Chronological

22 Josiah was of eight years, when he began to reign, and he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.

² And he did that, that was pleasant before the Lord, and he went by all the ways of David, his father; he bowed not, neither to the right side, nor of the left side. (And he did what was pleasing before the Lord, and he went in all the ways of his forefather David; he turned not, neither to the right, nor to the left.)

³ Forsooth in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, [the] scribe, either doctor, of the temple of the Lord (to the Temple of the Lord), and said to him,

⁴ Go thou to Hilkiah, the great priest, (and command) that the money, which is borne into the temple of the Lord, be molten together, which money the porters of the temple have gathered of the people; (Go thou to the High Priest Hilkiah, and command that the money, which is brought into the Temple of the Lord, be melted down, which money the guards, or the door-keepers, of the Temple have gathered from the people;)

⁵ and that it be given to craftsmen by the sovereigns of the house of the Lord; which also parted that money to them that work in the temple of the Lord, to repair the roofs of the temple of the Lord, (and that it be given to the craftsmen by the foremen of the House of the Lord; and they deal out that money to those who work in the Temple of the Lord, to make the needed repairs to the Temple of the Lord,)

⁶ that is, to carpenters, and to masons, and to them that make [together] broken things (and to those who put together broken things), and (also) that timber and stones of quarriers be bought, to repair the temple of the Lord;

⁷ nevertheless the silver, which they take/that the workmen take, be not reckoned to them, but have they it in (their own) power, and in faith (but trust them to have it under their own power, or control).

⁸ And Hilkiah, the bishop, said to Shaphan, the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, the scribe, which also read it. (And the High Priest Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the writer, I have found The Book of the Law in the House of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, the writer, and he read it.)

⁹ Also Shaphan, the scribe, came to the king, and told to him those things, which Hilkiah had commanded, and he said, Thy servants have spended the money, that was found in the house of the Lord, and they have given, that it should be parted to [the] craftsmen of the sovereigns of [the] works of the temple of the Lord. (And Shaphan, the writer, came to the king, and reported to the king about those things which he had commanded, and he said, Thy servants have spent the money that was found in the House of the Lord, and they have ordained that it be dealt out to the craftsmen by the foremen of the repairs to the Temple of the Lord.)

¹⁰ Also Shaphan, the scribe, told to the king, and said, Hilkiah, the priest of God, hath given to me a book; and when Shaphan had read that book before the king,

¹¹ and the king had heard the words of the book of the law of the Lord, he rent his clothes. (and the king had heard the words of The Book of the Law of the Lord, he tore his clothes.)

¹² And he commanded to Hilkiah, the priest, and to Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and to Achbor, the son of Michaiah, and to Shaphan the scribe, and to Asahiah, (a) servant of the king, and said,

¹³ Go ye, and ask, or counsel ye, the Lord on me, and on the people, and on all Judah, of the words of this book, that is found; for (the) great ire of the Lord is kindled against us, for our fathers heard not the words of this book, to do all thing which is written to us. (Go ye, and ask ye the Lord’s counsel for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, about the words of this book, that is found; for great is the Lord’s anger that is kindled against us, for our forefathers did not listen to the words of this book, to do all the things which be written to us.)

¹⁴ Therefore Hilkiah, the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the clothes, the which Huldah dwelled in Jerusalem, in the second dwelling/in the second environing of the wall (in the second quarter); and they spake to her.

¹⁵ And she answered to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Say ye to the man, that sent you to me,

¹⁶ The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Lo! I shall bring evils upon this place, and upon the dwellers thereof (and upon its inhabitants), and I shall fulfill all the words [of the law], which the king of Judah read;

¹⁷ for they forsook me, and made sacrifice to alien gods, and stirred me to ire in all the works of their hands; and mine indignation shall be kindled in this place, and shall not be quenched. (for they deserted me, and made sacrifice to foreign, or other, gods, and stirred me to anger with all the works of their hands; and my indignation shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.)

