2 Chronicles 33-34
King James Version
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4 Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.
14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
16 And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
21 Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;
23 And humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
34 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor 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 groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he 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 recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.
9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and amend the house:
11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor 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, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any 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 the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord 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 the Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.
17 And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it 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 Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,
21 Go, enquire of the Lord 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 the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book.
22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.
23 And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
24 Thus saith the Lord, 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 my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;
27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.
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 of the same. So they brought the king word again.
29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, 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 the Lord.
31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, 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 which are written in this book.
32 And he caused all that were present 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 present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 33-34
Amplified Bible
Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah in Judah
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons (descendants) of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the [idolatrous] high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; and he set up altars for the Baals and made the [a]Asherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, stars and planets] and served them.(A) 4 He built [pagan] altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 He made his sons pass through the fire [as an offering to his gods] in the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, and practiced sorcery, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger. 7 Then he set the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name [and the symbol of my Presence] forever; 8 and I will not again remove Israel from the land which I appointed for your fathers, if they will only be careful to do everything that I have commanded them in regard to all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses.” 9 So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to sin, by doing more evil than the [pagan] nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the sons of Israel.
Manasseh’s Idolatry Rebuked
10 Now the Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks [through his nose or cheeks] and bound him with bronze [chains] and took him to Babylon. 12 But when he was in distress, he sought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
14 After this he built an outer wall for the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the river valley, to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the [b]Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he threw them outside the city. 16 Then he set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.(B) 17 Yet the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of Israel. 19 His prayer also and how God heard him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the [c]Hozai. 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers [in death], and they buried him in [the garden of] his own house. And his son Amon became king in his place.
Amon Becomes King in Judah
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. 22 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. 23 Further, he did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh [finally] had done, but Amon multiplied his guilt and his sin. 24 And his servants conspired against him and killed him in his own house (palace). 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
Josiah Succeeds Amon in Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father (forefather) and did not turn aside either to the right or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images. 4 They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were high above them; he also smashed the Asherim and the carved images and the cast images to pieces, and ground them to dust and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 Then Josiah burned the bones of the [pagan] priests on their altars and purged and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins, 7 he tore down the altars and beat and crushed the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Repairs the Temple
8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, when he had purged the land and the [Lord’s] house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder (secretary), to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, who guarded the doors, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 Then they gave it to the workmen who were appointed over the house of the Lord, and the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it [to others] to repair and restore the house (temple). 11 They in turn gave it to the carpenters and builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings (trusses, braces) and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise and inspect [their work]: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. 13 They were also in charge of the burden bearers [who carried heavy loads], and supervised all the workmen in any kind of service; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.
Hilkiah Discovers Lost Book of the Law
14 When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. 15 Hilkiah told Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And he gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, but [first] reported further to him, “Your servants are doing everything that was entrusted to them. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hands of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah in regard to the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord which has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept and obeyed 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 whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem, in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her about this. 23 And she answered them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have abandoned (rejected) Me and have burned incense to other gods, in order to provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, [d]My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be extinguished.”’ 26 But you shall say the following to King Josiah of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord: ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, concerning the words which you have heard, 27 “Because your heart was gentle and penitent and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and humbled yourself before Me, and tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” declares the Lord. 28 “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers [in death], and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I am going to bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” So they brought back word to the king.
29 Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord with 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 aloud so they could hear 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 stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord—to walk after (obey) 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 written in this book. 32 Further, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand [with him, in confirmation of it]. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Josiah removed all the [pagan] repulsive things from all the lands belonging to the sons (descendants) of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 33:3 Wooden symbols of a female deity.
- 2 Chronicles 33:14 The original old city.
- 2 Chronicles 33:19 Greek reads seers.
- 2 Chronicles 34:25 God’s wrath would “not be extinguished,” but that does not mean it would go on forever. It means it will consume all of what it was meant to consume.
2 Chronicles 33-34
English Standard Version
Manasseh Reigns in Judah
33 (A)Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to (B)the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places (C)that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made (D)Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, (E)“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in (F)the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 (G)And he burned his sons as an offering (H)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and (I)used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with (J)mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And (K)the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, (L)I will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land (M)that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
Manasseh's Repentance
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 (N)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and (O)bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God (P)and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and (Q)God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. (R)Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of (S)Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into (T)the Fish Gate, and carried it around (U)Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And (V)he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 (W)Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and (X)his prayer to his God, and the words of (Y)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the (Z)Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how (AA)God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites (AB)on which he built high places and set up the (AC)Asherim and the images, before (AD)he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.[a] 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.
