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2 Kings 22-23
Contemporary English Version

King Josiah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 34.1,2)

22 (A) Josiah was 8 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 31 years from Jerusalem. His mother Jedidah was the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 Josiah always obeyed the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done.

Hilkiah Finds The Book of God's Law

(2 Chronicles 34.8-28)

3 After Josiah had been king for 18 years, he told Shaphan,[a] one of his highest officials:

Go to the Lord's temple 4 and ask Hilkiah the high priest to collect from the guards all the money that the people have donated. 5 Tell Hilkiah to give it to the men supervising the repairs to the temple. They can use some of the money to pay 6 the workers, and with the rest of it they can buy wood and stone for the repair work. 7 (B) They are honest, so we won't ask them to keep track of the money.

8 While Shaphan was at the temple, Hilkiah handed him a book and said, “Look what I found here in the temple—The Book of God's Law.”

Shaphan read it, 9 then went back to Josiah and reported, “Your officials collected the money in the temple and gave it to the men supervising the repairs. 10 But there's something else, Your Majesty. The priest Hilkiah gave me this book.” Then Shaphan read it out loud.

11 When Josiah heard what was in The Book of God's Law, he tore his clothes in sorrow. 12 At once he called together Hilkiah, Shaphan, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, and his own servant Asaiah. He said, 13 “The Lord must be furious with me and everyone else in Judah, because our ancestors did not obey the laws written in this book. Go find out what the Lord wants us to do.”

14 The five men left at once and went to talk with Huldah the prophet. Her husband was Shallum,[b] who was in charge of the king's clothes. Huldah lived in the northern part of Jerusalem, and when they met in her home, 15 she said:

You were sent here by King Josiah, and this is what the Lord God of Israel says to him: 16 “Josiah, I am the Lord! And I will see to it that this country and everyone living in it will be destroyed. It will happen just as this book says. 17 The people of Judah have rejected me. They have offered sacrifices to foreign gods and have worshiped their own idols. I cannot stand it any longer. I am furious.

18 “Josiah, listen to what I am going to do. 19 I noticed how sad you were when you read that this country and its people would be completely wiped out. You even tore your clothes in sorrow, and I heard you cry. 20 So I will let you die in peace, before I destroy this place.”

The men left and took Huldah's answer back to Josiah.

Josiah Reads The Book of God's Law

(2 Chronicles 34.29-33)

23 King Josiah called together the older leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Then he went to the Lord's temple, together with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law[c] that had been found in the temple.

3 After Josiah had finished reading, he stood by one of the columns. He asked the people to promise in the Lord's name to faithfully obey the Lord and to follow his commands. The people agreed to do everything written in the book.

Josiah Follows the Teachings of God's Law

(2 Chronicles 34.3-7)

4 (C) Josiah told Hilkiah the priest, the assistant priests, and the guards at the temple door to go into the temple and bring out the things used to worship Baal, Asherah, and the stars. Josiah had these things burned in Kidron Valley just outside Jerusalem, and he had the ashes carried away to the town of Bethel.

5 Josiah also got rid of the pagan priests at the local shrines in Judah and around Jerusalem. These were the men that the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices to Baal and to the sun, moon, and stars. 6 Josiah had the sacred pole[d] for Asherah brought out of the temple and taken to Kidron Valley, where it was burned. He then had its ashes ground into dust and scattered over the public cemetery there. 7 He had the buildings torn down where the male prostitutes[e] lived next to the temple, and where the women wove sacred robes[f] for the idol of Asherah.

8 In almost every town in Judah, priests had been offering sacrifices to the Lord at local shrines.[g] Josiah brought these priests to Jerusalem and had their shrines made unfit for worship—every shrine from Geba just north of Jerusalem to Beersheba in the south. He even tore down the shrine at Beersheba that was just to the left of Joshua Gate, which was named after the highest official of the city. 9 Those local priests could not serve at the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat sacred bread,[h] just like the priests from Jerusalem.