¹⁸ Soothly to the king of Judah, that sent you, that ye shall counsel (with) the Lord/that ye shall ask the Lord(’s) counsel, ye shall say thus, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, For thou heardest the words of the book,

¹⁹ and thine heart was afeared, and thou were made meek before the Lord, when his words were heard against this place, and against the dwellers thereof, that is, that they should be made into wondering, and into cursing, and thou rentest thy clothes, and weptest before me, and I heard, saith the Lord; (and that thy heart was afraid, and thou were humbled before the Lord, when his words were heard against this place, and against its inhabitants, that is, that they should be made into wondering, and into cursing, and that thou torest thy clothes, and weptest before me, and for thou hath done all these things, I have heard thee, saith the Lord;)

²⁰ therefore I shall gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy sepulchre in peace; (so) that thine eyes see not all the evils, which I shall bring in upon this place. And they told to the king that, that she said (And they told the king what she said);

23 which king sent, and all the eld men of Judah, and of Jerusalem, were gathered to him. (and the king sent for all the elders of Judah, and of Jerusalem, and they were gathered unto him.)

² And the king went up into the temple of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the men that dwelled in Jerusalem with him, the priests and the prophets, and all the people from little unto great; and the king read, while all men heard, all the words of the book of [the] bond of peace of the Lord, the which was found in the house of the Lord. (And the king went up into the Temple of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the men who lived in Jerusalem with him, the priests and the prophets, and all the people from the little unto the great; and the king read, while all the men listened, all the words of The Book of the Covenant of the Lord, which had been found in the House of the Lord.)

³ And the king stood on the degrees; and smote a bond of peace before the Lord, that they would go after the Lord, and keep his commandments and witnessings and ceremonies in all their heart and in all their soul, and that they should raise up the words of this bond of peace, that were written in that book; and the people assented to the covenant. (And the king stood on the steps; and struck a covenant before the Lord, that they would follow the Lord, and keep his commandments and testimonies and statutes, with all their heart and with all their soul, and that they would raise up the words of this covenant that were written in that book; and the people agreed to the covenant.)

⁴ And the king commanded to Hilkiah, the bishop, and to the priests of the second order, and to the porters, that they should cast out of the temple [of the Lord] all the vessels, that were made to Baal, and in the maumet wood, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s); and he burnt those vessels without Jerusalem, in the even valley of Kidron, and he bare the powder of those vessels into Bethel. (And the king commanded to the High Priest Hilkiah, and to the priests of the second order, and to the guards, that they should throw out of the Temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned those vessels outside Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley, and he brought the powder of those vessels to Bethel.)

⁵ And he did away [the] false diviners, which the kings of Judah had set to make sacrifice in (the) high things by the cities of Judah, and in the compass of Jerusalem; and he did away them that burnt incense to Baal, and to the sun, and to the moon, and to (the) twelve signs, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s). (And he did away the false diviners, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make sacrifice in the hill shrines in the cities of Judah, and all around Jerusalem; and he did away those who burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, and to the moon, and to the twelve signs, yea, to all the host of heaven.)

⁶ And the king made the wood of maumetry to be borne out of the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, in(to) the even valley of Kidron, and he burnt it there; and he drove it into powder, and casted it forth upon the sepulchres of the common people. (And the king ordered the sacred pole of that idol, or that false god, Asherah to be taken out of the House of the Lord, and out of Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley, and he burned it there; and he drove it down into powder, and threw it forth onto the tombs, or the graves, of the common people.)

⁷ Also he destroyed the little houses of [the] womanish men, the which houses were in the house of the Lord; for the which houses women weaved, or wattled, as little houses of the wood. (And he destroyed the little houses of the male whores of the Temple, which houses were attached to the House of the Lord; and where women weaved, or wattled, vestments used in honouring and worshipping Asherah.)

⁸ And he gathered all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defouled the high things, where the priests made sacrifice, from Geba unto Beersheba; and he destroyed the altars of the gates (that were) in the entering of the door of Joshua, (who was the) prince of a city, which door was at the left half of the gate of the city. (And he gathered all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the hill shrines, where the priests made sacrifice, from Geba unto Beersheba; and he destroyed the altars of the demons that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, who was the ruler of the city, which gate was on the left side of the city gate.)