Amon's Reign and Death
21 (AE)Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images (AF)that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the Lord, (AG)as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
Josiah Reigns in Judah
34 (AH)Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the (AI)Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the (AJ)incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the (AK)Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and (AL)scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 (AM)He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the (AN)cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins[b] all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the (AO)Asherim and the images (AP)into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
The Book of the Law Found
8 (AQ)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the (AR)governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, (AS)the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 They came to (AT)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from (AU)Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and (AV)beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. (AW)The Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over (AX)the burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.
14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, (AY)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through[c] Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.
19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, (AZ)he tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is (BA)the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
Huldah Prophesies Disaster
22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent[d] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. 23 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and (BB)have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore (BC)my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. 26 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, 27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and 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 its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.
29 (BD)Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 And the king (BE)stood in his place (BF)and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away (BG)all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 33:19 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts of Hozai
- 2 Chronicles 34:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- 2 Chronicles 34:14 Hebrew by the hand of
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks had sent
2 Crónicas 33-34
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Reinado de Manasés
33 (A)Manasés tenía doce años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó cincuenta y cinco años en Jerusalén. 2 Pero hizo lo malo ante los ojos del Señor conforme a las abominaciones de las naciones que el Señor había expulsado delante de los israelitas(B). 3 Porque reedificó los lugares altos que su padre Ezequías había derribado(C). Levantó también altares a los Baales e hizo Aseras[a], y adoró a todo el ejército de los cielos y los sirvió(D). 4 Edificó altares(E) en la casa del Señor, de la cual el Señor había dicho: «Mi nombre estará en Jerusalén para siempre(F)». 5 Edificó altares a todo el ejército de los cielos en los dos atrios(G) de la casa del Señor.
6 Además, Manasés hizo pasar por el fuego a sus hijos en el valle de Ben Hinom(H); practicó la hechicería, usó la adivinación, practicó la brujería y trató con adivinos y espiritistas(I). Hizo mucho mal ante los ojos del Señor, provocándolo a ira. 7 Colocó la imagen tallada del ídolo que había hecho, en la casa de Dios(J), de la cual Dios había dicho a David y a su hijo Salomón: «En esta casa y en Jerusalén, que he escogido de entre todas las tribus de Israel, pondré Mi nombre para siempre(K), 8 y no volveré a quitar el pie de Israel de la tierra que Yo he asignado(L) para sus padres, con tal de que cuiden de hacer todo lo que les he mandado conforme a toda la ley, los estatutos y las ordenanzas dados por medio[b] de Moisés». 9 Así Manasés hizo extraviar a Judá y a los habitantes de Jerusalén para que hicieran lo malo más que las naciones que el Señor había destruido delante de los israelitas.
10 El Señor habló a Manasés y a su pueblo, pero ellos no hicieron caso(M). 11 Por eso el Señor hizo venir contra ellos a los capitanes del ejército del rey de Asiria, que capturaron a Manasés con garfios[c], lo ataron con cadenas de bronce(N) y lo llevaron a Babilonia(O). 12 Cuando estaba en angustia, Manasés imploró al Señor su Dios(P), y se humilló(Q) grandemente delante del Dios de sus padres. 13 Y cuando oró a Él, Dios se conmovió por su ruego, oyó su súplica(R) y lo trajo de nuevo a Jerusalén, a su reino. Entonces Manasés reconoció que el Señor era Dios(S).
14 Después de esto, Manasés edificó la muralla exterior de la ciudad de David al occidente de Gihón(T), en el valle, hasta la entrada de la puerta(U) del Pescado(V); y rodeó con ella el Ofel y la hizo muy alta. Entonces puso capitanes del ejército en todas las ciudades fortificadas de Judá. 15 También quitó los dioses extranjeros y el ídolo de la casa del Señor, así como todos los altares que había edificado en el monte de la casa del Señor y en Jerusalén(W), y los arrojó fuera de la ciudad. 16 Reparó el altar del Señor, y sacrificó sobre él[d] ofrendas de paz y ofrendas de gratitud; y ordenó a Judá que sirviera al Señor, Dios(X) de Israel. 17 Sin embargo, el pueblo aún sacrificaba en los lugares altos(Y), aunque solo al Señor su Dios.
18 Los demás hechos de Manasés, y su oración a su Dios(Z), y las palabras de los videntes que le hablaron en el nombre del Señor, Dios de Israel(AA), están en los registros de los reyes de Israel(AB). 19 También su oración y cómo fue oído(AC), todo su pecado y su infidelidad, y los sitios donde edificó lugares altos y levantó las Aseras y las imágenes talladas(AD) antes de humillarse, están escritos en los registros de los Hozai[e]. 20 Manasés durmió con sus padres, y lo sepultaron en su casa; y su hijo Amón reinó en su lugar.
