Chronological

Josiah Begins His Rule Over Judah

22 Josiah was eight years old when he began to rule. He ruled 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. ² Josiah did what the Lord said was right. He followed God like his ancestor David. Josiah obeyed God’s teachings—he did exactly what God wanted.

Josiah Orders the Temple Repaired

³ During the 18th year that Josiah was king, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the Lord’s Temple. Josiah said, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Tell him that he must get the money that people brought to the Lord’s Temple. The gatekeepers collected that money from the people. ⁵ The priests must use that money to pay the workers to repair the Lord’s Temple. They must give that money to the men who supervise the work on the Lord’s Temple. ⁶ Use that money for the carpenters, stonemasons, and stonecutters. Also use that money to buy the timber and cut stones that are needed to repair the Temple. ⁷ Don’t count the money that you give to the workers. They can be trusted.”

Book of the Law Found in the Temple

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “Look, I found the Book of the Law^[a] in the Lord’s Temple!” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and Shaphan read it.

⁹ He went to King Josiah and told him what happened. Shaphan said, “Your servants have gathered all the money that was in the Temple. They gave it to the men who supervise the work on the Lord’s Temple.” ¹⁰ Then he told the king, “And Hilkiah the priest also gave this book to me.” Then Shaphan read the book to the king.

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes to show he was sad and upset. ¹² Then he gave a command to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant. ¹³ King Josiah said, “Go and ask the Lord what we should do. Ask for me, for the people, and for all Judah. Ask about the words of this book that was found. The Lord is angry with us, because our ancestors did not listen to the words of this book. They did not obey all the commands that were written for us.”

Josiah and Huldah the Prophetess

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the woman prophet. Huldah was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas. He took care of the priests’ clothes. Huldah was living in the second quarter in Jerusalem. They went and talked with Huldah.

¹⁵ Then Huldah said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me: ¹⁶ ‘The Lord says this: I am bringing trouble on this place and on the people who live here. These are the troubles that are mentioned in the book that the king of Judah read. ¹⁷ The people of Judah have left me and have burned incense to other gods. They made me very angry. They made many idols. That is why I will show my anger against this place. My anger will be like a fire that cannot be stopped!’

^18-19 “King Josiah of Judah sent you to ask advice from the Lord. Tell Josiah that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You heard the words I spoke against this place and those who live here. And when you heard those things, your heart was soft, and you showed your sorrow before the Lord. I said that terrible things would happen to this place. So you tore your clothes to show your sadness, and you began to cry. That is why I heard you.’ This is what the Lord says. ²⁰ ‘I will bring you to be with your ancestors. You will die and go to your grave in peace. So your eyes will not see all the trouble that I am bringing on this place.’”

Then Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah gave that message to the king.

The People Hear the Law

23 King Josiah told all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem to come and meet with him. ² Then the king went up to the Lord’s Temple. All the people of Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem went with him. The priests, the prophets, and all the people—from the least important to the most important—went with him. Then he read the Book of the Agreement. This was the Book of the Law that was found in the Lord’s Temple. Josiah read the book so that all the people could hear it.

³ The king stood by the column and made an agreement with the Lord. He promised to follow the Lord and to obey his commands, the laws, and his rules. He promised to do this with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey the agreement written in this book. All the people stood to show that they promised to follow the agreement.

⁴ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the other priests, and the gatekeepers to bring out of the Lord’s Temple all the dishes and things that were made to honor Baal, Asherah, and the stars of heaven. Then Josiah burned those things outside Jerusalem in the fields in Kidron Valley. Then they carried the ashes to Bethel.

⁵ The kings of Judah had chosen some ordinary men to serve as priests. These false priests were burning incense at the high places in every city of Judah and all the towns around Jerusalem. They burned incense to honor Baal, the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky. But Josiah stopped those false priests.

⁶ Josiah removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s Temple. He took the Asherah pole outside the city to the Kidron Valley and burned it there. Then he beat the burned pieces into dust and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people.^[b]

⁷ Then King Josiah broke down the houses of the male prostitutes who were in the Lord’s Temple. Women also used these houses and made little tent covers to honor the false goddess Asherah.