⁹ Nevertheless the priests of [the] high things went not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but only they ate therf loaves in the midst of their brethren. (Now the priests of the hill shrines did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat the unleavened bread in the midst of their kinsmen.)

¹⁰ Also he defouled Topheth, which is in the even valley of the son of Hinnom, (so) that no man should hallow his son either his daughter by fire to Moloch. (And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no man would sacrifice his son or his daughter in the fire to Moloch.)

¹¹ Also he did away [the] horses, that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, in the entering of the temple of the Lord, beside the chamber of Nathanmelech, the gelding, that was in (the) Parvarim, (that is, the suburbs, or the living quarters); forsooth he burnt by fire the chariots of the sun. (And he did away the horses, that the kings of Judah had erected to the sun, at the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, beside the chamber of Nathanmelech, the eunuch, that was in the Parvarim, that is, in the suburbs, or the living quarters; and he burned up the chariots of the sun.)

¹² Also the king destroyed the altars, that were on the roofs of the solar of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made; and the king destroyed the altars, which Manasseh had made in the two great places of the temple of the Lord; and he ran from thence, and scattered the ashes of those altars into the strand of Kidron. (And the king destroyed the altars that were on the roof of the solarium of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made; and the king destroyed the altars which Manasseh had made in the two great courtyards of the Temple of the Lord; and he went from there, and scattered the ashes of those altars in the Kidron Valley.)

¹³ Also the king defouled the high things, that were in Jerusalem at the right half of the hill of offence, that is, the hill of Olivet, which Solomon, king of Israel, had builded to Ashtoreth, the idol of Sidonians, and to Chemosh, the offence of Moab, and to Malcham, the abomination of the sons of Ammon; (And the king defiled the hill shrines that were east of Jerusalem, on the right side of the hill of offence, that is, south of the Mount of Olives, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built for Ashtoreth, the false god of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the offensive god of Moab, and for Milcom, the abominable god of the Ammonites;)

¹⁴ and he all-brake [the] images, and cutted down (the) [maumet] woods (and cut down the sacred poles of Asherah), and filled the places of those with the bones of dead men.

¹⁵ Furthermore also he destroyed the altar that was in Bethel, and the high solemn thing, which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had made, that made Israel to do sin; and he destroyed that high altar, and burnt it, and all-brake it into powder, and cutted down also the [maumet] wood. (And furthermore he destroyed the altar that was in Bethel, and the hill shrine, which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had made, who had made Israel to do sin; and he destroyed that high altar, and burned it, and broke it all into powder, and also cut down the sacred pole of Asherah.)

¹⁶ And Josiah turned, and saw there sepulchres that were in the hill; and he sent, and took the bones from the sepulchres, and burnt those on the altar, and defouled it, after the word of the Lord, that the man of God spake, that before-said these words. (And Josiah turned, and saw the tombs, or the graves, that were there on the hill; and he sent for, and took all the bones from those tombs, or those graves, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, after the word of the Lord, that the man of God spoke, who foretold these things.)

¹⁷ And the king said, What is this burial, that I see? [Whose is this tomb that I see?] And the citizens of that city answered to him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, that came from Judah, and before-said these words (and foretold these things), which thou hast done upon the altar of Bethel.

¹⁸ And the king said, Suffer ye him (Do not ye touch him); no man move his bones. And (so) his bones dwelled untouched with the bones of the prophet, that came from Samaria.

¹⁹ Furthermore also Josiah did away all the temples of [the] high things, that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to stir the Lord to ire; and he did to those temples by all things which he had done in Bethel. (And furthermore Josiah did away all the temples of the hill shrines that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had built, and had so stirred the Lord to anger; and he did to those temples all the things which he had done to the temples in Bethel.)