Reinado de Amón
21 (AE)Amón tenía veintidós años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó dos años en Jerusalén. 22 Pero hizo lo malo ante los ojos del Señor, como había hecho su padre Manasés(AF). Amón ofreció sacrificios a todas las imágenes talladas que su padre Manasés había hecho(AG), y las sirvió. 23 Además, no se humilló delante del Señor como su padre Manasés se había humillado(AH), sino que Amón aumentó su culpa. 24 Y conspiraron contra él sus siervos y le dieron muerte(AI) en su casa. 25 Pero el pueblo del país mató a todos los que habían conspirado contra el rey Amón; y en su lugar el pueblo del país hizo rey a su hijo Josías.
Reinado de Josías
34 (AJ)Josías tenía ocho años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó treinta y un años en Jerusalén. 2 Él hizo lo recto ante los ojos del Señor y anduvo en los caminos de su padre David(AK); no se apartó ni a la derecha ni a la izquierda. 3 Porque en el octavo año de su reinado, siendo aún joven, comenzó a buscar al Dios(AL) de su padre David; y en el año doce empezó a purificar a Judá y a Jerusalén de los lugares altos, de las Aseras[f], de las imágenes talladas y de las imágenes fundidas(AM). 4 Y derribaron en su presencia los altares de los Baales; destrozó los altares del incienso[g] que estaban puestos en alto, encima de ellos; despedazó también las Aseras, las imágenes talladas y las imágenes fundidas y las redujo a polvo, que esparció(AN) sobre las sepulturas de los que les habían ofrecido sacrificios. 5 Entonces quemó los huesos de los sacerdotes sobre sus altares y purificó a Judá y a Jerusalén(AO). 6 En las ciudades de Manasés, Efraín, Simeón y hasta en Neftalí, y en sus ruinas alrededor(AP), 7 derribó también los altares y redujo a polvo las Aseras y las imágenes talladas(AQ), y destrozó todos los altares de incienso por todas las tierras de Israel. Después regresó a Jerusalén.
8 (AR)En el año dieciocho de su reinado, cuando terminó de purificar el país y la casa[h], Josías envió a Safán, hijo de Azalía, y a Maasías, un oficial de la ciudad, y a Joa(AS), hijo de Joacaz, escriba, para que repararan la casa[i] del Señor su Dios. 9 Ellos vinieron al sumo sacerdote Hilcías(AT) y le entregaron el dinero que había sido traído a la casa de Dios, y que los levitas guardianes del umbral habían recogido de[j] Manasés y de Efraín(AU) y de todo el remanente de Israel, y de todo Judá y Benjamín y de los habitantes de Jerusalén. 10 Entonces entregaron el dinero en manos de los obreros que estaban encargados de la casa del Señor; y los obreros que trabajaban en la casa del Señor lo usaron[k] para restaurar y reparar la casa. 11 Ellos a su vez les dieron dinero a los carpinteros y a los constructores para comprar piedra de cantería y maderas para las uniones, y hacer vigas para los edificios[l] que los reyes de Judá habían dejado que se arruinaran(AV). 12 Los hombres hicieron el trabajo fielmente(AW) con estos capataces sobre ellos para dirigirlos: Jahat y Abdías, levitas de los hijos de Merari, y Zacarías y Mesulam, de los hijos de Coat, y de los levitas, todos los que eran hábiles con instrumentos musicales(AX). 13 Ellos también estaban sobre los cargadores(AY) y dirigían, de trabajo en trabajo, a todos los que hacían la obra. Algunos de los levitas eran escribas, oficiales y porteros.
Hallazgo del libro de la ley
14 Mientras ellos sacaban el dinero que habían traído a la casa del Señor, el sacerdote Hilcías(AZ) encontró el libro de la ley del Señor dada por Moisés. 15 Entonces Hilcías dijo al escriba Safán: «He hallado el libro de la ley en la casa del Señor». Hilcías le dio el libro a Safán, 16 y este llevó el libro al rey y le dio más noticias[m]: «Todo lo que fue encomendado a[n] sus siervos, lo están haciendo. 17 También han tomado[o] el dinero que se encontraba en la casa del Señor, y lo han entregado en manos de los encargados y de los obreros». 18 El escriba Safán informó también al rey: «El sacerdote Hilcías me ha dado un libro». Y Safán leyó de él en la presencia del rey. 19 (BA)Cuando el rey oyó las palabras de la ley, rasgó sus vestidos(BB). 20 Entonces el rey ordenó a Hilcías, a Ahicam, hijo de Safán, a Abdón, hijo de Micaía[p], al escriba Safán y a Asaías, siervo del rey: 21 «Vayan, consulten al Señor por mí y por los que quedan en Israel y en Judá, acerca de las palabras del libro que se ha encontrado. Porque grande es el furor del Señor que se derrama sobre nosotros(BC), por cuanto nuestros padres no han guardado la palabra del Señor, haciendo conforme a todo lo que está escrito en este libro».
