20 After all of Yoshiyah’s work on temple restoration, Egypt’s King Neko went to attack Karkemish city on the Euphrates river, and Yoshiyah went out to confront him. 21 Neko sent messengers to tell Yoshiyah, “What’s this got to do with you, King of Judah? We’re not attacking you at present, because we’re in a different fight, and God told me to hurry. Don’t oppose God who’s with me, and don’t make him destroy you.” 22 However, Yoshiyah wouldn’t listen, but disguised himself before going into battle. He didn’t listen to Neko even though he was speaking for God, so he went to fight on the Megiddon plain.

23 King Yoshiyah was hit by the archers, and he told his servants, “Get me away from here because I’m badly wounded.” 24 So his servants lifted him off his chariot, and took him on his reserve chariot back to Yerushalem where he died. He was buried in his ancestors’ tombs, and all Yerushalem and Yehudah mourned over him.

25 The prophet Yermeyah (Jeremiah) wrote a funeral song for him, which the male and female singers still use at funerals to this day. That became a custom in Yisrael—the words of that song are written in a scroll of funeral songs.

26 The record of all the other things done by Yoshiyah while he was king and his loyal commitment to following Yahweh’s instructions, 27 including his actions from the beginning to the end of his reign, was written on the scroll ‘The kings of Yisrael and Yehudah’.