2 Chronicles 34
American Standard Version
34 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images. 4 And they brake down the altars of the Baalim in his presence; and the sun-images that were on high above them he hewed down; and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. 5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, [a]in their ruins round about. 7 And he brake down the altars, and beat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and hewed down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the [b]recorder, to repair the house of Jehovah his God. 9 And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin, [c]and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they delivered it into the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and [d]the workmen that wrought in the house of Jehovah gave it to mend and repair the house: 11 even to the carpenters and to the builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, [e]to set it forward; and others of the Levites, all that were skilful with instruments of music. 13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and set forward all that did the work in every manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah [f]given by Moses. 15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. 16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and moreover brought back word to the king, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they are doing. 17 And they have [g]emptied out the money that was found in the house of Jehovah, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of the workmen. 18 And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read therein before the king. 19 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and [h]Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 21 Go ye, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah, to do according unto all that is written in this book.
22 So Hilkiah, and they whom the king had commanded, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of [i]Tokhath, the son of [j]Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the [k]second quarter); and they spake to her to that effect. 23 And she said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me, 24 Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore is my wrath poured out upon this place, and it shall not be quenched. 26 But unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: As touching the words which thou hast heard, 27 because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and hast humbled thyself before me, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith Jehovah. 28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof. And they brought back word to the king.
29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, both great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of Jehovah. 31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 And he caused all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were found in Israel to serve, even to serve Jehovah their God. All his days they departed not from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 34:6 Or, as otherwise read, with their axes. The Hebrew is obscure.
- 2 Chronicles 34:8 Or, chronicler
- 2 Chronicles 34:9 Another reading is, and they returned to Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 34:10 Or, they gave it to the workmen etc. See 2 Kin. 22:5.
- 2 Chronicles 34:12 Or, to preside over it
- 2 Chronicles 34:14 Hebrew by the hand of.
- 2 Chronicles 34:17 Or, poured out
- 2 Chronicles 34:20 In 2 Kin. 22:12, Achbor the son of Micaiah.
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 In 2 Kin. 22:14, Tikvah.
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 In 2 Kin. 22:14, Harhas.
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 Hebrew Mishneh.
2 Chronicles 34
International Standard Version
Josiah Succeeds Amon(A)
34 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 31 years in Jerusalem. 2 He practiced what the Lord considered to be right, following the example[a] of his ancestor David, turning neither to the right nor to the left. 3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In the twelfth year of his reign,[b] he began to remove the high places, Asherim, carved images, and cast images from Judah and Jerusalem.
4 They tore down the altars of Baals in his presence. He chopped down the incense altars that stood high above them. He broke into pieces the Asherim, the carved images, and the cast images, ground them to dust, and scattered the residue on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, thus purging Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali and their surrounding ruins, 7 he also tore down altars, destroyed the Asherim and the carved images, grinding them[c] into dust, and chopped down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
Josiah’s Restoration Work(B)
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had purged the land and the Temple, he sent Azaliah’s son Shaphan, Maaseiah, mayor[d] of Jerusalem,[e] and Joahaz’s son Joah, the recorder, to repair the Temple of the Lord his God. 9 They approached Hilkiah the high priest and delivered to him the money that had been brought into God’s Temple that the descendants of Levi and gatekeepers had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, the surviving Israelis, Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They paid it to the workmen who supervised the Lord’s Temple, and the workmen who were employed in the Lord’s Temple to supervise restoration and repair of the Temple. 11 They, in turn, paid the carpenters and builders to purchase quarried stone and timber for binders and beams for the buildings that previous[f] kings of Judah had let deteriorate. 12 The workmen did their duties faithfully with these foremen supervising them: Jahath and Obadiah, descendants of Levi who were Merari’s sons, Zechariah and Meshullam, descendants of Kohath, and various descendants of Levi, who were skilled musicians. 13 These men also supervised the heavy lift workers and supervised all the workmen from job to job, while some of the descendants of Levi served as scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
The Book of the Law is Discovered(C)
14 While they were bringing out the money that had come in as gifts to the Lord’s Temple, Hilkiah the priest discovered the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been handed down by Moses. 15 Hilkiah reported his finding to Shaphan the scribe, telling him, “I found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple. Then he gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan took the book to the king and gave an additional report to the king, telling him “Everything that you’ve entrusted to your servants is being carried out. 17 They’ve removed the money that was found in the Lord’s Temple and have passed it on to the supervisors and the workmen.” 18 Shaphan the scribe also informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” Shaphan read from its contents to the king.
19 As soon as he heard what the Law said, he tore his clothes. 20 He issued these orders to Hilkiah, Shaphan’s son Ahikam, Micah’s son Abdon, Shaphan the scribe, and the king’s personal assistant Asaiah: 21 “Go ask the Lord for me and for those who survive in Israel and in Judah about the words that we’ve read in this book that we found, because the wrath of the Lord that we deserve to have poured out on us is very great, since our ancestors haven’t obeyed the command from[g] the Lord that required us to do everything that is written in this book.”
Hilkiah Consults with Huldah, the Woman Prophet
22 So Hilkiah and the others who had received orders from the king went to visit Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Tokhath’s son Shallum, grandson of Hasrah. She was the king’s wardrobe supervisor, and she lived in Jerusalem’s Second Quarter. They asked her about what had happened. 23 In response, she replied:
“This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Pay attention! I’m bringing evil to visit this place and its inhabitants—every single curse written in the book that they’ve been reading to the King of Judah. 25 Because they abandoned me and have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to become angry at everything they’re doing,[h] therefore my wrath is about to be poured out on this place, and it won’t be quenched.’”’
