³ Now it happened ^(A)in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of Yahweh saying, ⁴ “^(B)Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may ^[a]count the money brought into the house of Yahweh which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. ^5 (C)And let them give it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to those who do the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the ^[b]damages of the house, ⁶ to the craftsmen and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. ⁷ Only ^(D)no accounting shall be made with them for the money given into their hands, for they deal faithfully.”

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

⁸ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “^(E)I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and responded to the king with a word and said, “Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house and have given it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.” ¹⁰ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

¹¹ Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, ^(F)he tore his clothes. ¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^(G)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[c](H)Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³ “Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and the people and all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for ^(I)great is the wrath of Yahweh which is set aflame against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Huldah Says Yahweh Is Bringing Evil

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ^[d](J)Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the ^(K)Second Quarter); and they spoke to her.

Josiah Repairs the House of Yahweh

^8 (A)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 ^(B)an official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of Yahweh his God. ⁹ And they came to ^(C)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the ^[a]doorkeepers, had gathered from the hand of ^(D)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 into the hand of ^[b]those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh; and those who did the work, who were doing this in the house of Yahweh, ^[c]used it to restore and repair the house. ¹¹ They in turn gave it to the craftsmen and to the builders to buy hewn stone and timber for clamps and to make beams for the houses ^(E)which the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ^12 (F)And the men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to direct: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and ^(G)the Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. ¹³ They were also over ^(H)those who carried loads, and directed all those who did the work from service to service; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they were taking out the money which had been brought into the house of Yahweh, ^(I)Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh given by the hand of Moses. ¹⁵ So Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and furthermore ^[d]responded to the king with a word, saying, “Everything that was given to the hand of your servants they are doing. ¹⁷ They have also poured out the money that was found in the house of Yahweh, and have given it into the hand of the supervisors and those who did the work.” ¹⁸ Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ Now it happened that when the king heard ^(J)the words of the law, ^(K)he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[e]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,