Josiah Succeeds Amon

22 ^(A)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^(B)Bozkath. ² He did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked ^[a]entirely in the way of his father David, and did not ^(C)turn aside to the right or to the left.

³ Now ^(D)in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, ⁴ “^(E)Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and have him ^[b]count all the money brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ^5 (F)And have them hand it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and have them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lord to repair the ^[c]damage to the house: ⁶ to the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house. ⁷ However, ^(G)no accounting shall be made with them for the money handed over to them, because they deal honestly.”

The Lost Book

⁸ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “^(H)I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have handed it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” ¹⁰ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, ^(I)he tore his clothes. ¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^(J)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[d](K)Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for ^(L)the wrath of the Lord that burns against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book, to act in accordance with everything that is written regarding us.”

Huldah Predicts

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[e](M)Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (and she lived in Jerusalem in the ^(N)Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. ¹⁵ Then she said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ¹⁶ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to ^(O)bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ^17 (P)Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.’” ¹⁸ But to ^(Q)the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, this is what you shall say to him: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Regarding the words which you have heard, ^19 (R)since your heart was tender and ^(S)you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become ^(T)an object of horror and a ^(U)curse, and you have ^(V)torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,’ declares the Lord.” ²⁰ Therefore, behold, I am going to gather you to your fathers, and ^(W)you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not look at all the devastation that I am going to bring on this place.’” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Succeeds Amon in Judah

34 ^(A)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ^2 (B)He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or the left. ³ For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to ^(C)seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^(D)to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ^[a]Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images. ⁴ They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he chopped down ^(E)the incense altars that were high above them; also he broke in pieces the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast metal images, and ^(F)ground them to powder, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ Then ^(G)he burned the bones of the priests on their altars and purged Judah and Jerusalem. ^6 (H)In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding spaces, ⁷ he also tore down the altars and ^(I)crushed the ^[b]Asherim and the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the Temple

^8 (J)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah ^(K)an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the secretary, to repair the house of the Lord his God. ⁹ They came to ^(L)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the ^[c]doorkeepers, had collected ^[d]from ^(M)Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they handed it over to the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord ^[e]used it to restore and repair the house. ¹¹ They in turn gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses ^(N)which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ^12 (O)The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and ^(P)the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. ¹³ They were also in charge of ^(Q)the burden bearers, and supervised all the workmen from job to job; and some of the Levites were scribes, and officials, and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Discovers the Lost Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, ^(R)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and ^[f]reported further word to the king, saying, “Everything that was ^[g]entrusted to your servants, they are doing. ¹⁷ They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the Lord, and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workmen.” ¹⁸ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard ^(S)the words of the Law, ^(T)he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[h]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 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 which has been found; for ^(U)the wrath of the Lord which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”

Huldah, the Prophetess, Speaks

²² So Hilkiah and those ^[i]whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[j]Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. ²³ Then she said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴ this is what the Lord says: “Behold, ^(V)I am bringing ^[k]evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all ^(W)the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. ^25 (X)Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods, so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched.”’ ²⁶ But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, this is what you shall say to him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: In regard to the words which you have heard, ²⁷ “^(Y)Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,” declares the Lord. ²⁸ “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants.”’” And they brought back word to the king.

^29 (Z)Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ The king went up to the house of the Lord ^[l]with ^(AA)all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their ^[m]presence all the words of the Book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

Josiah’s Good Reign

³¹ Then the king ^(AB)stood ^[n]in his place and ^(AC)made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book. ³² Furthermore, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Josiah ^(AD)removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. Throughout his ^[o]lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.

