TRV
Translation
King James Version
And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; 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.
KJV (with Strong's)
And there was no passover H6453 like H3644 to that kept H6213 in Israel H3478 from the days H3117 of Samuel H8050 the prophet H5030; neither did H6213 all the kings H4428 of Israel H3478 keep H6213 such a passover H6453 as Josiah H2977 kept H6213, and the priests H3548, and the Levites H3881, and all Judah H3063 and Israel H3478 that were present H4672, and the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem H3389.
Complete Jewish Bible
No Pesach like that had been kept in Isra'el since the days of Sh'mu'el the prophet, and none of the kings of Isra'el observe a Pesach such as Yoshiyahu observed, with the cohanim, L'vi'im, all Y'hudah, those of Isra'el who were present, and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
Berean Standard Bible
No such Passover had been observed 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, and the people of Jerusalem.
American Standard Version
And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of 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.
World English Bible Messianic
There was no Passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And there was no Passeouer kept like that, in Israel, from the dayes of Samuel the Prophet: neyther did all the Kings of Israel keepe such a Passeouer as Iosiah kept, and the Priestes and the Leuites, and all Iudah, and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem.
Young's Literal Translation
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.
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In the KJVVerse 11,985 of 31,102
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Commentary on 2 Chronicles 35 verses 1–19
1 ¶ Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,
3 And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel,
4 And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing 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 sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
7 And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance.
8 And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.
9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, 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 king's commandment.
11 And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites 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 roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings 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 themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites 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 king's 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 prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.
17 And the children of Israel that were present 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 prophet; 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.
The destruction which Josiah made of idols and idolatry was more largely related in the Kings, but just mentioned here in the foregoing chapter (v. 33); but his solemnizing the passover, which was touched upon there (Kg2 23:21), is very particularly related here. Many were the feasts of the Lord, appointed by the ceremonial law, but the passover was the chief. It began them all in the night wherein Israel came out of Egypt; it concluded them all in the night wherein Christ was betrayed; and in the celebration of it Hezekiah and Josiah, those two great reformers, revived religion in their day. The ordinance of the Lord's supper resembles the passover more than it does any of the Jewish festivals; and the due observance of that ordinance, according to the rule, is an instance and means both of the growing purity and beauty of churches and of the growing piety and devotion of particular Christians. Religion cannot flourish where that passover is either wholly neglected or not duly observed; return to that, revive that, make a solemn business of that affecting binding ordinance, and then, it is to be hoped, there will be a reformation in other instances also.
In the account we had of Hezekiah's passover the great zeal of the people was observable, and the transport of devout affection that they were in; but little of the same spirit appears here. It was more in compliance with the king that they all kept the passover (Ch2 35:17, Ch2 35:18) than from any great inclination they had to it themselves. Some pride they took in this form of godliness, but little pleasure in the power of it. But, whatever defect there was among the people in the spirit of the duty, both the magistrates and the ministers did their part and took care that the external part of the service should be performed with due solemnity.
I. The king exhorted and directed, quickened and encouraged, the priests and Levites to do their office in this solemnity. Perhaps he saw them remiss and indifferent, unwilling to go out of their road or mend their pace. If ministers are so, it is not amiss for any, but most proper for magistrates, to stir them up to their business. Say to Archippus, Take heed to thy ministry, Col 4:17. Let us see how this good king managed his clergy upon this occasion. 1. He reduced them to the office they were appointed to by the law of Moses (Ch2 35:6) and the order they were put into by David and Solomon, Ch2 35:4. He set them in their charge, Ch2 35:2. He did not cut them out new work, nor put them into any new method, but called them back to their institution. Their courses were settled in writing; let them have recourse to that writing, and marshal themselves according to the divisions of their families, Ch2 35:5. Our rule is settled in the written word; let magistrates take care that ministers walk according to that rule and they do their duty. 2. He ordered the ark to be put in its place. It should seem, it had of late been displaced, either by the wicked kings, to make room for their idols in the most holy place, or by Hezekiah, to make room for the workmen that repaired the temple. However it was, Josiah bids the Levites put the ark in the house (Ch2 35:3), and not carry it about from place to place, as perhaps of late they had done, justifying themselves therein by the practice before the temple was built. Now that the priests were discharged from this burden of the ark they must be careful in other services about it. 3. He charged them to serve God and his people Israel, Ch2 35:3. Ministers must look upon themselves as servants both to Christ and to his church for his sake, Co2 4:5. They must take care, and take pains, and lay out themselves to the utmost, (1.) For the glory and honour of God, and to advance the interests of his kingdom among men. Paul, a servant of God, Tit 1:1. (2.) For the welfare and benefit of his people, not as having dominion over their faith, but as helpers of their holiness and joy; and there will be no difficulty, in the strength of God, in honestly serving these two masters. 4. He charged them to sanctify themselves, and prepare their brethren, Ch2 35:6. Ministers' work must begin at home, and they must sanctify themselves in the first place, purify themselves from sin, sequester themselves from the world, and devote themselves to God. But it must not end there; they must do what they can to prepare their brethren by admonishing, instructing, exhorting, quickening, and comforting, them. The preparation of the heart is indeed from the Lord; but ministers must be instruments in his hand. 5. He encouraged them to the service, Ch2 35:2. He spoke comfortably to them, as Hezekiah did, Ch2 30:22. He promised them his countenance. Note, Those whom we charge we should encourage. Most people love to be commended, and will be wrought upon by encouragements more than by threats.
