Beginning

Hezekiah Becomes Sick

20 In those days Hezekiah became very sick. He was about to die. Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him. Isaiah told Hezekiah, “The Lord says, ‘Put everything in order. Make out your will. You are going to die soon. You will not get well again.’ ”

² Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall. He prayed to the Lord. He said, ³ “Lord, please remember how faithful I’ve been to you. I’ve lived the way you wanted me to. I’ve served you with all my heart. I’ve done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Isaiah was leaving the middle courtyard. Before he had left it, a message came to him from the Lord. He said, ⁵ “Go back and speak to Hezekiah. He is the ruler of my people. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of King David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. And I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to my temple. ⁶ I will add 15 years to your life. And I will save you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. I will guard this city. I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David.” ’ ”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Press some figs together. Spread them on a piece of cloth.” So that’s what they did. Then they applied it to Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well again.

⁸ Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “You say the Lord will heal me. You say that I’ll go up to his temple on the third day from now. What will the sign be to prove he’ll really do that?”

⁹ Isaiah answered, “The Lord will do what he has promised. Here is his sign to you. Do you want the shadow the sun makes to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”

¹⁰ “It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “So have it go back ten steps.”

¹¹ Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord. And the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps. It went back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway Ahaz had made.

Messengers Come From Babylon to Hezekiah

¹² At that time Marduk-Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah letters and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. Marduk-Baladan was the son of Baladan. ¹³ Hezekiah received the messengers. He showed them everything in his storerooms. He showed them the silver and gold. He showed them the spices and the fine olive oil. He showed them where he kept his weapons. And he showed them all his treasures. In fact, he showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. He asked him, “What did those men say? Where did they come from?”

“They came from a land far away,” Hezekiah said. “They came from Babylon.”

¹⁵ The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “I showed them all my treasures.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the Lord’s message. He says, ¹⁷ ‘You can be sure the time will come when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon. Everything the kings before you have stored up until this day will be taken away. There will not be anything left,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Some of the members of your family line will be taken away. They will be your own flesh and blood. They will include the children who will be born into your family line in years to come. And they will serve the king of Babylon in his palace.’ ”

¹⁹ “The message the Lord has spoken through you is good,” Hezekiah replied. He thought, “There will be peace and safety while I’m still living.”

²⁰ The other events of the rule of Hezekiah are written down. That includes how he made the pool and the tunnel. He used them to bring water into Jerusalem. Everything he accomplished is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. ²¹ Hezekiah joined the members of his family who had already died. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh became the next king after him.

Manasseh King of Judah

21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 55 years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. ² Manasseh did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. He had driven those nations out to make room for the Israelites. ³ Manasseh rebuilt the high places. His father Hezekiah had destroyed them. Manasseh also set up altars to the god named Baal. He made a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. Ahab, the king of Israel, had done those same things. Manasseh even bowed down to all the stars. And he worshiped them. ⁴ He built altars in the Lord’s temple. The Lord had said about his temple, “I will put my Name there in Jerusalem.” ⁵ In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple Manasseh built altars to honor all the stars. ⁶ He sacrificed his own son in the fire to another god. He practiced all kinds of evil magic. He got messages from those who had died. He talked to the spirits of the dead. He did many things that were evil in the eyes of the Lord. Manasseh made the Lord very angry.

⁷ Manasseh had carved a pole used to worship the female god named Asherah. He put it in the temple. The Lord had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the temple. He had said, “My Name will be in this temple and in Jerusalem forever. Out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel I have chosen Jerusalem. ⁸ I gave this land to your people who lived long ago. I will not make the Israelites wander away from it again. But they must be careful to do everything I commanded them. They must obey the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them.” ⁹ But the people didn’t pay any attention. Manasseh led them astray. They did more evil things than the nations the Lord had destroyed. He had destroyed them to make room for the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord spoke through his servants the prophets. He said, ¹¹ “Manasseh, the king of Judah, has committed terrible sins. I hate them. Manasseh has done more evil things than the Amorites who were in the land before him. And he has led Judah to commit sin by worshiping his statues of gods. ¹² I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I tell you, ‘I am going to bring trouble on Jerusalem and Judah. It will be so horrible that the ears of everyone who hears about it will tingle. ¹³ I will measure out punishment against Jerusalem, just as I did against Samaria. I used a plumb line against the royal family of Ahab. I used it to prove that they did not measure up to my standards. I will use the same plumb line against Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem, just as someone wipes a dish. I will wipe it and turn it upside down. ¹⁴ I will desert those who remain among my people. I will hand them over to their enemies. All their enemies will rob them. ¹⁵ That’s because my people have done what is evil in my sight. They have made me very angry. They have done that from the day their own people came out of Egypt until this day.’ ”