22 Entonces Hilcías fue con los que el rey había dicho[q] a la profetisa Hulda, mujer de Salum, hijo de Ticva, hijo de Harhas, encargado del vestuario. Ella habitaba en Jerusalén en el segundo sector, y hablaron con ella acerca de esto. 23 Y ella les dijo: «Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: “Digan al hombre que los ha enviado a Mí: 24 así dice el Señor: ‘Voy a traer mal sobre este lugar y sobre sus habitantes(BD), es decir, todas las maldiciones escritas en el libro(BE) que ellos han leído en presencia del rey de Judá. 25 Por cuanto me han abandonado y han quemado incienso a otros dioses(BF) para provocarme a ira con todas las obras de sus manos, por tanto Mi furor se derramará sobre este lugar, y no se apagará’”. 26 Pero al rey de Judá que los envió a ustedes a consultar al Señor, así le dirán: “Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: ‘En cuanto a las palabras que has oído, 27 porque se enterneció tu corazón y te humillaste delante de Dios cuando oíste Sus palabras contra este lugar y contra sus habitantes, y te humillaste delante de Mí, y rasgaste tus vestidos y lloraste delante de Mí, ciertamente te he oído(BG)’, declara el Señor. 28 ‘Te reuniré con tus padres y serás recogido en tu sepultura en paz, y tus ojos no verán todo el mal que Yo voy a traer sobre este lugar y sobre sus habitantes’”». Y llevaron la respuesta al rey.
29 (BH)Entonces el rey mandó reunir a todos los ancianos de Judá y de Jerusalén. 30 Y subió el rey a la casa del Señor con todos los hombres de Judá, los habitantes de Jerusalén, los sacerdotes, los levitas y todo el pueblo, desde el mayor hasta el menor, y leyó en su presencia[r] todas las palabras del libro del pacto(BI) que había sido hallado en la casa del Señor. 31 Después el rey se puso en pie en su lugar(BJ) e hizo pacto delante del Señor(BK) de andar en pos del Señor y de guardar Sus mandamientos, Sus testimonios y Sus estatutos con todo su corazón y con toda su alma, para cumplir las palabras del pacto escritas en este libro. 32 Además, hizo suscribir el pacto a todos los que se encontraban en Jerusalén y en Benjamín. Y los habitantes de Jerusalén hicieron conforme al pacto de Dios, el Dios de sus padres. 33 Y Josías quitó todas las abominaciones de todas las tierras que pertenecían a los israelitas(BL), e hizo que todos los que se encontraban en Israel sirvieran al Señor su Dios. Mientras él vivió[s] no se apartaron de seguir al Señor, Dios de sus padres.
Footnotes
- 2 Crónicas 33:3 I.e. símbolos de madera de una deidad femenina.
- 2 Crónicas 33:8 Lit. mano.
- 2 Crónicas 33:11 I.e. tiras de cuero pasadas por la nariz.
- 2 Crónicas 33:16 Lit. sobre él sacrificios de.
- 2 Crónicas 33:19 La versión gr. (sept.) dice: videntes.
- 2 Crónicas 34:3 I.e. símbolos de madera de una deidad femenina.
- 2 Crónicas 34:4 O pilares del sol.
- 2 Crónicas 34:8 O el templo.
- 2 Crónicas 34:8 O el templo.
- 2 Crónicas 34:9 Lit. de la mano de.
- 2 Crónicas 34:10 Lit. dieron.
- 2 Crónicas 34:11 Lit. las casas.
- 2 Crónicas 34:16 Lit. y trajo de nuevo palabras al rey.
- 2 Crónicas 34:16 Lit. dado en mano de.
- 2 Crónicas 34:17 Lit. vaciado.
- 2 Crónicas 34:20 En 2Rey. 22:12, Acbor, hijo de Micaías.
- 2 Crónicas 34:22 Así en la versión gr. (sept.); el T.M. no incluye, había dicho.
- 2 Crónicas 34:30 Lit. a oídos de ellos.
- 2 Crónicas 34:33 Lit. Todos sus días.
2 Chronicles 33-34
King James Version
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
4 Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
8 Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.
9 So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God.
14 Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.
15 And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.
16 And he repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.
20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
21 Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.
22 But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;
23 And humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.
24 And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.
25 But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.
34 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor 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 groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he 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 recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.
9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and amend the house:
11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor 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, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any 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 the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord 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 the Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.
