2 Chronicles 34

1 Josiah was eight years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

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

2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and he walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn away, neither to the right, nor to the left.

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.

3 Now in the eighth year of his reign, when he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of his father David. And in the twelfth year after he had begun to reign, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the sacred groves, and the idols, and the graven images.

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.

4 And in his sight, they destroyed the altars of the Baals, and they demolished the idols which had been set upon them. And then he cut down the sacred groves and crushed the graven images. And he scattered the fragments upon the tombs of those who had been accustomed to immolate to them.

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.

5 And after that, he burned the bones of the priests upon the altars of the idols. And so did he cleanse Judah and Jerusalem.

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

6 Then too, in the cities of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, even to Naphtali, he overturned everything.

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

7 And when he had destroyed the altars and the sacred groves, and had broken the idols to pieces, and when all the profane shrines had been demolished from the entire land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

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.

8 And so, in the eighteenth year of his reign, having now cleansed the land and the temple of the Lord, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the ruler of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, the historian, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

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.

9 And they went to Hilkiah, the high priest. And having accepted from him the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, and which the Levites and porters had gathered together from Manasseh, and Ephraim, and the entire remnant of Israel, and also from all of Judah, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

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.

10 they delivered it into the hands of those who were in charge of the workers in the house of the Lord, so that they might repair the temple, and restore whatever was weak.

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;

11 And they gave it to the artisans and the stoneworkers, so that they might buy stones from the quarries, and wood for the joints of the building and for the upper floors of the houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

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.

12 And they did everything faithfully. Now the overseers of the workers were Jahath and Obadiah, from the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, from the sons of Kohath, who were supervising the work. All were Levites who knew how to play musical instruments.

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,

13 Truly, scribes and teachers, from among the Levites who were porters, were over those who were carrying burdens for various uses.

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.

14 And when they carried out the money that had been brought into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

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.

15 And he said to Shaphan, the scribe: “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And he delivered it to him.

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.

16 Then he took the volume to the king, and he reported to him, saying: “Behold, everything that you entrusted to your servants is completed.

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;

17 They have melted together the silver that was found in the house of the Lord. And it has been given to the overseers of the artisans and craftsmen for various works.

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.

18 After this, Hilkiah the priest gave to me this book.” And when he had read it in the presence of the king,

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.

19 and he had heard the words of the law, he tore his garments.

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

20 And he instructed Hilkiah, and Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Abdon, the son of Micah, and also Shaphan, the scribe, and Asaiah, the servant of the king, saying:

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,

21 “Go, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the remnant of Israel and Judah, concerning all the words of this book, which has been found. For the great fury of the Lord has rained down upon us, because our fathers did not keep the words of the Lord, to do all that has been written in this volume.”

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.

22 Therefore, Hilkiah, and those who had been sent with him by the king, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the vestments. She was living in Jerusalem, in the second part. And they spoke to her the words which we explained above.

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.

23 And she responded to them: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me:

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

24 Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will lead in evils over this place, and over its inhabitants, with all the curses that have been written in this book, which they have read before the king of Judah.

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;

25 For they have abandoned me, and they have sacrificed to foreign gods, so that they provoked me to wrath by all the works of their hands. Therefore, my fury will rain down upon this place, and it will not be extinguished.

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.

26 To the king of Judah, who sent you to petition before the Lord, so shall you speak: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Since you listened to the words of this volume,

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,

27 and your heart was softened, and you humbled yourself in the sight of God concerning these things which have been said against this place and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and since, revering my face, you have torn your garments, and have wept before me: I also have heeded you, says the Lord.

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.

28 For now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be brought into your sepulcher in peace. Neither shall your eyes see all the evil that I will lead in, over this place and over its inhabitants.” And so they took back to the king all that she had said.

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.

29 And he, calling together all those greater by birth of Judah and Jerusalem,

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

30 ascended to the house of the Lord, united with all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest. And in their hearing, in the house of the Lord, the king read all the words of the volume.

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.

31 And standing up at his tribunal, he struck a covenant before the Lord, so that he would walk after him, and would keep his precepts and testimonies and justifications, with his whole heart and with his whole soul, and so that he would do the things that were written in that volume, which he had read.

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.

32 Also, concerning this, he bound by oath all who had been found in Jerusalem and Benjamin. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accord with the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers.

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.

33 Therefore, Josiah took away all the abominations from all the regions of the sons of Israel. And he caused all who were remaining in Israel to serve the Lord their God. During all his days, they did not withdraw from the Lord, the God of their fathers.

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.