Judah’s King Josiah

22 Josiah(A) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.(B) He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David;(C) he did not turn to the right or the left.(D)

Josiah Repairs the Temple

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple,(E) saying, “Go up to the high priest Hilkiah so that he may total up the silver brought into the Lord’s temple—the silver the doorkeepers have collected from the people.(F) It is to be given to those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in the Lord’s temple to repair the damage.(G) They are to give it to the carpenters, builders, and masons to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the temple.(H) But no accounting is to be required from them for the silver given to them since they work with integrity.”(I)

The Book of the Law Found

The high priest Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law(J) in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

Then the court secretary Shaphan went to the king and reported,[a] “Your servants have emptied out the silver that was found in the temple and have given it to those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple.” 10 Then the court secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.(K)

11 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.(L) 12 Then he commanded the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam(M) son of Shaphan, Achbor(N) son of Micaiah, the court secretary Shaphan, and the king’s servant Asaiah, 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah about the words in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”(O)

Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment

14 So(P) the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess(Q) Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,(R) son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.(S) They spoke with her.

15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Say to the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, fulfilling[b] all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read,(T) 17 because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods in order to anger me with all the work of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.’(U) 18 Say this to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord: ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: As for the words that you heard,(V) 19 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord(W) when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse,(X) and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard’—this is the Lord’s declaration. 20 ‘Therefore, I will indeed gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace.(Y) Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.’”

Then they reported[c] to the king.

Covenant Renewal

23 So the king sent messengers,(Z) and they gathered all the elders(AA) of Judah and Jerusalem to him. Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant(AB) that had been found in the Lord’s temple.(AC) Next, the king stood by the pillar[d](AD) and made a covenant(AE) in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul(AF) in order to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to[e] the covenant.(AG)

Josiah’s Reforms

Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah(AH) and the priests of the second rank(AI) and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky.(AJ) He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.(AK) Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places(AL) in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and all the stars in the sky.(AM) He brought out the Asherah pole(AN) from the Lord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,(AO) beat it to dust,(AP) and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.[f](AQ) He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes(AR) that were in the Lord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries[g] for Asherah.(AS)

Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places(AT) from Geba(AU) to Beer-sheba,(AV) where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the city gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate). The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.(AW)

10 He defiled Topheth,(AX) which is in Ben Hinnom Valley,(AY) so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire[h](AZ) to Molech.(BA) 11 He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of the Lord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech, the eunuch. He also burned the chariots of the sun.(BB)

12 The king tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had made on the roof(BC) of Ahaz’s upper chamber.(BD) He also tore down the altars that Manasseh had made(BE) in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. Then he smashed them[i] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the abhorrent idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites.(BF) 14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,(BG) cut down the Asherah poles,(BH) then filled their places with human bones.

15 He even tore down the altar at Bethel(BI) and the high place(BJ) that had been made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.(BK) 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.(BL) He defiled it according to the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God[j] who proclaimed these things.(BM) 17 Then he said, “What is this monument I see?”

The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”(BN)

18 So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.(BO)

19 Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to anger the Lord.(BP) Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel. 20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of those high places,(BQ) and he burned human bones on the altars.(BR) Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Observed

21 The king commanded all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant.”(BS) 22 No such Passover had ever been observed from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the Lord’s Passover was observed in Jerusalem.(BT)

Further Zeal for the Lord

24 In addition, Josiah eradicated the mediums, the spiritists,(BU) household idols,(BV) images, and all the abhorrent things(BW) that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord’s temple.(BX) 25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength(BY) according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.(BZ)

26 In spite of all that, the Lord did not turn from the fury of his intense burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all the affronts with which Manasseh had angered him.(CA) 27 For the Lord had said, “I will also remove Judah from my presence just as I have removed Israel.(CB) I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’”(CC)

Josiah’s Death

28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign,(CD) along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. 29 During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt(CE) marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddo(CF) when Neco saw him he killed him. 30 From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.(CG) Then the common people[k] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.(CH)

