2 Chronicles 34

1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem.

Josiah was eight when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.

2 And he did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

He did what was right in the Lord's sight and followed the ways of his forefather David—he did not deviate to the right or to the left.

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to publicly worship the God of David his forefather, and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem by removing the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the metal images.

4 And they broke down the altars of the Baalim in his presence; and the sun-images, that were on high above them, he hewed down; and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.

He had the altars of Baal torn down in front of him, and the incense altars above them cut down. In addition, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the metal images were smashed to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had been sacrificing to them.

5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem.

He burned the bones of the idolatrous priests on their altars. In this way he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their axes round about.

Josiah repeated this in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, all the way to Naphtali, and in their surrounding areas.

7 And he broke down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.

He tore down the altars and crushed the Asherah poles and the images to dust, and cut down all the incense altars across the whole land of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, once he had finished cleansing the land and the Temple, Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city governor, and Joah, son of Joahaz, the record-keeper, to repair the Temple of the Lord his God.

9 And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the door, had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin, and they returned to Jerusalem.

They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought to God's Temple. The Levites at the entrances had collected this money from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim, from what was left of the people of Israel, as well as contributions from Judah, Benjamin, and the people of Jerusalem.

10 And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD gave it to mend and repair the house;

They handed it over to those who were supervising the repair work on Lord's Temple, who in turn paid the workmen doing the restoring and repairing.

11 even to the carpenters and to the builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

They also paid carpenters and builders to buy cut stone, as well as timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let deteriorate.

12 And the men did the work faithfully; and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to preside over it; and other of the Levites, all that had skill with instruments of music.

The men did good, honest work. In charge of them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, Levites from the sons of the Kohathites. The Levites, all skilled musicians,

13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and presided over all that did the work in every manner of service; and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.

were in charge of the workmen and directed everyone involved, depending on what was required. Some of the Levites were scribes, some officers, and some gatekeepers.

14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.

In the process of taking out the money donated to the Lord's Temple, Hilkiah the priest discovered the Book of the Lord's Law written down by Moses.

15 and Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe: 'I have found the book of the Law in the house of the LORD.' And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

Hilkiah told Shaphan the scribe, “I've found the Book of the Law in the Lord's Temple.” He gave it to Shaphan.

16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and moreover brought back word unto the king, saying: 'All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.

Shaphan took the book to the king and told him, “We your servants are doing everything we were instructed to do.

17 And they have poured out the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of the workmen.'

The money collected at the Lord's Temple has been handed over to those who are supervising the workers, paying them to do the repairs.”

18 And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying: 'Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book.' And Shaphan read therein before the king.

Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me this book.” Shaphan read it to the king.

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

When the king heard what the Law said, he tore his clothes.

20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying:

Then he issue the following orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Abdon, son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, the king's assistant:

21 'Go ye, inquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according unto all that is written in this book.'

“Go and talk to the Lord for me, and also for those who still live in Israel and Judah, about what is said in the book that's been found. For the Lord must be really angry with us because our forefathers have not obeyed the Lord's instructions by following all that's written in this book.”

22 So Hilkiah, and they whom the king had commanded, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe — now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter — and they spoke to her to that effect.

Hilkiah and those the king had selected went and talked with Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, custodian of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the city's second quarter.

23 And she said unto them: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me:

Huldah told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

24 Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah;

this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster down on this place and on its people, in accordance with all the curses written in the book that has been read to the king of Judah.

25 because they have forsaken Me, and have offered unto other gods, that they might provoke Me with all the works of their hands; therefore is My wrath poured out upon this place, and it shall not be quenched.

They have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, making me angry by everything they've done. My anger will be poured out upon this place and will not be stopped.

26 But unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him: Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: As touching the words which thou hast heard,

But tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord, tell him this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: As for the what you heard read to you—

27 because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest His words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and hast humbled thyself before Me, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.

because you were receptive and repentant before God when you heard his warnings against this place and against its people, and because you have repented, tearing your clothes and weeping before me, I have also heard you, declares the Lord.

28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof.' And they brought back word unto the king.

All this will not happen until after you have died, and you will die in peace. You will not see all the disaster that I'm going to bring down on this place and on its inhabitants.” They went back to the king and gave him her response.

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

Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, both great and small; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.

He went to the Lord's Temple with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, together with the priests and the Levites, all the people from the least to the greatest, and he read to them the whole Book of the Agreement that had been discovered in the Lord's Temple.

31 And the king stood in his place, and 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 were written in this book.

The king stood by the pillar and made a solemn agreement before the Lord to follow him and to keep his commandments, laws, and regulations with total dedication, and to observe the requirements of the agreement as written in the book.

32 And he caused all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

Then he had everyone present from Jerusalem and Benjamin stand up to show they agreed to it. So all the people of Jerusalem accepted and followed the agreement with God, the God of their forefathers.

33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were found in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. All his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Josiah demolished all the vile idols from the whole territory belonging to the Israelites, and he made everyone in Israel serve the Lord their God. During his reign they did not give up worshiping the Lord, the God of their fathers.