Josiah Reigns in Judah

22 ^(A)Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^(B)Bozkath. ² And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, ^(C)and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

³ In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, ⁴ “Go up to ^(D)Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money ^(E)that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which ^(F)the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. ^5 (G)And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house ⁶ (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. ⁷ But ^(H)no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

⁸ And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found ^(I)the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹ And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, ^(J)he tore his clothes. ¹² And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and ^(K)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and ^(L)Achbor the son of ^(M)Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is ^(N)the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^(O)Tikvah, son of ^(P)Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in ^(Q)the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. ¹⁵ And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. ^17 (R)Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore ^(S)my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. ¹⁸ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ^19 (T)because your heart was penitent, and you ^(U)humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become ^(V)a desolation and ^(W)a curse, and you ^(X)have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and ^(Y)you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

The Lord Rebukes the Priests

2 “And now, ^(A)O priests, ^(B)this command is for you. ^2 (C)If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send ^(D)the curse upon you and I will curse ^(E)your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. ³ Behold, ^(F)I will rebuke your offspring,^[a] and ^(G)spread dung on your faces, the ^(H)dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.^{[b] 4} So shall you know that I have sent ^(I)this command to you, that ^(J)my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. ⁵ My covenant with him was one of life and ^(K)peace, and I gave them to him. ^(L)It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. ^6 (M)True instruction^[c] was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he ^(N)turned many from iniquity. ⁷ For ^(O)the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people^[d] should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸ But you have turned aside from the way. ^(P)You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted ^(Q)the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, ⁹ and so ^(R)I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but ^(S)show partiality in your instruction.”

Judah Profaned the Covenant

¹⁰ Have we not all ^(T)one Father? Has not ^(U)one God created us? Why then are we ^(V)faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah has been ^(W)faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For ^(X)Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹² May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant^[e] of the man who does this, who ^(Y)brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

¹³ And this second thing you do. ^(Z)You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ^14 (AA)But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ^(AB)was witness between you and the wife of your youth, ^(AC)to whom ^(AD)you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ^15 (AE)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?^[f] And what was the one God^[g] seeking?^{[h] (AF)}Godly offspring. So guard yourselves^[i] in your spirit, and let none of you be ^(AG)faithless to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ “For ^(AH)the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,^[j] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers^[k] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and ^(AI)do not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

^17 (AJ)You have wearied the Lord with your words. ^(AK)But you say, “How have we wearied him?” ^(AL)By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, ^(AM)“Where is the God of justice?”