10 (D) Josiah sent some men to Hinnom Valley just outside Jerusalem with orders to make the altar there unfit for worship. That way, people could no longer use it for sacrificing their children to the god Molech. 11 He also got rid of the horses that the kings of Judah used in their ceremonies to worship the sun, and he destroyed the chariots along with them. The horses had been kept near the entrance to the Lord's temple, in a courtyard[i] close to where an official named Nathan-Melech lived.

12 (E) Some of the kings of Judah, especially Manasseh, had built altars in the two courts of the temple and in the room that Ahaz had built on the palace roof. Josiah had these altars torn down and smashed to pieces, and he had the pieces thrown into Kidron Valley, just outside Jerusalem. 13 (F) After that, he closed down the shrines that Solomon had built east of Jerusalem and south of Spoil Hill to honor Astarte the disgusting goddess of Sidon, Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Milcom the disgusting god of Ammon.[j] 14 He tore down the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole used in the worship of Asherah. Then he had the whole area covered with human bones.[k]

15 (G) But Josiah was not finished yet. At Bethel he destroyed the shrine and the altar that Jeroboam son of Nebat had built and that had caused the Israelites to sin. Josiah had the shrine and the Asherah pole burned and ground into dust. 16 (H) As he looked around, he saw graves on the hillside. He had the bones in them dug up and burned on the altar, so that it could no longer be used. This happened just as God's prophet had said when Jeroboam was standing at the altar, celebrating a festival.[l]

Then Josiah saw the grave of the prophet who had said this would happen 17 (I) and he asked,[m] “Whose grave is that?”

Some people who lived nearby answered, “It belongs to the prophet from Judah who told what would happen to this altar.”

18 Josiah replied, “Then leave it alone. Don't dig up his bones.” So they did not disturb his bones or the bones of the old prophet from Israel who had also been buried there.[n]

19 Some of the Israelite kings had made the Lord angry by building pagan shrines all over Israel. So Josiah sent troops to destroy these shrines just as he had done to the one in Bethel. 20 He killed the priests who served at them and burned their bones on the altars.

After all that, Josiah went back to Jerusalem.

Josiah and the People of Judah Celebrate Passover

(2 Chronicles 35.1-19)

21 Josiah told the people of Judah, “Celebrate Passover in honor of the Lord your God, just as it says in The Book of God's Law.”[o]

22 This festival had not been celebrated in this way since the time that tribal leaders ruled Israel or the kings ruled Israel and Judah. 23 But in Josiah's eighteenth year as king of Judah, everyone came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

The Lord Is Still Angry with the People of Judah

24 Josiah got rid of every disgusting person and thing in Judah and Jerusalem—including magicians, fortunetellers, and idols. He did his best to obey every law written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord's temple. 25 No other king before or after Josiah tried as hard as he did to obey the Law of Moses.

26 But the Lord was still furious with the people of Judah because Manasseh had done so many things to make him angry. 27 The Lord said, “I will desert the people of Judah, just as I deserted the people of Israel. I will reject Jerusalem, even though I chose it to be mine. And I will abandon this temple built to honor me.”

Josiah Dies in Battle

(2 Chronicles 35.20—36.1)

28 Everything else Josiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 29 During Josiah's rule, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. Josiah led his troops north to fight Neco, but when they met in battle at Megiddo, Josiah was killed.[p] 30 A few of Josiah's servants put his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where they buried it in his own tomb. Then the people of Judah found his son Jehoahaz and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king.

King Jehoahaz of Judah

(2 Chronicles 36.2-4)

31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem only 3 months. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32 Jehoahaz disobeyed the Lord, just as some of his ancestors had done.

33 King Neco of Egypt had Jehoahaz arrested and put in prison at Riblah[q] near Hamath. Then he forced the people of Judah to pay him 3.4 tons of silver and 34 kilograms of gold as taxes. 34 (J) Neco appointed Josiah's son Eliakim king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz as a prisoner to Egypt, where he died.

