Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Chronicles 35:25 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 25. 25And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The lament became an established commemorative practice, not a civil statute in the modern sense. In 2 Chronicles 35:25, “ordinance” belongs to the complete movement “Lament and records preserve Josiah's memory.”
Jeremiah and the singing women keep Josiah's name in the lament
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Chronicles 35:25–27. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 35:25–27
Read 2 Chronicles 35:25 with 35:25–27. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Jeremiah, male and female singers, and an enduring lament tradition remember Josiah, while the narrator cites his goodness and royal record.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Lament and records preserve Josiah's memory,” 2 Chronicles 35:25 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: Communal grief, including women's professional song, interrupts the rush from death into the final kings. 2 Chronicles 35:20–24 has just established this prior movement: After temple preparation Josiah confronts Egypt's Necho, refuses a warning presented as from God, disguises himself, is shot, returns to Jerusalem, dies, and is mourned. Together those details explain why “Lament and records preserve Josiah's memory” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 2 Chronicles 35:25–27 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 35:25–27 forms the complete movement “Lament and records preserve Josiah's memory”: Jeremiah, male and female singers, and an enduring lament tradition remember Josiah, while the narrator cites his goodness and royal record.
Verse 25. 25 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.
Verse 26. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD,
Verse 27. 27 And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
Follow the Context
- Jeremiah, male and female singers, and an enduring lament tradition remember Josiah, while the narrator cites his goodness and royal record.
- Communal grief, including women's professional song, interrupts the rush from death into the final kings.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“ordinance”
In plain language: The lament became an established commemorative practice, not a civil statute in the modern sense.
In 2 Chronicles 35:25, “ordinance” belongs to the complete movement “Lament and records preserve Josiah's memory.”
Why it matters: This wording materially sharpens the passage-specific meaning or boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Chronicles 35:25 does not permit the wording “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Praise of Josiah does not erase his fatal refusal in the preceding scene or make mourning proof that every choice was right.
What Remains True
Severe wrongdoing, humility, reform, authoritative interpretation, covenant renewal, celebration, and fatal error show that repentance matters while accountability and wise correction remain necessary. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Jeremiah, male and female singers, and an enduring lament tradition remember Josiah, while the narrator cites his goodness and royal record. In 2 Chronicles 35:25, the concrete line “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
Explain why 2 Chronicles 35:25 preserves Jeremiah and male and female singers' lament tradition. Use 35:25–27, paraphrase “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Chronicles 35:25–27 — Lament and records preserve Josiah's memorySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The lament collection named here is not securely identifiable with canonical Lamentations, and no text of these songs survives in the passage.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Chronicles 35:25–27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 35:25–27
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 2 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 2 Chronicles 35:25–27, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