II. The king and the princes, influenced by his example, gave liberally for the bearing of the charges of this passover. The ceremonial services were expensive, which perhaps was one reason why they had been neglected. People had not zeal enough to be at the charge of them; nor were they now very fond of them, for that reason, and therefore, 1. Josiah, at his own proper cost, furnished the congregation with paschal lambs, and other sacrifices, to be offered during the seven days of the feast. He allowed out of his own estate 30,000 lambs for passover offerings, which the offerers were to feast upon, and 3000 bullocks (Ch2 35:7) to be offered during the following seven days. Note, Those who are serious in religion should, when they persuade others to do that which is good, make it as cheap and easy to them as may be. And where God sows plentifully he expects to reap accordingly. It is to be feared that the congregation generally had not come provided; so that, if Josiah had not furnished them, the work of God must have stood still. 2. The chief of the priests, who were men of great estates, contributed towards the priests' charges, as Josiah did towards the people's. The princes (Ch2 35:8), that is, the chief of the priests, the princes of the holy tribe, rulers of the house of God, bore the priests' charges. And some of the rich and great men of the Levites furnished them also with cattle, both great and small, for offerings, Ch2 35:9. For, as to those that sincerely desire to be found in the way of their duty, Providence sometimes raises up friends to bear them out in it, beyond what they could have expected.
III. The priests and Levites performed their office very readily, Ch2 35:10. They killed the paschal lambs in the court of the temple, the priests sprinkled the blood upon the altar, the Levites flayed them, and then gave the flesh to the people according to their families (Ch2 35:11, Ch2 35:12), not fewer than ten, nor more than twenty, to a lamb. They took it to their several apartments, roasted it, and ate it according to the ordinance, Ch2 35:13. As for the other sacrifices that were eucharistical, the flesh of them was boiled according to the law of the peace-offerings and was divided speedily among the people, that they might feast upon it as a token of their joy in the atonement made and their reconciliation to God thereby. And, lastly, The priests and Levites took care to honour God by eating of the passover themselves, Ch2 35:14. Let not ministers think that the care they take for the souls of others will excuse their neglect of their own, or that being employed so much in public worship will supersede the religious exercises of their closets and families. The Levites here mace ready for themselves and for the priests, because the priests were wholly taken up all day in the service of the altar; therefore, that they might not have their lamb to dress when they should eat it, the Levites got it ready for them against supper time. Let ministers learn hence to help one another, and to forward one another's work, as brethren, and fellow-servants of the same Master.
IV. The singers and porters attended in their places, and did their office, Ch2 35:15. The singers with their sacred songs and music expressed and excited the joy of the congregation, and made the service very pleasant to them; and the porters at the gates took care that there should be no breaking in of any thing to defile or disquiet the assembly, nor going out of any from it, that none should steal away till the service was done. While they were thus employed their brethren the Levites prepared paschal lambs for them.
V. The whole solemnity was performed with great exactness, according to the law (Ch2 35:16, Ch2 35:17), and, upon that account, there was none like it since Samuel's time (Ch2 35:18), for in Hezekiah's passover there were several irregularities. And bishop Patrick observes that in this also it exceeded the other passovers which the preceding kings had kept, that though Josiah was by no means so rich as David, and Solomon, and Jehoshaphat, yet he furnished the whole congregation with beasts for sacrifice, both paschal and eucharistical, at his own proper cost and charge, which was more than any king ever did before him.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–19. Public domain.