35 Jehoiakim forced the people of Judah to pay higher taxes, so he could give Neco the silver and gold he demanded.

King Jehoiakim of Judah

(2 Chronicles 36.5-8)

36 (K) Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he was appointed king, and he ruled 11 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zebidah was the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. 37 Jehoiakim disobeyed the Lord by following the example of his ancestors.

Footnotes

  1. 22.3 Shaphan: Hebrew “Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam.”
  2. 22.14 Shallum: Hebrew “Shallum son of Tikvah son of Harhas.”
  3. 23.2 The Book of God's Law: The Hebrew text has “The Book of God's Agreement,” which is the same as “The Book of God's Law” in 22.8,11. In traditional translations this is called “The Book of the Covenant.”
  4. 23.6 sacred pole: See the note at 13.6,7.
  5. 23.7 male prostitutes: Young men or boys sometimes served as prostitutes in the worship of Canaanite gods, but the Lord had forbidden the people of Israel and Judah to worship in this way (see Deuteronomy 23.17,18).
  6. 23.7 sacred robes: Or “coverings.”
  7. 23.8 local shrines: See the note at 12.3.
  8. 23.9 sacred bread: The Hebrew text has “thin bread,” which may be either the pieces of thin bread made without yeast to be eaten during the Passover Festival (see verses 21-23) or the baked flour used in sacrifices to give thanks to the Lord (see Leviticus 2.4,5).
  9. 23.11 in a courtyard: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 23.13 the shrines … Ammon: See 1 Kings 11.5-7.
  11. 23.14 Then he … human bones: This made the whole area unfit for the worship of any god.
  12. 23.16 just … festival: See 1 Kings 13.1,2.
  13. 23.16,17 said when Jeroboam … asked: One ancient translation; Hebrew “said. 17 Then Josiah asked.”
  14. 23.18 old prophet … there: See 1 Kings 13.11-32.
  15. 23.21 The Book of God's Law: See the note at 23.2.
  16. 23.29 killed: At this time, King Neco of Egypt (609–595 b.c.) was fighting on the side of the Assyrians. He marched north to fight the Babylonian army and help Assyria keep control of its land. Since Josiah considered Assyria an enemy, he set out to stop Neco and the Egyptian troops.
  17. 23.33 Riblah: An important town in Syria on the Orontes River.
Listen to 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35
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2 Kings 22-23
New International Version

The Book of the Law Found(A)

22 Josiah(B) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.(C) 2 He did what was right(D) in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right(E) or to the left.

3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan(F) son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah(G) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected(H) from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair(I) the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.(J) 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”(K)

8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law(L) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.(M)

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,(N) he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam(O) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:(P) 13 “Go and inquire(Q) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger(R) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

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

15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster(T) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book(U) the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken(V) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(W) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled(X) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse[b](Y) and be laid waste(Z)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.(AA) Your eyes(AB) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

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

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read(AG) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,(AH) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar(AI) and renewed the covenant(AJ) in the presence of the Lord—to follow(AK) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers(AL) to remove(AM) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. 5 He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense(AN) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.(AO) 6 He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley(AP) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder(AQ) and scattered the dust over the graves(AR) of the common people.(AS) 7 He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes(AT) that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

8 Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba(AU) to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. 9 Although the priests of the high places did not serve(AV) at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jehoahaz King of Judah(CI)

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

Jehoiakim King of Judah(CR)

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

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 22:17 Or by everything they have done
  2. 2 Kings 22:19 That is, their names would be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, others would see that they are cursed.
  3. 2 Kings 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. 2 Kings 23:27 1 Kings 8:29
  5. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
  6. 2 Kings 23:33 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
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2 Chronicles 34-35
Contemporary English Version

King Josiah of Judah

(2 Kings 22.1,2)

34 (A) Josiah was 8 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled 31 years from Jerusalem. 2 He followed the example of his ancestor David and always obeyed the Lord.