²⁰ And he killed all the priests of [the] high things, that were there upon the altars, and he burnt men’s bones on those altars; and he turned again to Jerusalem; (And he killed all the priests of the hill shrines, who were there at the altars, and he burned the bones of people upon those altars; and then he returned to Jerusalem;)

²¹ and he commanded to all the people, and said, Make ye pask to the Lord your God, after that, that is written in the book of this bond of peace. (and he commanded to all the people, and said, Keep ye the Passover to the Lord your God, after what is written in this Book of the Covenant.)

²² Certainly such a pask was not made, from the days of judges that deemed Israel, and of all the days of the kings of Israel, and of Judah, (Certainly such a Passover was not kept, from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, or of Judah,)

²³ as this pask (that) was made to the Lord in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of king Josiah.

²⁴ But also Josiah did away men having fiends speaking in their wombs, and false diviners in altars, and he did away the figures of idols, and all [the] uncleannesses, and [the] abominations, that were in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he should do the words of the law, that were written in the book, that Hilkiah, the priest, found in the temple of the Lord. (And Josiah also did away men having fiends speaking in their wombs, and false diviners at altars, and the figures of idols, and all the uncleannesses, and the abominations, that were in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he would do all the words of the Law, that were written in the book that the High Priest Hilkiah had found in the Temple of the Lord.)

²⁵ No king before him was like him, that turned again to the Lord in all his heart, and in all his soul, and in all his strength, after all the law of Moses; neither after him rose (up) any like him. (There was no king like him before him, who had turned again to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, after all the Law of Moses; nor did there rise up any king like him after him.)

²⁶ Nevertheless the Lord was not turned away from the ire of his great vengeance, by which his strong vengeance was wroth against Judah, for the stirrings to ire by which Manasseh had stirred him to ire.

²⁷ Therefore the Lord said, I shall do away also Judah from my face, as I did away Israel; and I shall cast away this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. (And so the Lord said, I shall also do away Judah from before me, as I did away Israel; and I shall throw away this city of Jerusalem, which I chose, and the House of which I said, My name shall always be there.)

²⁸ Forsooth the residue of the words of Josiah, and all things that he did, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of the kings of Judah?

²⁹ In the days of Josiah, Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyrians, to the flood Euphrates; and Josiah, king of Judah, went into the meeting of Pharaoh, to forbid him to pass through Judah; and Josiah was slain in Megiddo, when he had seen Pharaoh. (In the days of Josiah, Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt, went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria; and Josiah, the king of Judah, went out against Pharaoh, to forbid him to pass through Judah; and Josiah was killed at Megiddo, when he met Pharaoh in battle.)

³⁰ And his servants bare him dead from Megiddo, and brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre; and the people of the land took Jehoahaz^[a], the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king for his father (and made him king in place of his father).

³¹ Jehoahaz was of three and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremy of Libnah.

³² And he did evil before the Lord, by all things which his fathers had done.

³³ And Pharaoh Necho bound him in prison in Riblah, that is in the land of Hamath, that he should not reign in Jerusalem; and Pharaoh set a pain, either a fine, to the land of Judah, in an hundred talents of silver, and in one talent of gold (and Pharaoh put a fine on the land of Judah, of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold).

³⁴ And Pharaoh Necho made king Eliakim, the son of Josiah, for Josiah, his father (And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim, Josiah’s son, to be king in place of his father); and he turned the name of him to Jehoiakim; forsooth Pharaoh took Jehoahaz (away), and led him into Egypt, (and he died there).

³⁵ Soothly Jehoiakim gave silver and gold to Pharaoh, when he had commanded to the land by all years, that it should be brought, by the commandment of Pharaoh; and Jehoiakim raised of each man by his mights, or after his power, both silver and gold, of the people of the land, that he should give to Pharaoh Necho. (And Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh, in all the years that he commanded over the land, that it should be brought in, by Pharaoh’s commandment; and Jehoiakim raised both the silver, and the gold, from the people of the land, yea, out of each man’s own wealth, so that he could pay it to Pharaoh Necho.)

³⁶ Jehoiakim was of five and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

³⁷ And he did evil before the Lord, by all things which his fathers had done.

