2 Chronicles 34

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king; he was ruling in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.

Eight years old was Josiah when he became king, and thirty and one years did he reign in Jerusalem.

2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father David, without turning to the right hand or to the left.

And he did what is right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right or to the left.

3 In the eighth year of his rule, while he was still young, his heart was first turned to the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he undertook the clearing away of all the high places and the pillars and the images of wood and metal from Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a lad, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem from the high-places, and the Asherim, and the carved images, and the molten images.

4 He had the altars of the Baals broken down, while he himself was present; and the sun-images which were placed on high over them he had cut down; and the pillars of wood and the metal images he had broken up and crushed to dust, dropping the dust over the resting-places of the dead who had made offerings to them.

And they broke down in his presence the altars of the Be'alim, and the sun-images, that were set above them, he cut down; and the Asherim, and the carved images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and ground down, and strewed [the same] upon the graves of those that had sacrificed unto them.

5 And he had the bones of the priests burned on their altars, and so he made Judah and Jerusalem clean.

And the bones of priests did he burn upon their altars; and he purified Judah and Jerusalem.

6 And in all the towns of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon as far as Naphtali, he made waste their houses round about.

And [so did he] in the cities of Menasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, with their mattocks, round about.

7 He had the altars and the pillars of wood pulled down and the images crushed to dust, and all the sun-images cut down, through all the land of Israel, and then he went back to Jerusalem.

And when he had broken down the altars and had beaten the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and cut down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his rule, when the land and the house had been made clean, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the ruler of the town, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to make good what was damaged in the house of the Lord his God.

And in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purified the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azalyahu, and Ma'asseyahu the governor of the city and Joach the son of Joachaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

9 And they came to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and gave him all the money which had been taken into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the door, had got from Manasseh and Ephraim and those of Israel who had not been taken away as prisoners, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the people of Jerusalem.

And they came to Chilkiyahu the high-priest, and gave up the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites that watched at the threshold had gathered from the hand of Menasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and were returned to Jerusalem.—

10 And they gave it to the overseers of the work of the Lord's house, and the overseers gave it to the workmen working in the house, for building it up and making good what was damaged;

And they delivered it into the hand of those who overlooked the workmen that had been appointed as overseers of the house of the Lord: and those who overlooked the workmen, who did the work in the house of the Lord, gave it out, to repair and to restore the house,

11 Even to the woodworkers and builders to get cut stone and wood for joining the structure together and for making boards for the houses which the kings of Judah had given up to destruction.

And they gave it to the carpenters and to the builders to buy hewn stone and timber for joists, and to lay the beams in the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

12 And the men did the work well; and those who had authority over them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, who were to be responsible for seeing that the work was done; and others of the Levites, who were expert with instruments of music,

And the men acted faithfully in the work: and over them were appointed Jachath and 'Obadyahu, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kehathites, to supervise; and every one of these Levites was skilful on instruments of music.

13 Had authority over the transport workers, giving directions to all who were doing any sort of work; and among the Levites there were scribes and overseers and door-keepers.

They were also over the bearers of burdens and supervisors over all that did the work in every manner of service: and from the Levites there were also scribes, and officers, and gatekeepers.

14 Now when they were taking out the money which had come into the Lord's house, Hilkiah the priest came across the book of the law of the Lord, which he had given by the mouth of Moses.

And when they took out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, Chilkiyahu the priest found the book of the law of the Lord through the hand of Moses.

15 Then Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, I have made discovery of the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

Then commenced Chilkiyahu and said to Shaphan the scribe, The book of the law have I found in the house of the Lord. And Chilkiyahu gave the book to Shaphan.

16 And Shaphan took the book to the king; and he gave him an account of what had been done, saying, Your servants are doing all they have been given to do;

And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king also word back again, saying, All that was put in the hand of thy servants, have they truly done.

17 They have taken out all the money which was in the Lord's house and have given it to the overseers and to the workmen.

And they have taken out the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the appointed overseers, and into the hand of those who overlook the workmen.

18 Then Shaphan the scribe said to the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book; and he made a start at reading some of it to the king.

Then told Shaphan the scribe the king, saying, A book hath Chilkiyahu the priest given me. And Shaphan read in it before the king.

19 And the king, hearing the words of the law, took his robe in his hands, violently parting it as a sign of his grief.

And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.

20 And he gave orders to Hilkiah and to Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Abdon, the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah, the king's servant, saying,

And the king commanded Chilkiyahu, and Achikam the son of Shaphan, and 'Abdon the son of Michah, and Shaphan the scribe, and 'Assayah a servant of the king's, saying,

21 Go and get directions from the Lord for me and for those who are still in Israel and for Judah, about the words of this book which has come to light; for great is the wrath of the Lord which has been let loose on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord or done what is recorded in this book.

Go ye, inquire of the Lord in my behalf, and in behalf of those that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that hath been found; for great is the fury of the Lord that is poured out against us, because our fathers did not keep the word of the Lord, to do in accordance with all that is written in this book.

22 So Hilkiah, and those whom the king sent, went to Huldah the woman prophet, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the robes (now she was living in Jerusalem, in the second part of the town); and they had talk with her about this thing.

Then went Chilkiyahu with those whom the king [had appointed], to Chuldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Thoknath, the son of Chassrah, the keeper of the wardrobe; —now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the suburb; —and they spoke to her in that wise.

23 And she said to them, The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, Say to the man who sent you to me,

And she said unto them, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Say unto the man that hath sent you to me,

24 These are the words of the Lord: See, I will send evil on this place and on its people, even all the curses in the book which they have been reading before the king of Judah;

Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah;

25 Because they have given me up, burning offerings to other gods and moving me to wrath by all the works of their hands; so my wrath is let loose on this place and will not be put out.

Because they have forsaken me, and have burnt incense unto other gods, in order to provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands: therefore is my fury poured out upon this place, and it shall not be quenched.

26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to get directions from the Lord, say, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said: Because you have given ear to my words,

And with respect to the king of Judah, who sendeth you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Concerning the words which thou hast heard;

27 And your heart was soft, and you made yourself low before God, on hearing his words about this place and its people, and with weeping and signs of grief have made yourself low before me, I have given ear to you, says the Lord God.

Because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardst his words against this place, and against its inhabitants, and didst humble thyself before me, and rend thy clothes, and weep before me: I have also truly heard it, saith the Lord.

28 See, I will let you go to your fathers, and be put in your last resting-place in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will send on this place and on its people. So they took this news back to the king.

Behold, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy graves in peace, and thy eyes shall not look on all the evil which I am bringing over this place, and over its inhabitants. And they brought the king word again.

29 Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

And the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites and all the people, small and great; and they were present at his reading of the book of the law which had come to light in the house of the Lord.

And the king went up into the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, from the great to the small; and he read before their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.

31 Then the king, taking his place by the pillar, made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and to keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and with all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in this book.

And the king stood up on his stand, and he made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book.

32 And he made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin give their word to keep it. And the people of Jerusalem kept the agreement of God, the God of their fathers.

And he caused to accede to it every one that was present in Jerusalem and Benjamin. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

33 Josiah took away all the disgusting things out of all the lands of the children of Israel, and made all who were in Israel servants of the Lord their God. And as long as he was living they were true to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

And Josiah removed all the abominations out of all the countries that belonged to the children of Israel, and caused all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. All his days did they not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.