Josiah Stops the Worship of Foreign Gods

(2 Kings 23.4-20)

3 When Josiah was only 16 years old he began worshiping God, just as his ancestor David had done. Then, 4 years later, he decided to destroy the local shrines[a] in Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the sacred poles[b] for worshiping the goddess Asherah and the idols of foreign gods. 4 (B) He watched as the altars for the worship of the god Baal were torn down, and as the nearby incense altars were smashed. The Asherah poles, the idols, and the stone images were also smashed, and the pieces were scattered over the graves of their worshipers. 5 (C) Josiah then had the bones of the pagan priests burned on the altars.[c]

And so Josiah got rid of the worship of foreign gods in Judah and Jerusalem. 6 He did the same things in the towns and ruined villages[d] in the territories of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as the border of Naphtali. 7 Everywhere in the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah tore down pagan altars and Asherah poles; he crushed idols to dust and smashed incense altars.

Then Josiah went back to Jerusalem.

Hilkiah Finds The Book of God's Law

(2 Kings 22.3-20)

8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah's rule in Judah, after he had removed all the sinful things from the land and from the Lord's temple, he sent three of his officials to repair the temple. They were Shaphan son of Azaliah, Governor Maaseiah of Jerusalem, and Joah son of Joahaz, who kept the government records.

9 These three men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money that the Levite guards had collected from the people of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and the rest of Israel, as well as those living in Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem. 10 Then the money was turned over to the men who supervised the repairs to the temple. They used some of it to pay the workers, 11 and they gave the rest of it to the carpenters and builders, who used it to buy the stone and wood they needed to repair the other buildings that Judah's kings had not taken care of.

12 The workers were honest, and their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah from the Levite clan of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Levite clan of Kohath. Other Levites, who were all skilled musicians, 13 were in charge of carrying supplies and supervising the workers. Other Levites were appointed to stand guard around the temple.

14 While the money was being given to these supervisors, Hilkiah found the book that contained the laws that the Lord had given to Moses. 15 Hilkiah handed the book to Shaphan the official and said, “Look what I found here in the temple—The Book of God's Law.”

16 Shaphan took the book to Josiah and reported, “Your officials are doing everything you wanted. 17 They have collected the money from the temple and have given it to the men supervising the repairs. 18 But there's something else, Your Majesty. The priest Hilkiah gave me this book.” Then Shaphan read it aloud.

19 When Josiah heard what was in The Book of God's Law, he tore his clothes in sorrow. 20 At once he called together Hilkiah, Shaphan, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah,[e] and his own servant Asaiah. He said, 21 “The Lord must be furious with me and everyone else in Israel and Judah, because our ancestors did not obey the laws written in this book. Go find out what the Lord wants us to do.”

22 Hilkiah and the four other men left at once and went to talk with Huldah the prophet. Her husband was Shallum,[f] who was in charge of the king's clothes. Huldah lived in the northern part of Jerusalem, and when they met in her home, 23 she said:

You were sent here by King Josiah, and this is what the Lord God of Israel says to him: 24 “Josiah, I am the Lord! And I intend to punish this country and everyone in it, just as this book says. 25 The people of Judah and Israel have rejected me. They have offered sacrifices to foreign gods and have worshiped their own idols. I can't stand it any longer. I am furious.

26-27 “Josiah, listen to what I am going to do. I noticed how sad you were when you heard that this country and its people would be completely wiped out. You even tore your clothes in sorrow, and I heard you cry. 28 So before I destroy this place, I will let you die in peace.”

The men left and reported to Josiah what Huldah had said.

Josiah Reads The Book of God's Law

(2 Kings 23.1-3)

29 King Josiah called together the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 Then he went to the Lord's temple, together with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites.

Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law[g] that had been found in the temple.

31 After Josiah had finished reading, he stood in the place reserved for the king. He promised in the Lord's name to faithfully obey the Lord and to follow his laws and teachings that were written in the book. 32 Then he asked the people of Jerusalem and Benjamin to make that same promise and to obey the God their ancestors had worshiped.