34 Josiah was of eight years, when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

² And he did that, that was rightful in the sight of the Lord; and went in the ways of David, his father, and bowed not to the right side, neither to the left side.

³ And in the eighth year of the realm of his empire, when he was yet a boy, (that is, sixteen years of age,) he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year after that he began, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from high places, and woods, and simulacra, and graven images (and in the twelfth year after that he began to reign, he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem from the hill shrines, and the idol groves/and the sacred poles, and the idols, and the carved images).

⁴ And they destroyed before him the altars of Baalim, and they destroyed the simulacra, that were put above (them). Also he hewed down the maumet woods, and the graven images, and brake to small gobbets; and scattered abroad the small gobbets on the burials of them, that were wont to offer to those. (And they destroyed before him the altars of the Baalim, and they destroyed the idols, that were put upon them. And he cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles, and the carved idols, and broke them into small pieces; and he scattered those small pieces all over the burials of those, who were wont to offer to those idols.)

⁵ Furthermore the king burnt the bones of (the) priests upon the altars of (the) idols, and (so) he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem of idolatry.

⁶ But also he destroyed all the idols in the cities of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and of Simeon, unto Naphtali.

⁷ And when he had scattered the altars, and had all-broken into gobbets the maumet woods, and the graven images, and had destroyed all [the] temples of idols from all the land of Israel, he turned again into Jerusalem. (And when he had destroyed the altars, and the idol groves/and the sacred poles, and had broken the carved idols into pieces, and destroyed all the temples of idols in all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.)

⁸ Therefore in the eighteenth year of his realm, when the land and the temple was cleansed now, he sent Shaphan, the son of Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, the prince of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, his chancellor, that they should repair the house of the Lord his God. (And so in the eighteenth year of his reign, when the land and the Temple had been cleansed, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the leader of the city, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, his chancellor, to repair the House of the Lord his God.)

⁹ Which came to Hilkiah, the great priest; and when they had taken of him the money, that was brought into the house of the Lord, which money the deacons and porters had gathered of men of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and of all the remnant men of Israel, and of Judah and of Benjamin, and of the dwellers of Jerusalem, (And they came to the High Priest Hilkiah; and when they had delivered the money to him, that was brought to the House of the Lord, which money the Levites, who were the guards, or the doorkeepers, had gathered from the people of Manasseh, and of Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and of Judah and of Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem,)

¹⁰ they gave it in(to) the hands of them that were sovereigns of the workmen in the house of the Lord, that they should restore the temple, and repair all the feeble things thereof. (they gave it to those who were the rulers, or the overseers, of the workmen in the House of the Lord, so that they could restore the Temple, and repair all its weakened, or its broken, parts.)

¹¹ And they gave that money to the craftsmen and masons, for to buy stones hewed out of the quarries, and wood to the joinings of the building(s), and to the coupling(s) of [the] houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed. (And they gave that money to the craftsmen and the masons, to buy stones cut out of the quarries, and timber for the joints of the buildings, and for the couplings of the houses, which the kings of Judah had destroyed.)

¹² The which workmen did faithfully all things. And the sovereigns of workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, which hasted the work; all were deacons, knowing how to sing with organs. (And the workmen faithfully did their work. And the rulers, or the overseers, of the workers were Jahath, and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah, and Meshullam, of the Kohathites, who hastened the work; all of them were Levites, who knew how to play instruments.)

¹³ And over them that bare burdens to diverse uses were scribes, and masters of deacons, and porters. (And they were over those who carried burdens, and did diverse types of work; and other Levites were writers, or secretaries, and clerks, and guards, or doorkeepers.)

¹⁴ And when they bare out the money, that was brought into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah, the priest, found a book of the law of the Lord by the hand of Moses. (And when they took out the money, that was brought into the Temple of the Lord, the High Priest Hilkiah found The Book of the Law of the Lord, written by Moses.)