Five Thousand Men Fed

6 After these things ^(A)Jesus went away to the other side of ^(B)the Sea of Galilee (or ^(C)Tiberias). ² A large crowd was following Him, because they were watching the ^[a](D)signs which He was performing on those who were sick. ³ But ^(E)Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. ⁴ Now ^(F)the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. ⁵ So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to ^(G)Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” ⁶ But He was saying this only to ^(H)test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. ^7 (I)Philip answered Him, “^(J)Two hundred ^[b]denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” ⁸ One of His ^(K)disciples, ^(L)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two ^(M)fish; but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was ^(N)plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about ^[c](O)five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and ^(P)after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the ^(Q)fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, He *said to His ^(R)disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up, and filled twelve ^(S)baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ Therefore when the people saw the ^[d]sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the ^(T)Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁵ So Jesus, aware that they ^[e]intended to come and take Him by force ^(U)to make Him king, ^(V)withdrew again to ^(W)the mountain by Himself, alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His ^(X)disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea ^(Y)to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ In addition, the sea began getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about ^[f]twenty-five or thirty stadia, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He *said to them, “It is I; ^[g](Z)do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

²² The next day ^(AA)the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there except one, and that Jesus ^(AB)had not gotten into the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had departed alone. ²³ Other small boats came from ^(AC)Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the ^(AD)Lord ^(AE)had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and ^(AF)came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus. ²⁵ And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “^(AG)Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Words to the People

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you ^(AH)seek Me, not because you saw ^[h](AI)signs, but because you ate some of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not ^(AJ)work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for ^(AK)eternal life, which ^(AL)the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, ^(AM)has set His ^[i]seal.” ²⁸ Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is ^(AN)the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He ^(AO)has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to Him, “^(AP)What then are You doing as a ^(AQ)sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work are You performing? ^31 (AR)Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘^(AS)He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is ^[j]that which ^(AT)comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, always ^(AU)give us this bread.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “^(AV)I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me ^(AW)will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But ^(AX)I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. ^37 (AY)Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. ³⁸ For ^(AZ)I have come down from heaven, ^(BA)not to do My own will, but ^(BB)the will of Him who ^(BC)sent Me. ³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of ^(BD)everything that He has given Me I will ^(BE)lose nothing, but will ^(BF)raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who ^(BG)sees the Son and ^(BH)believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will ^(BI)raise him up on the last day.”

Words to the Jews

^41 (BJ)So then the Jews were complaining about Him because He said, “I am the bread that ^(BK)came down out of heaven.” ⁴² And they were saying, “^(BL)Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ^(BM)we know? How does He now say, ‘^(BN)I have come down out of heaven’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop complaining among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me ^(BO)draws him; and I will ^(BP)raise him up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written ^(BQ)in the Prophets: ‘^(BR)And they shall all be ^(BS)taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. ^46 (BT)Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes ^(BU)has eternal life. ^48 (BV)I am the bread of life. ^49 (BW)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that ^(BX)comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and ^(BY)not die. ^51 (BZ)I am the living bread that ^(CA)came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, ^(CB)he will live forever; and the bread which I will give ^(CC)for the life of the world also is ^(CD)My flesh.”

^52 (CE)Then the Jews ^(CF)began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of ^(CG)the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will ^(CH)raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood ^(CI)remains in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the ^(CJ)living Father ^(CK)sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that ^(CL)came down out of heaven, not as ^(CM)the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread ^(CN)will live forever.”

Words to the Disciples

⁵⁹ These things He said ^(CO)in the synagogue as He taught ^(CP)in Capernaum.

⁶⁰ So then many of His ^(CQ)disciples, when they heard this, said, “^(CR)This statement is very ^[k]unpleasant; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(CS)aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this ^[l](CT)offensive to you? ⁶² What then if you see ^(CU)the Son of Man ^(CV)ascending to where He was before? ^63 (CW)It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; ^(CX)the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. ⁶⁴ But there are ^(CY)some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus ^(CZ)knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and ^(DA)who it was who would ^[m]betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He was saying, “For this reason I have ^(DB)told you that no one can come to Me unless ^(DC)it has been granted him from the Father.”

Peter’s Confession of Faith

⁶⁶ As a result of this many of His ^(DD)disciples ^(DE)left, and would no longer walk with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(DF)the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” ^68 (DG)Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(DH)words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ And we have already believed and have come to know that You are ^(DI)the Holy One of God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “^(DJ)Did I Myself not choose you, ^(DK)the twelve? And yet one of you is ^(DL)a devil.” ⁷¹ Now He meant Judas ^(DM)the son of Simon Iscariot; for he, ^(DN)one of ^(DO)the twelve, ^[n]was going to betray Him.