17 And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it 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 Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,
21 Go, enquire of the Lord 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 the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book.
22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.
23 And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
24 Thus saith the Lord, 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 my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;
27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.
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 of the same. So they brought the king word again.
29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, 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 the Lord.
31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, 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 which are written in this book.
32 And he caused all that were present 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 present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 33-34
Amplified Bible
Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah in Judah
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons (descendants) of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the [idolatrous] high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; and he set up altars for the Baals and made the [a]Asherim, and worshiped all the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, stars and planets] and served them.(A) 4 He built [pagan] altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 He made his sons pass through the fire [as an offering to his gods] in the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, and practiced sorcery, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger. 7 Then he set the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name [and the symbol of my Presence] forever; 8 and I will not again remove Israel from the land which I appointed for your fathers, if they will only be careful to do everything that I have commanded them in regard to all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses.” 9 So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to sin, by doing more evil than the [pagan] nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the sons of Israel.
Manasseh’s Idolatry Rebuked
10 Now the Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks [through his nose or cheeks] and bound him with bronze [chains] and took him to Babylon. 12 But when he was in distress, he sought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
14 After this he built an outer wall for the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the river valley, to the entrance of the Fish Gate; and he encircled the [b]Ophel with it and made it very high. Then he put military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. 15 He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he threw them outside the city. 16 Then he set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.(B) 17 Yet the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are among the records of the kings of Israel. 19 His prayer also and how God heard him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the carved images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the records of the [c]Hozai. 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers [in death], and they buried him in [the garden of] his own house. And his son Amon became king in his place.
Amon Becomes King in Judah
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. 22 But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. 23 Further, he did not humble himself before the Lord as his father Manasseh [finally] had done, but Amon multiplied his guilt and his sin. 24 And his servants conspired against him and killed him in his own house (palace). 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
Josiah Succeeds Amon in Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father (forefather) and did not turn aside either to the right or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images. 4 They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were high above them; he also smashed the Asherim and the carved images and the cast images to pieces, and ground them to dust and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 Then Josiah burned the bones of the [pagan] priests on their altars and purged and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins, 7 he tore down the altars and beat and crushed the Asherim and the carved images into powder, and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Repairs the Temple
8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, when he had purged the land and the [Lord’s] house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder (secretary), to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, who guarded the doors, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 Then they gave it to the workmen who were appointed over the house of the Lord, and the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it [to others] to repair and restore the house (temple). 11 They in turn gave it to the carpenters and builders to buy quarried stone and timber for couplings (trusses, braces) and to make beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 The men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to supervise and inspect [their work]: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. 13 They were also in charge of the burden bearers [who carried heavy loads], and supervised all the workmen in any kind of service; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.
Hilkiah Discovers Lost Book of the Law
14 When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. 15 Hilkiah told Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And he gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, but [first] reported further to him, “Your servants are doing everything that was entrusted to them. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hands of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah in regard to the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord which has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept and obeyed 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 whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem, in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her about this. 23 And she answered them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have abandoned (rejected) Me and have burned incense to other gods, in order to provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, [d]My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be extinguished.”’ 26 But you shall say the following to King Josiah of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord: ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, concerning the words which you have heard, 27 “Because your heart was gentle and penitent and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and humbled yourself before Me, and tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” declares the Lord. 28 “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers [in death], and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I am going to bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” So they brought back word to the king.
29 Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord with 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 aloud so they could hear 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 stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord—to walk after (obey) 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 written in this book. 32 Further, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand [with him, in confirmation of it]. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Josiah removed all the [pagan] repulsive things from all the lands belonging to the sons (descendants) of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 33:3 Wooden symbols of a female deity.
- 2 Chronicles 33:14 The original old city.
- 2 Chronicles 33:19 Greek reads seers.
- 2 Chronicles 34:25 God’s wrath would “not be extinguished,” but that does not mean it would go on forever. It means it will consume all of what it was meant to consume.
2 Chronicles 33-34
English Standard Version
Manasseh Reigns in Judah
33 (A)Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to (B)the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places (C)that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made (D)Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, (E)“In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in (F)the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 (G)And he burned his sons as an offering (H)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and (I)used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with (J)mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And (K)the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, (L)I will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land (M)that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
Manasseh's Repentance
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 11 (N)Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and (O)bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God (P)and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 He prayed to him, and (Q)God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. (R)Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
14 Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of (S)Gihon, in the valley, and for the entrance into (T)the Fish Gate, and carried it around (U)Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 And (V)he took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 (W)Nevertheless, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and (X)his prayer to his God, and the words of (Y)the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the (Z)Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how (AA)God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites (AB)on which he built high places and set up the (AC)Asherim and the images, before (AD)he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.[a] 20 So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his house, and Amon his son reigned in his place.