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Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
2 Chronicles 35:18 declares King Josiah's Passover celebration to be an unparalleled event in Israelite history, surpassing all previous observances since the time of Samuel the prophet. This verse serves as the climactic affirmation of the profound spiritual revival and national unity achieved under Josiah's righteous leadership, meticulously detailing the widespread participation of the king, priests, Levites, and all the people from both Judah and the remnants of Israel, culminating in a moment of extraordinary devotion and adherence to God's Law.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The Chronicler employs several literary devices to powerfully emphasize the unparalleled nature and profound significance of Josiah's Passover. Hyperbole (or Exaggeration for Emphasis) is evident in the emphatic declaration that "there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet." While other Passovers certainly occurred, this statement is not meant to be a literal absence but rather a powerful rhetorical device to convey the exceptional quality, spiritual depth, and meticulous adherence to the Law that set Josiah's observance apart. Comparison is central to the verse's structure, specifically the explicit contrast with the Passovers kept by "all the kings of Israel" and the highly favorable comparison to the "days of Samuel the prophet," serving to elevate Josiah's achievement to an unprecedented level. The detailed listing of participants—"the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem"—is a form of Enumeration or Inclusivity, underscoring the comprehensive, unifying, and national scope of the event. Finally, the verse functions as a Culmination, serving as the grand finale and ultimate testament to the success and spiritual impact of Josiah's extensive religious reforms detailed in the preceding chapters.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Josiah's unparalleled Passover in 2 Chronicles 35:18 stands as a profound theological statement about the nature of true worship, the transformative power of God's Word, and the enduring possibility of national spiritual renewal. It demonstrates that genuine repentance, sparked by the rediscovery and diligent application of divine truth, can lead to a corporate experience of God's presence and blessing that transcends generations of spiritual decline. The meticulous adherence to the Law's stipulations for the Passover underscores that worship is not merely an emotional experience but a deliberate act of obedience to God's revealed will. This event serves as a powerful reminder that God desires not just ritual, but a heart fully devoted to Him, expressed through faithful obedience to His covenant commands, leading to a unified expression of faith across all societal strata.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The account of Josiah's Passover offers timeless and profound lessons for believers today, both individually and corporately. It challenges us to critically examine the depth of our own commitment to God's Word and the authenticity of our worship. Just as the discovery of the Book of the Law ignited a national revival in Josiah's time, so too does consistent and sincere engagement with Scripture serve as the indispensable catalyst for personal and communal transformation. This narrative calls us to move beyond superficial religiosity or mere tradition to a profound, Spirit-led obedience that impacts every facet of our lives and communities. It reminds us that even after extended periods of spiritual decline or apathy, God is faithful to bring about restoration when His people turn to Him with sincere hearts, led by those who are committed to His truth. Our corporate gatherings, whether in church services or communal acts of service, should, like the Passover, be marked by unity, intentionality, and a deep reverence for God, reflecting His glory and drawing us closer to Him and to one another in genuine fellowship.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was Josiah's Passover considered so unique and unparalleled?
Answer: Josiah's Passover was deemed unparalleled primarily for three interconnected reasons: its meticulous adherence to the Law, its widespread and inclusive participation, and the profound spiritual revival it represented. After generations of widespread idolatry and neglect, the rediscovered Book of the Law (likely a scroll containing Deuteronomy) spurred Josiah to ensure the Passover was observed precisely according to God's commands, something that had not been done for centuries. Furthermore, the participation was truly national, involving the king, priests, Levites, and people from both Judah and the remnants of Israel, signifying a rare moment of unity and collective devotion. This combination of purity, scope, and spiritual fervor made it stand out from all previous Passovers since the time of Samuel the prophet, a period remembered for its spiritual integrity.
What was the significance of comparing Josiah's Passover to the "days of Samuel the prophet"?
Answer: The comparison to "the days of Samuel the prophet" is highly significant because Samuel's era (roughly 11th century BC) was remembered as a golden age of spiritual purity, prophetic leadership, and national adherence to God's covenant before the widespread spiritual decline that often accompanied the monarchy. By drawing this parallel, the Chronicler emphasizes that Josiah's Passover was not just a large or well-attended event, but one that marked a profound return to the foundational spiritual principles and covenant faithfulness that characterized Israel in its earlier, purer days. It underscores the depth of the revival and its historical importance as a benchmark of true devotion and obedience to God.
How does this account of national revival relate to the concept of corporate worship today?
Answer: Josiah's Passover offers a powerful and enduring model for corporate worship today. It highlights that true worship is not merely an individual act but a communal expression of devotion and obedience to God. The participation of "all Judah and Israel" underscores the unifying power of shared faith and common adherence to God's Word. For contemporary corporate worship, this means striving for unity in spirit and purpose, ensuring that our practices are rooted in biblical truth, and fostering an environment where all members can participate meaningfully and sincerely in expressing their devotion to God. It reminds us that genuine revival often manifests in a collective turning to God, impacting and transforming the entire community.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While 2 Chronicles 35:18 details a historical Passover, its profound themes of deliverance, covenant renewal, and meticulous sacrifice find their ultimate and perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Passover, with its slain lamb whose blood protected Israel from bondage and death, was a powerful type pointing directly to the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb provided salvation for Israel, so too does the precious blood of Christ provide atonement and eternal life for all who believe, ushering in a new covenant sealed by His perfect, once-for-all sacrifice. Josiah's Passover, marked by a return to the Law and a national cleansing from idolatry, foreshadows the spiritual cleansing and new life offered through Christ, who is not merely a king leading a nation, but the King of kings and Lord of lords who establishes an eternal kingdom. The unparalleled nature of Josiah's Passover points to the absolute uniqueness, sufficiency, and finality of Christ's singular sacrifice, which perfects forever those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). Therefore, while Josiah's Passover was the greatest in Israel's history, it ultimately serves as a shadow and foretaste of the infinitely greater spiritual reality found in our Passover Lamb, Christ Jesus, through whom we experience true and eternal deliverance.