Josiah Reigns in Judah^(A)

34 Josiah ^(B)was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still ^(C)young, he began to ^(D)seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^(E)to purge Judah and Jerusalem ^(F)of the ^[a]high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. ^4 (G)They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them ^(H)and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He also ^(I)burned the bones of the priests on their ^(J)altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with ^[b]axes. ⁷ When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had ^(K)beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law^(L)

^8 (M)In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the ^[c]temple, he sent ^(N)Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the ^(O)governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. ⁹ When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered ^(P)the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the ^(Q)remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the Lord, to repair and restore the house. ¹¹ They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. ¹² And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music, ¹³ were ^(R)over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. ^(S)And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴ Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest ^(T)found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. ¹⁵ Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the ^(U)book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. ¹⁷ And they have ^[d]gathered the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

¹⁹ Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, ^(V)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[e]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, ²¹ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not ^(W)kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

²² So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[f]Tokhath, the son of ^[g]Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.

²³ Then she answered them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will ^(X)bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the ^(Y)book which they have read before the king of Judah, ²⁵ because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ ²⁶ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— ²⁷ because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the ^(Z)Lord. ²⁸ “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Restores True Worship^(AA)

^29 (AB)Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he ^(AC)read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹ Then the king ^(AD)stood in ^(AE)his place and made a ^(AF)covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³² And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Thus Josiah removed all the ^(AG)abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel ^[h]diligently serve the Lord their God. ^(AH)All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.

Josiah Keeps the Passover^(AI)

35 Now ^(AJ)Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the ^(AK)fourteenth day of the first month. ² And he set the priests in their ^(AL)duties and ^(AM)encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord. ³ Then he said to the Levites ^(AN)who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: ^(AO)“Put the holy ark ^(AP)in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. ^(AQ)It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves ^(AR)according to your fathers’ ^[i]houses, according to your divisions, following the ^(AS)written instruction of David king of Israel and the ^(AT)written instruction of Solomon his son. ⁵ And ^(AU)stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. ⁶ So slaughter the Passover offerings, ^(AV)consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”

⁷ Then Josiah ^(AW)gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s ^(AX)possessions. ⁸ And his ^(AY)leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. ⁹ Also ^(AZ)Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.

¹⁰ So the service was prepared, and the priests ^(BA)stood in their places, and the ^(BB)Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. ¹¹ And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests ^(BC)sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites ^(BD)skinned the animals. ¹² Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written ^(BE)in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. ¹³ Also they ^(BF)roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they ^(BG)boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. ¹⁴ Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the ^(BH)command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers ^(BI)were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.

¹⁶ So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. ¹⁷ And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of ^(BJ)Unleavened Bread for seven days. ^18 (BK)There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Dies in Battle^(BL)

^20 (BM)After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against ^(BN)Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. ²¹ But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” ²² Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but ^(BO)disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.

²³ And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” ^24 (BP)His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And ^(BQ)all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

²⁵ Jeremiah also ^(BR)lamented for ^(BS)Josiah. And to this day ^(BT)all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. ^(BU)They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.

²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord, ²⁷ and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz^(BV)

36 Then ^(BW)the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. ^2 [j]Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ⁴ Then the king of Egypt made ^[k]Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took ^[l]Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim^(BX)

^5 (BY)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did ^(BZ)evil in the sight of the Lord his God. ^6 (CA)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in ^[m]bronze fetters to ^(CB)carry him off to Babylon. ^7 (CC)Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then ^[n]Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin^(CD)

^9 (CE)Jehoiachin was ^[o]eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁰ At the turn of the year ^(CF)King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, ^(CG)with the costly articles from the house of the Lord, and made ^(CH)Zedekiah,^{[p] [q]}Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah^(CI)

^11 (CJ)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and ^(CK)did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. ¹³ And he also ^(CL)rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he ^(CM)stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴ Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(CN)

^15 (CO)And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶ But ^(CP)they mocked the messengers of God, ^(CQ)despised His words, and ^(CR)scoffed at His prophets, until the ^(CS)wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

^17 (CT)Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who ^(CU)killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (CV)And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. ^19 (CW)Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. ²⁰ And ^(CX)those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, ^(CY)where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ²¹ to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(CZ)Jeremiah, until the land ^(DA)had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate ^(DB)she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus^(DC)

^22 (DD)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of ^(DE)Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of ^(DF)Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

End of the Babylonian Captivity^(A)

1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord ^(B)by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(C)so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

⁵ Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits ^(F)God ^[b]had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. ⁶ And all those who were around them ^[c]encouraged them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was ^(G)willingly offered.

^7 (H)King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, ^(I)which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the ^[d]temple of his gods; ⁸ and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to ^(J)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹ This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, ¹⁰ thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. ¹¹ All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem^(K)

2 Now ^(L)these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, ^(M)whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city.

² Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, ^[e]Seraiah, ^[f]Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, ^[g]Mispar, Bigvai, ^[h]Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: ³ the people of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴ the people of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵ the people of Arah, ^(N)seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶ the people of ^(O)Pahath-Moab, of the people of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷ the people of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸ the people of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹ the people of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰ the people of ^[i]Bani, six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹ the people of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; ¹² the people of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³ the people of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴ the people of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵ the people of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶ the people of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ¹⁷ the people of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸ the people of ^[j]Jorah, one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹ the people of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰ the people of ^[k]Gibbar, ninety-five; ²¹ the people of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; ²² the men of Netophah, fifty-six; ²³ the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴ the people of ^[l]Azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁵ the people of ^[m]Kirjath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶ the people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; ²⁷ the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸ the men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹ the people of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰ the people of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹ the people of the other ^(P)Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³² the people of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³ the people of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴ the people of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵ the people of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

³⁶ The priests: the sons of ^(Q)Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷ the sons of ^(R)Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸ the sons of ^(S)Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ³⁹ the sons of ^(T)Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

⁴⁰ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of ^[n]Hodaviah, seventy-four.

⁴¹ The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

⁴² The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

^43 (U)The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ the sons of Keros, the sons of ^[o]Siaha, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁵ the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶ the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷ the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, ⁵⁰ the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of ^[p]Nephusim, ⁵¹ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵² the sons of ^[q]Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵³ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, ⁵⁴ the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

⁵⁵ The sons of ^(V)Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of ^(W)Sophereth, the sons of ^[r]Peruda, ⁵⁶ the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷ the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of ^[s]Ami. ⁵⁸ All the ^(X)Nethinim and the children of ^(Y)Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁵⁹ And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, ^[t]Addan, and Immer; but they could not ^[u]identify their father’s house or their ^[v]genealogy, whether they were of Israel: ⁶⁰ the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two; ⁶¹ and of the sons of the priests: the sons of ^(Z)Habaiah, the sons of ^[w]Koz, and the sons of ^(AA)Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. ⁶² These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; ^(AB)therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. ⁶³ And the ^[x]governor said to them that they ^(AC)should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the ^(AD)Urim and Thummim.

^64 (AE)The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵ besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred men and women singers. ⁶⁶ Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁷ their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

^68 (AF)Some of the heads of the fathers’ houses, when they came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to erect it in its place: ⁶⁹ According to their ability, they gave to the ^(AG)treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments.

^70 (AH)So the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.