The memory of Josiah is like a blend of fragrances composed by the work of a perfumer
His remembrance will be sweet like honey in every mouth, and like music at a banquet of wine
He was divinely directed for the repentance of the nation, and he took away the abominations of impiety
And he guided his heart toward the Lord. And during the days of sinners, he strengthened piety
Other than David, and Hezekiah, and Josiah, everyone committed sin
For the kings of Judah abandoned the law of the Most High, and they held contempt for the fear of God
For they gave their kingdom to foreigners, and their glory to a strange people
They set fire to the chosen city of sanctity, and they made its streets desolate, in accord with the hand of Jeremiah
For they treated him wickedly, though he was consecrated as a prophet from his mother’s womb: to overthrow, and to root out, and to destroy, and also to rebuild and to renew
It was Ezekiel who saw a vision of glory, which was revealed to him with the chariot of the Cherubim
For it called to mind the enemies under the figure of rain, to do good to those who have revealed the upright ways
And may the bones of the twelve prophets spring up from their place. For they strengthened Jacob, and they redeemed themselves with a virtuous faith
How will we magnify Zerubbabel? For he, too, was like a signet on the right hand
So also was Jesus, the son of Jozadak, who in their days built the house, and raised up a holy temple to the Lord, as a preparation for everlasting glory
And may Nehemiah be remembered for a long time. He raised up for us the walls that had been torn down. And he made firm the gates and the bars. He raised up our houses
No one has been born upon the earth like Enoch. And he was also taken up from the earth
And there was no one like Joseph, who was a man born to be foremost among his brothers, the firmament of his clan, a guide to his brethren, the mainstay of his people
And his bones were visited, and after death, they prophesied
Shem and Seth obtained glory among men. And above every soul, at the very beginning, was Adam