2 Chronicles 34

Josiah Institutes Religious Reforms

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

2 He did what the Lord approvedt and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps;t he did not deviate to the right or the left.
3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestort David. In his twelfth year he began riddingt Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images.4 He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down,t and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.5 He burned the bones of the pagan priestst on their altars; he purified Judah and Jerusalem.6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruinst around them,

7 he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple.t He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God.9 They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought to God’s temple. The Levites who guarded the door had collected it from the people oft Manasseh and Ephraim and from all who were left in Israel, as well as from all the people oft Judah and Benjamin and the residents ofs Jerusalem.10 They handed it over to the construction forement assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn paid the temple workers to restore and repair it.t11 They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair.t12 The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians,

13 supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs.t Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.
14 When they took out the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple, Hilkiah the priest found the law scroll the Lord had given to Moses.15 Hilkiah informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan.16 Shaphan brought the scroll to the king and reported,t “Your servants are doing everything assigned to them.17 They melted down the silver in the Lord’s templet and handed it over to the supervisors of the construction foremen.”18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king.19 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes.20 The king ordered Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah,t Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant,

21 “Go, seek an oracle fromt the Lord for me and those who remain in Israel and Judah. Find out aboutt the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us,t because our ancestorst have not obeyed the word of the Lord by doing all that this scroll instructs!”t
22 So Hilkiah and the others sent by the kingt went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah,t the supervisor of the wardrobe.t (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneht district.) They stated their business,t23 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me:24 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which they read before the king of Judah.25 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrificest to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made.t My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’”26 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:27 ‘You displayed a sensitive spiritt and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words concerning this place and its residents. You humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.

28 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace.t You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.
29 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.t30 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites. All the people were there, from the oldest to the youngest. He read aloud all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple.31 The king stood by his pillars and renewedt the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to followt the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being,t by carrying out the termst of this covenant recorded on this scroll.32 He made all who were in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it.t The residents of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouragedt all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reignt they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

2 Chronicles 34

King Josiah of Judah

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.

2 He did what was pleasing to the LORD; he followed the example of his ancestor King David, strictly obeying all the laws of God.

Josiah Attacks Pagan Worship

3 In the eighth year that Josiah was king, while he was still very young, he began to worship the God of his ancestor King David. Four years later he began to destroy the pagan places of worship, the symbols of the goddess Asherah, and all the other idols. 4 Under his direction the altars where Baal was worshiped were smashed, and the incense altars near them were torn down. They ground to dust the images of Asherah and all the other idols and then scattered the dust on the graves of the people who had sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of the pagan priests on the altars where they had worshiped. By doing all this, he made Judah and Jerusalem ritually clean again. 6 He did the same thing in the cities and the devastated areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far north as Naphtali.

7 Throughout the territory of the Northern Kingdom he smashed the altars and the symbols of Asherah, ground the idols to dust, and broke into bits all the incense altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Is Discovered

8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had purified the land and the Temple by ending pagan worship, King Josiah sent three men to repair the Temple of the LORD God: Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the governor of Jerusalem, and Joah son of Joahaz, a high official. 9 The money that the Levite guards had collected in the Temple was turned over to Hilkiah the High Priest. (It had been collected from the people of Ephraim and Manasseh and the rest of the Northern Kingdom, and from the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem.) 10 This money was then handed over to the three men in charge of the Temple repairs, and they gave it to 11 the carpenters and the builders to buy the stones and the timber used to repair the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to decay. 12 The men who did the work were thoroughly honest. They were supervised by four Levites: Jahath and Obadiah of the clan of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the clan of Kohath. (The Levites were all skillful musicians.)

13 Other Levites were in charge of transporting materials and supervising the workers on various jobs, and others kept records or served as guards.
14 While the money was being taken out of the storeroom, Hilkiah found the book of the Law of the LORD, the Law that God had given to Moses. 15 He said to Shaphan, “I have found the book of the Law here in the Temple.” He gave Shaphan the book, 16 and Shaphan took it to the king. He reported, “We have done everything that you commanded. 17 We have taken the money that was kept in the Temple and handed it over to the workers and their supervisors.”

18 Then he added, “I have here a book that Hilkiah gave me.” And he read it aloud to the king.
19 When the king heard the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay 20 and gave the following order to Hilkiah, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Abdont son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king's attendant:

21 “Go and consult the LORD for me and for the people who still remain in Israel and Judah. Find out about the teachings of this book. The LORD is angry with us because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the LORD and have not done what this book says must be done.”
22 At the king's command, Hilkiah and the others went to consult a woman named Huldah, a prophet who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. (Her husband Shallum, the son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas, was in charge of the Temple robes.) They described to her what had happened, 23 and she told them to go back to the king and give him 24 the following message from the LORD: “I am going to punish Jerusalem and all its people with the curses written in the book that was read to the king. 25 They have rejected me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and so have stirred up my anger by all they have done. My anger is aroused against Jerusalem, and it will not die down. 26 As for the king himself, this is what I, the LORD God of Israel, say: You listened to what is written in the book, 27 and you repented and humbled yourself before me, tearing your clothes and weeping, when you heard how I threatened to punish Jerusalem and its people. I have heard your prayer,

28 and the punishment which I am going to bring on Jerusalem will not come until after your death. I will let you die in peace.” The men returned to King Josiah with this message.

Josiah Makes a Covenant to Obey the LORD

29 King Josiah summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, 30 and together they went to the Temple, accompanied by the priests and the Levites and all the rest of the people, rich and poor alike. Before them all the king read aloud the whole book of the covenant, which had been found in the Temple. 31 He stood by the royal columnt and made a covenant with the LORD to obey him, to keep his laws and commands with all his heart and soul, and to put into practice the demands attached to the covenant, as written in the book. 32 He made the people of Benjamin and everyone else present in Jerusalem promise to keep the covenant. And so the people of Jerusalem obeyed the requirements of the covenant they had made with the God of their ancestors.

33 King Josiah destroyed all the disgusting idols that were in the territory belonging to the people of Israel, and as long as he lived, he required the people to serve the LORD, the God of their ancestors.