Amon's Reign and Death
21 (AE)Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasseh his father had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images (AF)that Manasseh his father had made, and served them. 23 And he did not humble himself before the Lord, (AG)as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more. 24 And his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his house. 25 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.
Josiah Reigns in Judah
34 (AH)Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the (AI)Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the (AJ)incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the (AK)Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and (AL)scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 (AM)He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the (AN)cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins[b] all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the (AO)Asherim and the images (AP)into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
The Book of the Law Found
8 (AQ)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the (AR)governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, (AS)the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 They came to (AT)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from (AU)Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and (AV)beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. (AW)The Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over (AX)the burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.
14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, (AY)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through[c] Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.
19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, (AZ)he tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is (BA)the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
Huldah Prophesies Disaster
22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent[d] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. 23 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and (BB)have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore (BC)my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. 26 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, 27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and 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 its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.
29 (BD)Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 And the king (BE)stood in his place (BF)and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away (BG)all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 33:19 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts of Hozai
- 2 Chronicles 34:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- 2 Chronicles 34:14 Hebrew by the hand of
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks had sent
2 Crónicas 33-34
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Reinado de Manasés
33 (A)Manasés tenía doce años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó cincuenta y cinco años en Jerusalén. 2 Pero hizo lo malo ante los ojos del Señor conforme a las abominaciones de las naciones que el Señor había expulsado delante de los israelitas(B). 3 Porque reedificó los lugares altos que su padre Ezequías había derribado(C). Levantó también altares a los Baales e hizo Aseras[a], y adoró a todo el ejército de los cielos y los sirvió(D). 4 Edificó altares(E) en la casa del Señor, de la cual el Señor había dicho: «Mi nombre estará en Jerusalén para siempre(F)». 5 Edificó altares a todo el ejército de los cielos en los dos atrios(G) de la casa del Señor.
6 Además, Manasés hizo pasar por el fuego a sus hijos en el valle de Ben Hinom(H); practicó la hechicería, usó la adivinación, practicó la brujería y trató con adivinos y espiritistas(I). Hizo mucho mal ante los ojos del Señor, provocándolo a ira. 7 Colocó la imagen tallada del ídolo que había hecho, en la casa de Dios(J), de la cual Dios había dicho a David y a su hijo Salomón: «En esta casa y en Jerusalén, que he escogido de entre todas las tribus de Israel, pondré Mi nombre para siempre(K), 8 y no volveré a quitar el pie de Israel de la tierra que Yo he asignado(L) para sus padres, con tal de que cuiden de hacer todo lo que les he mandado conforme a toda la ley, los estatutos y las ordenanzas dados por medio[b] de Moisés». 9 Así Manasés hizo extraviar a Judá y a los habitantes de Jerusalén para que hicieran lo malo más que las naciones que el Señor había destruido delante de los israelitas.
10 El Señor habló a Manasés y a su pueblo, pero ellos no hicieron caso(M). 11 Por eso el Señor hizo venir contra ellos a los capitanes del ejército del rey de Asiria, que capturaron a Manasés con garfios[c], lo ataron con cadenas de bronce(N) y lo llevaron a Babilonia(O). 12 Cuando estaba en angustia, Manasés imploró al Señor su Dios(P), y se humilló(Q) grandemente delante del Dios de sus padres. 13 Y cuando oró a Él, Dios se conmovió por su ruego, oyó su súplica(R) y lo trajo de nuevo a Jerusalén, a su reino. Entonces Manasés reconoció que el Señor era Dios(S).
14 Después de esto, Manasés edificó la muralla exterior de la ciudad de David al occidente de Gihón(T), en el valle, hasta la entrada de la puerta(U) del Pescado(V); y rodeó con ella el Ofel y la hizo muy alta. Entonces puso capitanes del ejército en todas las ciudades fortificadas de Judá. 15 También quitó los dioses extranjeros y el ídolo de la casa del Señor, así como todos los altares que había edificado en el monte de la casa del Señor y en Jerusalén(W), y los arrojó fuera de la ciudad. 16 Reparó el altar del Señor, y sacrificó sobre él[d] ofrendas de paz y ofrendas de gratitud; y ordenó a Judá que sirviera al Señor, Dios(X) de Israel. 17 Sin embargo, el pueblo aún sacrificaba en los lugares altos(Y), aunque solo al Señor su Dios.