33 Josiah destroyed all the idols in the territories of Israel, and he commanded everyone in Israel to worship only the Lord God. The people did not turn away from the Lord God of their ancestors for the rest of Josiah's rule as king.

Passover Is Celebrated

(2 Kings 23.21-23)

35 Josiah commanded that Passover be celebrated in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. So, on the fourteenth day of the first month,[h] the lambs were killed for the Passover celebration.

2 On that day, Josiah made sure the priests knew what duties they were to do in the temple. 3 He called together the Levites who served the Lord and who taught the people his laws, and he said:

No longer will you have to carry the sacred chest from place to place. It will stay in the temple built by King Solomon son of David, where you will serve the Lord and his people Israel. 4 (D) Get ready to do the work that David and Solomon assigned to you, according to your clans. 5 Divide yourselves into groups, then arrange yourselves throughout the temple so that each family of worshipers will be able to get help from one of you.[i] 6 When the people bring you their Passover lamb, you must kill it and prepare it to be sacrificed to the Lord. Make sure the people celebrate according to the instructions that the Lord gave Moses, and don't do anything to make yourselves unclean and unacceptable.

7 Josiah donated 30,000 sheep and goats, and 3,000 bulls from his own flocks and herds for the people to offer as sacrifices. 8 Josiah's officials also voluntarily gave some of their animals to the people, the priests, and the Levites as sacrifices. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, who were the officials in charge of the temple, gave the priests 2,600 sheep and lambs and 300 bulls to sacrifice during the Passover celebration. 9 Conaniah, his two brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad were leaders of the Levites, and they gave the other Levites 5,000 sheep and goats, and 500 bulls to offer as sacrifices.

10 When everything was ready to celebrate Passover, the priests and the Levites stood where Josiah had told them. 11 Then the Levites killed and skinned the Passover lambs, and they handed some of the blood to the priests, who splattered it on the altar. 12 The Levites set aside the parts of the animal that the worshipers needed for their sacrifices to please the Lord,[j] just as the Law of Moses required. They also did the same thing with the bulls. 13 (E) They sacrificed the Passover animals on the altar and boiled the meat for the other offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. Then they quickly handed the meat to the people so they could eat it.

14 All day long, the priests were busy offering sacrifices and burning the animals' fat on the altar. And when everyone had finished, the Levites prepared Passover animals for themselves and for the priests.

15 (F) During the celebration some of the Levites prepared Passover animals for the musicians and the guards, so that the Levite musicians would not have to leave their places, which had been assigned to them according to the instructions of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's prophet. Even the guards at the temple gates did not have to leave their posts.

16 So on that day, Passover was celebrated to honor the Lord, and sacrifices were offered on the altar to him, just as Josiah had commanded. 17 (G) The worshipers then celebrated the Festival of Thin Bread for the next seven days.

18 People from Jerusalem and from towns all over Judah and Israel were there. Passover had not been observed like this since the days of Samuel the prophet. In fact, this was the greatest Passover celebration in Israel's history! 19 All these things happened in the eighteenth year of Josiah's rule in Judah.

Josiah Dies in Battle

(2 Kings 23.28-30)

20 Some time later, King Neco of Egypt led his army to the city of Carchemish on the Euphrates River. And Josiah led his troops north to meet the Egyptians in battle.[k]

21 Neco sent the following message to Josiah:

I'm not attacking you, king of Judah! We're not even at war. But God has told me to quickly attack my enemy. God is on my side, so if you try to stop me, he will punish you.

22 But Josiah ignored Neco's warning, even though it came from God! Instead, he disguised himself and marched into battle against Neco in the valley near Megiddo.

23 During the battle an Egyptian soldier shot Josiah with an arrow. Josiah told his servants, “Get me out of here! I've been hit.” 24 They carried Josiah out of his chariot, then put him in the other chariot he had there and took him back to Jerusalem, where he soon died. He was buried beside his ancestors, and everyone in Judah and Jerusalem mourned his death.

25 Jeremiah the prophet wrote a funeral song in honor of Josiah. And since then, anyone in Judah who mourns the death of Josiah sings that song. It is included in the collection of funeral songs.