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

31 Jehoahaz(CI) was(CJ) twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal(CK) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.(CL) 33 Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah(CM) in the land of Hamath(CN) to keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of seventy-five hundred pounds[l] of silver and seventy-five pounds[m] of gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

34 Then(CO) Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim(CP) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.(CQ) But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.(CR) 35 So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give it. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people, each according to his assessment,(CS) to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 He did what was evil(CT) in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

Footnotes

  1. 22:9 Lit and returned a word to the king and said
  2. 22:16 fulfilling supplied for clarity
  3. 22:20 Lit returned a word
  4. 23:3 2Ch 34:31 reads platform
  5. 23:3 Lit people took a stand in
  6. 23:6 Lit the sons of the people
  7. 23:7 Or clothing
  8. 23:10 Lit could make his son or daughter pass through the fire
  9. 23:12 Text emended; MT reads he ran from
  10. 23:16 LXX adds when Jeroboam stood by the altar of the feast. And he turned and raised his eyes to the tomb of the man of God
  11. 23:30 Lit the people of the land, also in v. 35
  12. 23:33 Lit 100 talents
  13. 23:33 Lit one talent

The Book of the Law Found(A)

22 Josiah(B) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.(C) He did what was right(D) in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right(E) or to the left.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan(F) son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: “Go up to Hilkiah(G) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected(H) from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair(I) the temple of the Lord the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.(J) But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”(K)

Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law(L) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.(M)

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,(N) he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam(O) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:(P) 13 “Go and inquire(Q) 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(R) 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.”

14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet(S) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

15 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: I am going to bring disaster(T) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book(U) the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken(V) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(W) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled(X) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse[b](Y) and be laid waste(Z)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.(AA) Your eyes(AB) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

Josiah Renews the Covenant(AC)(AD)(AE)(AF)

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 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(AG) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,(AH) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar(AI) and renewed the covenant(AJ) in the presence of the Lord—to follow(AK) 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.

The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers(AL) to remove(AM) 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. 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(AN) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.(AO) He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley(AP) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder(AQ) and scattered the dust over the graves(AR) of the common people.(AS) He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes(AT) that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba(AU) to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. Although the priests of the high places did not serve(AV) at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 He desecrated Topheth,(AW) which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(AX) so no one could use it to sacrifice their son(AY) or daughter in the fire to Molek. 11 He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah(AZ) had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court[c] near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.(BA)

12 He pulled down(BB) the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof(BC) near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts(BD) of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.(BE) 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon(BF) king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable(BG) god of the people of Ammon.(BH) 14 Josiah smashed(BI) the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.(BJ)

15 Even the altar(BK) at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam(BL) son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. 16 Then Josiah(BM) looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance(BN) with the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things.

17 The king asked, “What is that tombstone I see?”

The people of the city said, “It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.”

18 “Leave it alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone disturb his bones(BO).” So they spared his bones and those of the prophet(BP) who had come from Samaria.

19 Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the Lord’s anger. 20 Josiah slaughtered(BQ) all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones(BR) on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover(BS) to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”(BT) 22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.(BU)

24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists,(BV) the household gods,(BW) the idols and all the other detestable(BX) things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned(BY) to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.(BZ)

26 Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger,(CA) which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh(CB) had done to arouse his anger. 27 So the Lord said, “I will remove(CC) Judah also from my presence(CD) as I removed Israel, and I will reject(CE) Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’[d]

28 As for the other events of Josiah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho(CF) king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo.(CG) 30 Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot(CH) from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

Jehoahaz King of Judah(CI)

31 Jehoahaz(CJ) was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal(CK) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did evil(CL) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. 33 Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah(CM) in the land of Hamath(CN) so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents[e] of silver and a talent[f] of gold. 34 Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim(CO) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died.(CP) 35 Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.(CQ)

Jehoiakim King of Judah(CR)

36 Jehoiakim(CS) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 And he did evil(CT) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 22:17 Or by everything they have done
  2. 2 Kings 22:19 That is, their names would be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, others would see that they are cursed.
  3. 2 Kings 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. 2 Kings 23:27 1 Kings 8:29
  5. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
  6. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms