¹⁵ Hilkiah said to the secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord,” and Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁸ The secretary Shaphan informed the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” Shaphan then read it aloud to the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.^(A)

²⁵ Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, so that they have provoked me to anger with all the works of their hands, my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’^{(A) 26} But as 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 penitent 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, says the Lord.^(B)

The Covenant Renewed

²⁹ Then the king sent word and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.^{(A) 30} The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small; he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord.^{(B) 31} The king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.^{(C) 32} Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin pledge themselves to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted according to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. ³³ Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord the God of their ancestors.^(D)