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Josiah's Final Battle
King Josiah went out against Neco of Egypt, was struck down at Megiddo, and Judah mourned deeply when he died.
After Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates. Josiah went out against him. Neco sent messengers saying he was not coming against Judah that day, but against another power he was fighting, and he warned Josiah not to oppose him.
Josiah did not turn back. He disguised himself and went to fight in the valley of Megiddo. Chronicles says he did not listen to Neco’s words, which it describes as words from the mouth of God.
In the battle, archers shot King Josiah. He told his servants to take him away because he was seriously wounded. So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and carried him away from the fighting.
They brought Josiah to Jerusalem, and he died there. He was buried with his fathers. The people of the land then took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.
All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah lamented for him, and singers kept speaking of Josiah in their laments. The rest of his acts and his good deeds were written in other records.
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A children’s retelling of 2 Kings 23:28–30; 2 Chronicles 35:20–27. You can read the Bible passage together too.
2 Kings gives a brief report that Pharaoh Neco killed Josiah at Megiddo and that his servants carried him dead to Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles gives fuller detail, saying Josiah was wounded by archers at Megiddo, taken to Jerusalem, and died there. 2 Chronicles names Carchemish by the Euphrates, while 2 Kings briefly says Neco went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates.
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Source: World English Bible Classic, a public domain translation. This page is a retelling, rather than a word-for-word Bible text.
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