Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Chronicles 35:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And 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,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence: “And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Josiah orders priests and Levites for Passover.”
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 35:1–6
Read 2 Chronicles 35:3 with 35:1–6. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Josiah keeps Passover on its date, encourages priests, directs teaching Levites to place the ark in Solomon's house, organizes ancestral divisions by David and Solomon, and calls for sanctified service according to Moses.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Josiah orders priests and Levites for Passover,” 2 Chronicles 35:3 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The feast gathers Mosaic, Davidic, Solomonic, priestly, and Levitical traditions just before the monarchy's final decline. 2 Chronicles 34:29–33 has just established this prior movement: Josiah gathers leaders and people, publicly reads the covenant book, pledges wholehearted obedience, binds those present to it, removes abominations, and maintains worship during his life. Together those details explain why “Josiah orders priests and Levites for Passover” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 2 Chronicles 35:1–6 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 35:1–6 forms the complete movement “Josiah orders priests and Levites for Passover”: Josiah keeps Passover on its date, encourages priests, directs teaching Levites to place the ark in Solomon's house, organizes ancestral divisions by David and Solomon, and calls for sanctified service according to Moses.
Verse 1. 1 Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
Verse 2. 2 And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD,
Verse 3. 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,
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 5. 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.
Verse 6. 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.
Follow the Context
- Josiah keeps Passover on its date, encourages priests, directs teaching Levites to place the ark in Solomon's house, organizes ancestral divisions by David and Solomon, and calls for sanctified service according to Moses.
- The feast gathers Mosaic, Davidic, Solomonic, priestly, and Levitical traditions just before the monarchy's final decline.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Chronicles 35:3 does not permit the wording “And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Liturgical order does not justify clerical hierarchy without accountability or make Passover a Christian possession detached from Jewish life.
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: Josiah keeps Passover on its date, encourages priests, directs teaching Levites to place the ark in Solomon's house, organizes ancestral divisions by David and Solomon, and calls for sanctified service according to Moses. In 2 Chronicles 35:3, the concrete line “And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy….” Treat repentance as sustained repair, hear qualified interpreters regardless of gender, protect those harmed by prior practice, and verify warnings before a respected leader takes a dangerous course. This response follows from the unit's own movement: Josiah keeps Passover on its date, encourages priests, directs teaching Levites to place the ark in Solomon's house, organizes ancestral divisions by David and Solomon, and calls for sanctified service according to Moses.
Teach It Back
Explain why 2 Chronicles 35:3 directs teaching Levites to place the ark and serve God and Israel. Use 35:1–6, paraphrase “And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy…,” 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
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Chronicles 35:1–6 — Josiah orders priests and Levites for PassoverSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The command to place the ark is difficult because its prior location is not narrated; proposed movements remain speculative.
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 35:1–6, 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 35:1–6
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 35:1–6, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