa.
Bhelelo le mbuso wa Josiya
(2 Bomambo 23:28-30)20 Shule kwe kuti Josiya abe athama zose izwezwi zwe Ng'umba ye Ndzimu, Neko mambo we Egipiti kabhuda kanogwa ku Karikhemishi ku gwizi gwe Yufuratesi. Ngono Mambo Josiya kayenda kunonshanganidza. 21 Koga Neko katumila batumwa kunli ne matama anoti, “Dumbu unotshwa ubhulani mu ngwa iyeyi Mambo we Juda kene? Andizozha kuwogwa nawe ndazha kuwogwa ne wandinogwa naye. Ndzimu wandibudza kuti nditjimbidze, ndizo letjedza kunyanyayidzana ne Ndzimu, iwo unami kusakajalo unokulobesa.” 22 Koga Josiya kabe akazwimisila kugwa, kalamba teedza matama a Neko akabe edwa ku Ndzimu ngono Josiya kanogwa na Neko ku tjibata tje Megido.
23 Josiya kabhayiwa nge misebe ye Baegipiti. Ngono kadwa balanda babe kati, “Mundiduse ipapa ngobe ndakubala zwakabipa.” 24 Ndizo balanda babe bakan'dusa mu koloyi iye ye ngwa ngono bakantathisa imwe ipoga bakan'yisa ku Jerusalema. Wakanofila ikoko ngono kanobiganyiwa ku zwikumbu zwa botate babe. Ngono bathu bose be Juda ne Jerusalema bakan'lilila.
25 Nlebesambeli Jeremiya kakwala lumbo gwe tjililo gwa Mambo Josiya. Kwakabe kwakawolobeleka mu Iziraela kuti bambi ne balume ne bakadzi bambe lumbo igogu abe nlilila. Lumbo igogu gowang'wa mu hwalo dze Zwililo.
26 Tjimwe ne tjimwe tjakathamwa ndi Josiya, kuzwimisila kukwe muna Yahwe ne kulondolodza nlayo kukwe, 27 ne thawu dzidze kudwa mu kutangisa kunoti ku bupelo kwakakwagwa mu Thawu dza Bomambo be Iziraela ne Juda.
Josiah Celebrates the Passover
(2 Kings 23.21-23)1 King Josiah celebrated the Passover at Jerusalem in honor of the Lord; on the fourteenth day of the first month they killed the animals for the festival. 2 He assigned to the priests the duties they were to perform in the Temple and encouraged them to do them well. 3 He also gave these instructions to the Levites, the teachers of Israel, who were dedicated to the Lord: “Put the sacred Covenant Box in the Temple that King Solomon, the son of David, built. You are no longer to carry it from place to place, but you are to serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Take your places in the Temple by clans, according to the responsibilities assigned to you by King David and his son King Solomon, 5 and arrange yourselves so that some of you will be available to help each family of the people of Israel. 6 You are to kill the Passover lambs and goats. Now make yourselves ritually clean and prepare the sacrifices in order that your fellow Israelites may follow the instructions which the Lord gave through Moses.”
7 For the use of the people at the Passover, King Josiah contributed from his own herds and flocks 30,000 sheep, lambs, and young goats, and 3,000 bulls. 8 His officials also made contributions for the people, the priests, and the Levites to use. And the officials in charge of the Temple—Hilkiah, the High Priest, Zechariah, and Jehiel—gave the priests 2,600 lambs and young goats and 300 bulls for sacrifices during the festival. 9 The leaders of the Levites—Conaniah, Shemaiah and his brother Nethanel, Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad—contributed 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls for the Levites to offer as sacrifices.
10 When everything was arranged for the Passover, the priests and the Levites took their posts, as commanded by the king. 11 After the lambs and goats had been killed, the Levites skinned them, and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. 12 Then they divided among the people, by family groups, the animals for burnt offerings, so that they could offer them according to the instructions in the Law of Moses. 13 The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire, according to the regulations, and boiled the sacred offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and quickly distributed the meat to the people. 14 After this was done, the Levites provided meat for themselves and for the priests descended from Aaron, for the priests were kept busy until night, burning the animals that were burned whole and the fat of the sacrifices. 15 The following musicians of the Levite clan of Asaph were in the places assigned to them by King David's instructions: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's prophet. The guards at the Temple gates did not need to leave their posts, because the other Levites prepared the Passover for them. 16 So, as King Josiah had commanded, everything was done that day for the worship of the Lord, the keeping of the Passover Festival, and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar. 17 For seven days all the people of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 18 Since the days of the prophet Samuel, the Passover had never been celebrated like this. None of the former kings had ever celebrated a Passover like this one celebrated by King Josiah, the priests, the Levites, and the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem 19 in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.
The End of Josiah's Reign
(2 Kings 23.28-30)20 After King Josiah had done all this for the Temple, King Neco of Egypt led an army to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. Josiah tried to stop him, 21 but Neco sent Josiah this message: “This war I am fighting does not concern you, King of Judah. I have not come to fight you, but to fight my enemies, and God has told me to hurry. God is on my side, so don't oppose me, or he will destroy you.” 22 But Josiah was determined to fight. He refused to listen to what God was saying through King Neco, so he disguised himself and went into battle on the plain of Megiddo.
23 During the battle King Josiah was struck by Egyptian arrows. He ordered his servants, “Take me away; I'm badly hurt!” 24 They lifted him out of his chariot, placed him in a second chariot which he had there, and took him to Jerusalem. There he died and was buried in the royal tombs. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned his death.
25 The prophet Jeremiah composed a lament for King Josiah. It has become a custom in Israel for the singers, both men and women, to use this song when they mourn for him. The song is found in the collection of laments.
26 Everything that Josiah did—his devotion to the Lord, his obedience to the Law, 27 and his history from beginning to end—is all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.