¹⁵ And Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the writer, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah took it to Shaphan, (And Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the writer, I have found The Book of the Law in the House of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan,)

¹⁶ and he bare in the book to the king (and he took the book to the king); and he told to him, and said, Lo! all things be fulfilled, or ended, which thou hast given into the hands of thy servants.

¹⁷ And they have welled together the silver, which is found in the house of the Lord; and it is given to the sovereigns of the craftsmen, and (to those) making diverse works; (And they have melted together the silver, which was kept in the House of the Lord; and it was given to the rulers, or the overseers, of the craftsmen, and to those doing diverse types of work;)

¹⁸ furthermore Hilkiah, the priest, took to me this book. And when he had rehearsed this book in the presence of the king, (and furthermore, the High Priest Hilkiah gave me this book. And when he had read the book before the king,)

¹⁹ and when the king had heard the words of the law, he rent his clothes; (and the king had heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes;)

²⁰ and he commanded to Hilkiah, and to Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and to Abdon, the son of Micah, and to Shaphan, the scribe, and to Asaiah, the servant of the king, and said,

²¹ Go ye, and pray the Lord for me, and for the remnant of men of Israel and of Judah, on all the words of this book, that is found (Go ye, and pray to the Lord for me, and for the rest of the people who remain in Israel and Judah, concerning all the words of this book, that is found). For great (is the) vengeance of the Lord (that) hath dropped upon us, for our fathers kept not the words of the Lord, to do all things that be written in this book.

²² Therefore Hilkiah, and they that were sent together (with him) from the king, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, (the) keeper of the king’s clothes, the which Huldah dwelled in Jerusalem in the second ward (who lived in Jerusalem’s second ward); and they spake to her the words, which we told before.

²³ And she answered to them, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Say ye to the man, that sent you to me,

²⁴ The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall bring evils upon this place, and upon the dwellers thereof (and upon its inhabitants), and all the cursings that be written in this book, that they have read before the king of Judah.

²⁵ For they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to alien gods, for to stir me to wrathfulness in all the works of their hands (For they have abandoned me, and have sacrificed to foreign, or other, gods, and have stirred me to anger with all the works of their hands); therefore my strong vengeance shall drop upon this place, and it shall not be quenched.

²⁶ But speak ye thus to the king of Judah, that sent you to pray (to) the Lord, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, For thou heardest the words of the book,

²⁷ and thine heart thereby is made nesh, and thou art meeked in the sight of the Lord of these things which be said against this place, and against the dwellers of Jerusalem, and thou hast reverenced my face, and hast rent thy clothes, and hast wept before me; also I have heard thee, saith the Lord. (and thy heart is softened by it, and thou art humbled before the Lord by these things which be said against this place, and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou hast reverenced my face, and hast torn thy clothes, and hast wept before me; yea, I have heard thee, saith the Lord.)

²⁸ For now I shall gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be borne into thy sepulchre in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil, that is, none of all the evils, that I shall bring in upon this place, and upon the dwellers thereof (and upon its inhabitants). Then they told to the king all things, that Huldah had said.

²⁹ And after that the king had called together all the elder men of Judah and of Jerusalem,

³⁰ he went up into the house of the Lord, and there went up together with him all the men of Judah, and the dwellers of Jerusalem, priests, and deacons, and all the people, from the least unto the most; to whose hearing in the house of the Lord, the king read all the words of the foresaid book. (he went up to the House of the Lord, and there went up together with him all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, from the least unto the most; to whom the king then read aloud all the words of the foresaid book that was found in the House of the Lord.)

³¹ And he stood in his throne, and smote, or made, a bond of peace before the Lord, for to follow him, and to keep the commandments, and the witnessings, and the justifyings of him, in all his heart, and in all his soul; and to do those things which were written in that book, that he had read. (And he stood by his throne, and struck a covenant before the Lord, to follow him, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul; and to do those things that were written in that book, that he had read.)

³² And he charged greatly upon this thing all men, that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin; and the dwellers of Jerusalem did after the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers. (And he greatly charged all who were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to keep this oath, or this pledge; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did after the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers.)