26 “Now tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord about this: ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says about what you’ve heard: 27 “Because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he had to say about this place and its inhabitants—indeed, because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and cried out to me, I have heard you,” declares the Lord. 28 “Look! I’m going to take you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in your grave in peace so that you won’t have to see all the evil that I’m going to bring to this place and to its inhabitants.”’”
So they all brought back this message to the king.
The Covenant is Renewed(D)
29 The king sent word to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 Then the king went up to the Lord’s Temple, accompanied by the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and descendants of Levi, and everyone else from the most important to the least important, and he read out loud[i] all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. 31 While standing in his appointed place, the king made a public covenant with the Lord to follow the Lord, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, and to do so with all of his heart and soul, and to carry out what was written in the covenant contained in the book. 32 He also made everyone who was present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand in agreement with him. As a result, the inhabitants of Jerusalem reconfirmed the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. 33 Josiah also removed all the detestable things from the territories that belonged to the people of Israel, and made everyone who lived in Israel to serve the Lord their God. For the rest of his life, they didn’t abandon their quest to follow the Lord God of their ancestors.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 34:2 Lit. right, walking in the ways
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 The Heb. lacks of his reign
- 2 Chronicles 34:7 The Heb. lacks grinding them
- 2 Chronicles 34:8 Lit. governor
- 2 Chronicles 34:8 Lit. of the city
- 2 Chronicles 34:11 The Heb. lacks previous
- 2 Chronicles 34:21 Lit. the word of
- 2 Chronicles 34:25 Lit. doing with their hands
- 2 Chronicles 34:30 Lit. read in their hearing
2 Chronicles 34
New Century Version
Josiah King of Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what the Lord said was right. He lived as his ancestor David had lived, and he did not stop doing what was right.
3 In his eighth year as king while he was still young, Josiah began to obey the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king, Josiah began to remove from Judah and Jerusalem the gods, the places for worshiping gods, the Asherah idols, and the wooden and metal idols. 4 The people tore down the altars for the Baal gods as Josiah directed. Then Josiah cut down the incense altars that were above them. He broke up the Asherah idols and the wooden and metal idols and beat them into powder. Then he sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices to these gods. 5 He burned the bones of their priests on their own altars. So Josiah removed idol worship from Judah and Jerusalem, 6 and from the towns in the areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon all the way to Naphtali, and in the ruins near these towns. 7 Josiah broke down the altars and Asherah idols and beat the idols into powder. He cut down all the incense altars in all of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
8 In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king, he made Judah and the Temple pure again. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city leader, and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder to repair the Temple of the Lord, the God of Josiah. 9 These men went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money the Levite gatekeepers had gathered from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim, and all the Israelites who were left alive, and also from all the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem. This is the money they had brought into the Temple of God. 10 Then the Levites gave it to the supervisors of the work on the Temple of the Lord, and they paid the workers who rebuilt and repaired the Temple. 11 They gave money to carpenters and builders to buy cut stone and wood. The wood was used to rebuild the buildings and to make beams for them, because the kings of Judah had let the buildings fall into ruin. 12 The men did their work well. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah, who were Levites from the family of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, who were from the family of Kohath. These Levites were all skilled musicians. 13 They were also in charge of the workers who carried loads and all the other workers. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.
The Book of the Teachings Is Found
14 The Levites brought out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. As they were doing this, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Lord’s Teachings that had been given through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the royal secretary, “I’ve found the Book of the Teachings in the Temple of the Lord!” Then he gave it to Shaphan.
16 Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to Josiah, “Your officers are doing everything you told them to do. 17 They have paid out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord and have given it to the supervisors and the workers.” 18 Then Shaphan the royal secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from the book to the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the Teachings, he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. 20 He gave orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the royal secretary, and Asaiah, the king’s servant. These were the orders: 21 “Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book that was found. Ask for me and for the people who are left alive in Israel and Judah. The Lord is very angry with us, because our ancestors did not obey the Lord’s word; they did not do everything this book says to do.”
22 So Hilkiah and those the king sent with him went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, who took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.
23 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: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. I will bring all the curses that are written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. 25 The people of Judah have left me and have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the evil things they have made. So I will punish them in my anger, which will not be put out.’ 26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard: 27 When you heard my words against this place and its people, you became sorry for what you had done and you humbled yourself before me. You tore your clothes to show how upset you were, and you cried in my presence. This is why I have heard you, says the Lord. 28 So I will let you die and be buried in peace. You won’t see all the trouble I will bring to this place and the people living here.’”
So they took her message back to the king.
29 Then the king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together. 30 He went up to the Temple of the Lord, and all the people from Judah and from Jerusalem went with him. The priests, the Levites, and all the people—from the most important to the least important—went with him. He read to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement that was found in the Temple of the Lord. 31 The king stood by his pillar and made an agreement in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and obey his commands, rules, and laws with his whole being and to obey the words of the agreement written in this book. 32 Then Josiah made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to accept the agreement. So the people of Jerusalem obeyed the agreement of God, the God of their ancestors.
33 And Josiah threw out the hateful idols from all the land that belonged to the Israelites. He led everyone in Israel to serve the Lord their God. While Josiah lived, the people obeyed the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
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