⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(A) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,^(A) he tore his robes. ¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(B) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:^{(C) 13} “Go and inquire^(D) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger^(E) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

Josiah Renews the Covenant^(A)(B)(C)(D)

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read^(E) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,^(F) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. ³ The king stood by the pillar^(G) and renewed the covenant^(H) in the presence of the Lord—to follow^(I) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

⁴ The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers^(J) to remove^(K) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. ⁵ He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense^(L) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.^{(M) 6} He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley^(N) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder^(O) and scattered the dust over the graves^(P) of the common people.^(Q)