³³ Therefore Josiah did away all the abominations from all the countries of the sons of Israel; and made all men, that were left in Israel, to serve the Lord God (And so Josiah did away all the abominations from all the territories of the Israelites; and made all, who were left in Israel, to serve the Lord God); and in all the days of his life they went not away from the Lord God of their fathers.

35 Forsooth Josiah made pask to the Lord in Jerusalem, the which pask was offered in the fourteenth day of the first month; (And Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover beasts were killed on the fourteenth day of the first month;)

² and he ordained priests in their offices; and commanded them for to serve in the house of the Lord. (and he ordained the priests in their offices; and encouraged them to do their service well in the House of the Lord.)

³ And he spake to the deacons, at whose teaching all Israel was hallowed to the Lord, Set ye, he said, the ark of the Lord in the saintuary of the temple, that Solomon, king of Israel, the son of David builded; for ye shall no more bear it about (And he said to the Levites, who taught all Israel, and were dedicated to the Lord, Put ye the Ark of the Lord in the sanctuary of the Temple, that Solomon, the king of Israel, the son of David, built; for no more shall ye carry it about). But now serve ye the Lord your God, and his people Israel,

⁴ and make you(rselves) ready by your houses and families, in the partings of each by himself (in each of your divisions), as David, king of Israel, commanded, and as Solomon, his son, ordained;

⁵ and serve ye in the saintuary by the families and (the) companies of (the) deacons,

⁶ and be ye hallowed, and offer ye (the) pask; also make ready your brethren, that they may do after the words, which the Lord spake by the hand of Moses. (and be ye consecrated, or purified, and kill ye the Passover lambs; and prepare for your kinsmen, to do after the words, which the Lord spoke through Moses.)

⁷ Furthermore Josiah gave to all the people, that was found there in the solemnity of pask, that is, to make the solemnity, lambs and kids of the flocks, and of residue sheep he gave thirty thousand, and of oxes three thousand; these things were given of the substance of the king. (And Josiah gave to all the people who were there for the Passover Feast, that is, to all who were there to keep the Feast, lambs and goat kids of the flocks, and he gave thirty thousand sheep, and three thousand oxen; these things were given out of the king’s substance, or from his own possessions.)

⁸ And his dukes offered those things which they avowed by their free will, as well to the people, as to priests and deacons (And his leaders offered those things which they vowed by their own free will, to the people, as well as to the priests, and the Levites). And Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, princes of the house of the Lord, gave to [the] priests, to make (the) pask in common, two thousand and six hundred sheep, and three hundred oxen.

⁹ And Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, and his brethren, and also Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, the princes of deacons, gave to other deacons, to make [the] pask, five thousand of sheep, and five hundred oxen. (And Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, and his kinsmen, and also Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, gave to the other Levites, to make the Passover, five thousand sheep, and five hundred oxen.)

¹⁰ And the service was made ready; and [the] priests stood in their office, and deacons in their companies (and the Levites in their divisions), by the commandment of the king;

¹¹ and pask was offered. And [the] priests sprinkled their hands with blood, and deacons drew off the skins of sacrificed beasts, (and so the Passover beasts were killed. And the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, and the Levites drew off the skins of the sacrificed beasts,)

¹² and they parted those sacrifices, for to give them by the houses and families of all men that were come thither to make (the) pask; and that those sacrifices should be offered to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses; and of oxen they did in like manner. (and they separated those sacrifices, in order to distribute them by the houses and the families of all those who were come there to keep the Passover; and so that those sacrifices should be offered to the Lord, as it is written in The Book of Moses; and they did in like manner with the oxen.)

¹³ And they roasted the pask lamb upon the fire, after that that is written in the law. And they seethed peaceable sacrifices in pans, and in cauldrons, and in pots, and in haste they dealed it to all the people; (And they roasted the Passover lamb upon the fire, after what is written in the Law. And they boiled the peace offerings in pans, and cauldrons, and pots, and then they gave it out hastily, or quickly, to all the people;)

¹⁴ but they made ready afterward to themselves, and to priests; for the priests were occupied unto [the] night in the offering of burnt sacrifices and of the inner fatnesses. Wherefore the deacons made ready their part at the last to themselves, and to the priests, the sons of Aaron. (and afterward the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests; for the priests were occupied into the night in offering the burnt sacrifices and the inner fatnesses. And so the Levites prepared their portion lastly for themselves, and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.)