18 Los demás hechos de Manasés, y su oración a su Dios(Z), y las palabras de los videntes que le hablaron en el nombre del Señor, Dios de Israel(AA), están en los registros de los reyes de Israel(AB). 19 También su oración y cómo fue oído(AC), todo su pecado y su infidelidad, y los sitios donde edificó lugares altos y levantó las Aseras y las imágenes talladas(AD) antes de humillarse, están escritos en los registros de los Hozai[e]. 20 Manasés durmió con sus padres, y lo sepultaron en su casa; y su hijo Amón reinó en su lugar.
Reinado de Amón
21 (AE)Amón tenía veintidós años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó dos años en Jerusalén. 22 Pero hizo lo malo ante los ojos del Señor, como había hecho su padre Manasés(AF). Amón ofreció sacrificios a todas las imágenes talladas que su padre Manasés había hecho(AG), y las sirvió. 23 Además, no se humilló delante del Señor como su padre Manasés se había humillado(AH), sino que Amón aumentó su culpa. 24 Y conspiraron contra él sus siervos y le dieron muerte(AI) en su casa. 25 Pero el pueblo del país mató a todos los que habían conspirado contra el rey Amón; y en su lugar el pueblo del país hizo rey a su hijo Josías.
Reinado de Josías
34 (AJ)Josías tenía ocho años cuando comenzó a reinar, y reinó treinta y un años en Jerusalén. 2 Él hizo lo recto ante los ojos del Señor y anduvo en los caminos de su padre David(AK); no se apartó ni a la derecha ni a la izquierda. 3 Porque en el octavo año de su reinado, siendo aún joven, comenzó a buscar al Dios(AL) de su padre David; y en el año doce empezó a purificar a Judá y a Jerusalén de los lugares altos, de las Aseras[f], de las imágenes talladas y de las imágenes fundidas(AM). 4 Y derribaron en su presencia los altares de los Baales; destrozó los altares del incienso[g] que estaban puestos en alto, encima de ellos; despedazó también las Aseras, las imágenes talladas y las imágenes fundidas y las redujo a polvo, que esparció(AN) sobre las sepulturas de los que les habían ofrecido sacrificios. 5 Entonces quemó los huesos de los sacerdotes sobre sus altares y purificó a Judá y a Jerusalén(AO). 6 En las ciudades de Manasés, Efraín, Simeón y hasta en Neftalí, y en sus ruinas alrededor(AP), 7 derribó también los altares y redujo a polvo las Aseras y las imágenes talladas(AQ), y destrozó todos los altares de incienso por todas las tierras de Israel. Después regresó a Jerusalén.
8 (AR)En el año dieciocho de su reinado, cuando terminó de purificar el país y la casa[h], Josías envió a Safán, hijo de Azalía, y a Maasías, un oficial de la ciudad, y a Joa(AS), hijo de Joacaz, escriba, para que repararan la casa[i] del Señor su Dios. 9 Ellos vinieron al sumo sacerdote Hilcías(AT) y le entregaron el dinero que había sido traído a la casa de Dios, y que los levitas guardianes del umbral habían recogido de[j] Manasés y de Efraín(AU) y de todo el remanente de Israel, y de todo Judá y Benjamín y de los habitantes de Jerusalén. 10 Entonces entregaron el dinero en manos de los obreros que estaban encargados de la casa del Señor; y los obreros que trabajaban en la casa del Señor lo usaron[k] para restaurar y reparar la casa. 11 Ellos a su vez les dieron dinero a los carpinteros y a los constructores para comprar piedra de cantería y maderas para las uniones, y hacer vigas para los edificios[l] que los reyes de Judá habían dejado que se arruinaran(AV). 12 Los hombres hicieron el trabajo fielmente(AW) con estos capataces sobre ellos para dirigirlos: Jahat y Abdías, levitas de los hijos de Merari, y Zacarías y Mesulam, de los hijos de Coat, y de los levitas, todos los que eran hábiles con instrumentos musicales(AX). 13 Ellos también estaban sobre los cargadores(AY) y dirigían, de trabajo en trabajo, a todos los que hacían la obra. Algunos de los levitas eran escribas, oficiales y porteros.
Hallazgo del libro de la ley
14 Mientras ellos sacaban el dinero que habían traído a la casa del Señor, el sacerdote Hilcías(AZ) encontró el libro de la ley del Señor dada por Moisés. 15 Entonces Hilcías dijo al escriba Safán: «He hallado el libro de la ley en la casa del Señor». Hilcías le dio el libro a Safán, 16 y este llevó el libro al rey y le dio más noticias[m]: «Todo lo que fue encomendado a[n] sus siervos, lo están haciendo. 17 También han tomado[o] el dinero que se encontraba en la casa del Señor, y lo han entregado en manos de los encargados y de los obreros». 18 El escriba Safán informó también al rey: «El sacerdote Hilcías me ha dado un libro». Y Safán leyó de él en la presencia del rey. 19 (BA)Cuando el rey oyó las palabras de la ley, rasgó sus vestidos(BB). 20 Entonces el rey ordenó a Hilcías, a Ahicam, hijo de Safán, a Abdón, hijo de Micaía[p], al escriba Safán y a Asaías, siervo del rey: 21 «Vayan, consulten al Señor por mí y por los que quedan en Israel y en Judá, acerca de las palabras del libro que se ha encontrado. Porque grande es el furor del Señor que se derrama sobre nosotros(BC), por cuanto nuestros padres no han guardado la palabra del Señor, haciendo conforme a todo lo que está escrito en este libro».