¹⁶ Manasseh also spilled the blood of many people who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong. He spilled so much blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end of the city to the other. And he caused Judah to commit sin. So they also did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.

¹⁷ The other events of the rule of Manasseh are written down. That includes the sin he committed. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. ¹⁸ Manasseh joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in his palace garden. It was called the garden of Uzza. Manasseh’s son Amon became the next king after him.

Amon King of Judah

¹⁹ Amon was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth. She was the daughter of Haruz. She was from Jotbah. ²⁰ Amon did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ He lived the way his father had lived. He worshiped the statues of the gods his father had worshiped. He bowed down to them. ²² He deserted the Lord, the God of his people. He didn’t obey the Lord.

²³ Amon’s officials made plans against him. They murdered the king in his palace. ²⁴ Then the people of the land killed all those officials who had made plans against King Amon. Then the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

²⁵ The other events of the rule of Amon are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. ²⁶ Amon was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. Amon’s son Josiah became the next king after him.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years. His mother’s name was Jedidah. She was the daughter of Adaiah. She was from Bozkath. ² Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t turn away from it to the right or the left.

³ King Josiah sent his secretary Shaphan to the Lord’s temple. It was in the 18th year of Josiah’s rule. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah. Azaliah was the son of Meshullam. Josiah said, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Have him add up the money that has been brought into the Lord’s temple. The men who guard the doors have collected it from the people. ⁵ Have them put all the money in the care of certain men. These men have been put in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. Have them pay the workers who repair it. ⁶ Have them pay the builders and those who work with wood. Have them pay those who lay the stones. Also have them buy lumber and blocks of stone to repair the temple. ⁷ But they don’t have to report how they use the money that is given to them. That’s because they are completely honest.”

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest spoke to Shaphan the secretary. Hilkiah said, “I’ve found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan went to King Josiah. Shaphan told him, “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the Lord’s temple. They’ve put it in the care of the workers and directors there.” ¹⁰ Shaphan continued, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” Shaphan read some of it to the king.

¹¹ The king heard the words of the Book of the Law. When he did, he tore his royal robes. ¹² He gave orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. Akbor was the son of Micaiah. And Asaiah was the king’s attendant. Josiah commanded them, ¹³ “Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this book that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for the people and the whole nation of Judah. The Lord is very angry with us. That’s because our people who have lived before us didn’t obey the words of this book. They didn’t do everything written there about us.”

¹⁴ Hilkiah the priest went to speak to Huldah the prophet. So did Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah. Huldah was the wife of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Tikvah. Tikvah was the son of Harhas. Shallum took care of the sacred robes. Huldah lived in the New Quarter of Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Huldah said to them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Here is what you must tell the man who sent you to me. ¹⁶ Tell him, “The Lord says, ‘I am going to bring horrible trouble on this place and its people. Everything written in the book the king of Judah has read will take place. ¹⁷ That’s because the people have deserted me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me very angry because of the statues of gods their hands have made. So my anger will burn like a fire against this place. And the fire of my anger will not be put out.’ ” ’ ¹⁸ The king of Judah sent you to ask the Lord for advice. Tell him, ‘The Lord is the God of Israel. He has a message for you about the things you heard. He says, ¹⁹ “Your heart was tender. You made yourself humble in the eyes of the Lord. You heard what I spoke against this place and its people. I said they would be under a curse. I told them they would be destroyed. You tore your royal robes and wept in front of me. And I have heard you,” announces the Lord. ²⁰ “You will join the members of your family who have already died. You will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the trouble I am going to bring on this place.” ’ ”

Huldah’s answer was taken back to the king.