¹⁵ And [the] singers, the sons of Asaph, stood in their order, by the commandment of David, and of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, the prophets of the king; but the porters kept their office by each gate, so that they went not away from their service, soothly (not) in a point, that is, they were in no time absent from their office; wherefore and the deacons, their brethren, made ready meats to them (and the guards, or the doorkeepers, kept watch at each gate, so that they went not away from their service, truly at no point, that is, they were never absent from their station; and so the Levites, their kinsmen, prepared their meats).

¹⁶ Therefore all the religion of the Lord was fulfilled rightfully in that day, that they made pask (And so all the service of the Lord was rightfully done on that day, so that they kept the Passover), and offered burnt sacrifices upon the altar of the Lord, by the commandment of king Josiah.

¹⁷ And the sons of Israel, that were found there, made pask in that time, and the solemnity of therf loaves seven days. (And the Israelites, who were found there, kept the Passover at that time, and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.)

¹⁸ No pask was like this in Israel, from the days of Samuel, the prophet; but neither any of the kings of Israel made pask as Josiah did, to [the] priests and deacons, and to all Judah and Israel, that was found there, and to the dwellers of Jerusalem. (There was no Passover like this in Israel, since the days of the prophet Samuel; nor did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah did, with the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel, who were found there, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.)

¹⁹ This pask was hallowed in the eighteenth year of the realm of Josiah. (This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.)

²⁰ After that Josiah had repaired the temple, Necho, the king of Egypt, went up to fight in Charchemish beside Euphrates; and Josiah went forth into his meeting. (After that Josiah had repaired the Temple, Necho, the king of Egypt, went up to fight in Charchemish, which was on the banks of the Euphrates River; and Josiah went out against him.)

²¹ And Necho said by messengers sent to Josiah, King of Judah, what cause of strife is to me and to thee? I come not against thee today, but I fight against another household, to which God bade me go in haste; cease thou to do thus against God, that is with me, lest he slay thee. (And Necho sent messengers who said to Josiah, King of Judah, what cause of strife is there between me and thee? I did not come against thee today, but I fight against another household, to whom God hath ordered me to go in haste; cease thou to do thus against God, who is with me, lest he kill thee.)

²² But Josiah would not turn again, but he made ready battle against him; and he assented not to the words of Necho, by God’s mouth, but he went for to fight in the field of Megiddo. (But Josiah would not turn back, but he prepared battle array against him; and he assented not to the words of Necho, which were from God’s mouth, but he went out to fight in the field of Megiddo.)

²³ And there he was wounded of archers, and Josiah said to his servants, Lead ye me out of the battle, for I am wounded greatly. (And there he was wounded by archers, and Josiah said to his servants, Lead ye me out of the battle, for I am greatly wounded.)

²⁴ And they bare him over from that chariot into another chariot, that followed him, by custom of the king, and they brought him forth into Jerusalem; and he died there, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem bewailed him,

²⁵ Jeremy most (of all), of whom all [the] singers and singeresses till into [the] present day rehearse (his) lamentations, either wailings, on Josiah (and Jeremiah bewailed him most of all, and all the singers and singeresses recite his lamentations, or his wailings, upon Josiah unto this present day); and it came forth as a law in Israel, Lo! it is said written in [the] Lamentations.

²⁶ Forsooth the residue of [the] words of Josiah, and of his mercies, that be commanded in the law of the Lord, (And the rest of the words concerning Josiah, and the mercies that he did, that is, his righteous works, which be commanded in the Law of the Lord,)

²⁷ and his works, the first and the last, be written in the book of [the] kings of Israel and of Judah. (and his first and last works, be written in The Book of the Kings of Judah and of Israel.)