22 Entonces Hilcías fue con los que el rey había dicho[q] a la profetisa Hulda, mujer de Salum, hijo de Ticva, hijo de Harhas, encargado del vestuario. Ella habitaba en Jerusalén en el segundo sector, y hablaron con ella acerca de esto. 23 Y ella les dijo: «Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: “Digan al hombre que los ha enviado a Mí: 24 así dice el Señor: ‘Voy a traer mal sobre este lugar y sobre sus habitantes(BD), es decir, todas las maldiciones escritas en el libro(BE) que ellos han leído en presencia del rey de Judá. 25 Por cuanto me han abandonado y han quemado incienso a otros dioses(BF) para provocarme a ira con todas las obras de sus manos, por tanto Mi furor se derramará sobre este lugar, y no se apagará’”. 26 Pero al rey de Judá que los envió a ustedes a consultar al Señor, así le dirán: “Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: ‘En cuanto a las palabras que has oído, 27 porque se enterneció tu corazón y te humillaste delante de Dios cuando oíste Sus palabras contra este lugar y contra sus habitantes, y te humillaste delante de Mí, y rasgaste tus vestidos y lloraste delante de Mí, ciertamente te he oído(BG)’, declara el Señor. 28 ‘Te reuniré con tus padres y serás recogido en tu sepultura en paz, y tus ojos no verán todo el mal que Yo voy a traer sobre este lugar y sobre sus habitantes’”». Y llevaron la respuesta al rey.
29 (BH)Entonces el rey mandó reunir a todos los ancianos de Judá y de Jerusalén. 30 Y subió el rey a la casa del Señor con todos los hombres de Judá, los habitantes de Jerusalén, los sacerdotes, los levitas y todo el pueblo, desde el mayor hasta el menor, y leyó en su presencia[r] todas las palabras del libro del pacto(BI) que había sido hallado en la casa del Señor. 31 Después el rey se puso en pie en su lugar(BJ) e hizo pacto delante del Señor(BK) de andar en pos del Señor y de guardar Sus mandamientos, Sus testimonios y Sus estatutos con todo su corazón y con toda su alma, para cumplir las palabras del pacto escritas en este libro. 32 Además, hizo suscribir el pacto a todos los que se encontraban en Jerusalén y en Benjamín. Y los habitantes de Jerusalén hicieron conforme al pacto de Dios, el Dios de sus padres. 33 Y Josías quitó todas las abominaciones de todas las tierras que pertenecían a los israelitas(BL), e hizo que todos los que se encontraban en Israel sirvieran al Señor su Dios. Mientras él vivió[s] no se apartaron de seguir al Señor, Dios de sus padres.
Footnotes
- 2 Crónicas 33:3 I.e. símbolos de madera de una deidad femenina.
- 2 Crónicas 33:8 Lit. mano.
- 2 Crónicas 33:11 I.e. tiras de cuero pasadas por la nariz.
- 2 Crónicas 33:16 Lit. sobre él sacrificios de.
- 2 Crónicas 33:19 La versión gr. (sept.) dice: videntes.
- 2 Crónicas 34:3 I.e. símbolos de madera de una deidad femenina.
- 2 Crónicas 34:4 O pilares del sol.
- 2 Crónicas 34:8 O el templo.
- 2 Crónicas 34:8 O el templo.
- 2 Crónicas 34:9 Lit. de la mano de.
- 2 Crónicas 34:10 Lit. dieron.
- 2 Crónicas 34:11 Lit. las casas.
- 2 Crónicas 34:16 Lit. y trajo de nuevo palabras al rey.
- 2 Crónicas 34:16 Lit. dado en mano de.
- 2 Crónicas 34:17 Lit. vaciado.
- 2 Crónicas 34:20 En 2Rey. 22:12, Acbor, hijo de Micaías.
- 2 Crónicas 34:22 Así en la versión gr. (sept.); el T.M. no incluye, había dicho.
- 2 Crónicas 34:30 Lit. a oídos de ellos.
- 2 Crónicas 34:33 Lit. Todos sus días.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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