2 Kings 22:11-23:4

New American Standard Bible

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, ^(A)he tore his clothes. ¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^(B)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[a](C)Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for ^(D)the wrath of the Lord that burns against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book, to act in accordance with everything that is written regarding us.”

Huldah Predicts

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[b](E)Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (and she lived in Jerusalem in the ^(F)Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. ¹⁵ Then 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: ‘Behold, I am going to ^(G)bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ^17 (H)Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.’” ¹⁸ But to ^(I)the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, this is what you shall say to him: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Regarding the words which you have heard, ^19 (J)since your heart was tender and ^(K)you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become ^(L)an object of horror and a ^(M)curse, and you have ^(N)torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,’ declares the Lord.” ²⁰ Therefore, behold, I am going to gather you to your fathers, and ^(O)you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not look at all the devastation that I am going to bring on this place.’” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah’s Covenant

23 ^(P)Then the king sent messengers, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² And the king went up to the house of the Lord and every man of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, the prophets, and all the people, from the small to the great; and ^(Q)he read in their ^[c]presence all the words of the Book of the Covenant ^(R)which was found in the house of the Lord. ³ And ^(S)the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, ^(T)to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, His provisions, and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people ^[d]entered into the covenant.

Reforms under Josiah

⁴ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, ^(U)the priests of the second order, and the ^[e]doorkeepers ^(V)to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the utensils that had been made for Baal, for ^[f]Asherah, and for all the heavenly ^[g]lights; and ^(W)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley, and carried their ashes to Bethel.