26 Everything else Josiah did while he was king, including how he faithfully obeyed the Lord, 27 is written in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Footnotes

  1. 34.3 local shrines: See the note at 11.15.
  2. 34.3 sacred poles: See the note at 14.3.
  3. 34.5 the bones of the pagan priests burned on the altars: This made the altars unclean, so that they could not be used in worshiping any god.
  4. 34.6 ruined villages: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 34.20 Abdon son of Micah: Also called “Achbor son of Micaiah” (see 2 Kings 22.12).
  6. 34.22 Shallum: Hebrew “Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah.”
  7. 34.30 The Book of God's Law: The Hebrew text has “The Book of God's Agreement,” which is the same as “The Book of God's Law” in verses 15 and 19. In traditional translations this is called “The Book of the Covenant.”
  8. 35.1 first month: See the note at 29.3.
  9. 35.5 each family of worshipers … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  10. 35.12 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 1.6.
  11. 35.20 battle: At this time, King Neco of Egypt (609–595 b.c.) was fighting on the side of the Assyrians. He marched north to fight the Babylonian army and help Assyria keep control of its land. Since Josiah considered Assyria an enemy, he set out to stop Neco and the Egyptian troops.
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2 Chronicles 34-35
New International Version

Josiah’s Reforms(A)(B)(C)

34 Josiah(D) was eight years old when he became king,(E) and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David,(F) not turning aside to the right or to the left.

3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God(G) of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. 4 Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles(H) and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.(I) 5 He burned(J) the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7 he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder(K) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

9 They went to Hilkiah(L) the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. 11 They also gave money(M) to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.(N)

12 The workers labored faithfully.(O) Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—(P) 13 had charge of the laborers(Q) and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.

The Book of the Law Found(R)(S)

14 While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law(T) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan.

16 Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. 17 They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

19 When the king heard the words of the Law,(U) he tore(V) his robes. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan(W), Abdon son of Micah,[a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 21 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out(X) on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”

22 Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him[b] went to speak to the prophet(Y) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath,[c] the son of Hasrah,[d] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

23 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster(Z) on this place and its people(AA)—all the curses(AB) written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me(AC) and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,[e] my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’ 26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 27 Because your heart was responsive(AD) and you humbled(AE) yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Now I will gather you to your ancestors,(AF) and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”(AG)

So they took her answer back to the king.

29 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 He went up to the temple of the Lord(AH) with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 31 The king stood by his pillar(AI) and renewed the covenant(AJ) in the presence of the Lord—to follow(AK) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.

32 Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

33 Josiah removed all the detestable(AL) idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover(AM)

35 Josiah celebrated the Passover(AN) to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord’s temple. 3 He said to the Levites, who instructed(AO) all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: “Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions,(AP) according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

5 “Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. 6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves(AQ) and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings,(AR) and also three thousand cattle—all from the king’s own possessions.(AS)

8 His officials also contributed(AT) voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah,(AU) Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. 9 Also Konaniah(AV) along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad,(AW) the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.

10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions(AX) as the king had ordered.(AY) 11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered,(AZ) and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed,(BA) and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people. 14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions(BB) until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.

15 The musicians,(BC) the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.

16 So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered. 17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

The Death of Josiah(BD)

20 After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish(BE) on the Euphrates,(BF) and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21 But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told(BG) me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.”

22 Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised(BH) himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.

23 Archers(BI) shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.” 24 So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.

25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments.(BJ) These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the Laments.(BK)

26 The other events of Josiah’s reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with what is written in the Law of the Lord— 27 all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 34:20 Also called Akbor son of Micaiah
  2. 2 Chronicles 34:22 One Hebrew manuscript, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts do not have had sent with him.
  3. 2 Chronicles 34:22 Also called Tikvah
  4. 2 Chronicles 34:22 Also called Harhas
  5. 2 Chronicles 34:25 Or by everything they have done
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