^8-9 At that time the priests did not bring the sacrifices to Jerusalem and offer them on the Lord’s altar in the Temple. The priests lived in cities all over Judah. They burned incense and offered sacrifices at the high places in those cities. The high places were everywhere, from Geba to Beersheba. And the priests ate their unleavened bread in those towns with the ordinary people—not at the special place for priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. But King Josiah ruined the high places and brought the priests to Jerusalem. Josiah also destroyed the high places that were on the left side of the city gate, by the Gate of Joshua. (Joshua was the ruler of the city.)

¹⁰ Topheth was a place in the Valley of Hinnom’s Son where people killed their children and burned them on an altar to honor the false god Molech.^[c] Josiah ruined that place so that no one could use it again. ¹¹ In the past the kings of Judah had put some horses and a chariot near the entrance to the Lord’s Temple. This was near the room of an important official named Nathan Melech. The horses and chariot were to honor the sun god.^[d] Josiah removed the horses and burned the chariot.

¹² In the past the kings of Judah had built altars on the roof of Ahab’s building. King Manasseh had also built altars in the two courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. Josiah destroyed all the altars and threw the broken pieces into the Kidron Valley.

¹³ In the past King Solomon built some high places on Destroyer Hill near Jerusalem. The high places were on the south side of that hill. King Solomon built one of these places of worship to honor Ashtoreth, that horrible thing the people of Sidon worship. He also built one to honor Chemosh, that horrible thing the Moabites worship. And King Solomon built one high place to honor Milcom, that horrible thing the Ammonites worship. But King Josiah ruined all these places of worship. ¹⁴ He broke all the memorial stones and Asherah poles. Then he scattered dead men’s bones over that place.^[e]

¹⁵ Josiah also broke down the altar and high place at Bethel. Jeroboam son of Nebat had made this altar. Jeroboam caused Israel to sin.^[f] Josiah broke down both that altar and the high place. He broke the stones of the altar to pieces. Then he beat it into dust and he burned the Asherah pole. ¹⁶ Josiah looked around and saw graves on the mountain. He sent men, and they took the bones from the graves. Then he burned the bones on the altar. In this way Josiah ruined the altar. This happened according to the message from the Lord that the man of God announced.^[g] The man of God announced these things when Jeroboam stood beside the altar at the feast.

Then Josiah looked around and saw the grave of the man of God.^[h]

¹⁷ Josiah said, “What is that monument I see?”

The people of the city told him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah. This man of God told about the things you have done to the altar at Bethel. He said them a long time ago.”

¹⁸ Josiah said, “Leave the man of God alone. Don’t move his bones.” So they left his bones and the bones of the man of God from Samaria.

¹⁹ Josiah also destroyed all the temples at the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had built those temples, which had made the Lord very angry. Josiah destroyed them, just as he had destroyed the place of worship at Bethel.

²⁰ Josiah killed all the priests of the high places that were in Samaria. He killed the priests on those altars and burned men’s bones on the altars so that they could never be used again. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

The People of Judah Celebrate Passover

²¹ Then King Josiah gave a command to all the people. He said, “Celebrate the Passover for the Lord your God. Do this just as it is written in the Book of the Agreement.”

²² The people had not celebrated a Passover like this since the days when the judges ruled Israel. None of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah ever had such a big celebration for Passover. ²³ They celebrated this Passover for the Lord in Jerusalem during Josiah’s 18th year as king.

²⁴ Josiah destroyed the mediums, wizards, the house gods, the idols, and all the horrible things people worshiped in Judah and Jerusalem. He did this to obey the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the Lord’s Temple.

²⁵ There had never been a king like Josiah before. Josiah turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength.^[i] No king had followed all the Law of Moses like Josiah. And there has never been another king like Josiah since that time.

²⁶ But the Lord did not stop being angry with the people of Judah. He was still angry with them for everything that Manasseh had done. ²⁷ The Lord said, “I forced the Israelites to leave their land. I will do the same to Judah. I will take Judah out of my sight. I will not accept Jerusalem. Yes, I chose that city. I was talking about Jerusalem when I said, ‘My name will be there.’ But I will destroy the Temple that is in that place.”

²⁸ All the other things that Josiah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah.

The Death of Josiah

²⁹ While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, went to fight against the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. Josiah went out to meet Neco at Megiddo. Pharaoh saw Josiah and killed him. ³⁰ Josiah’s officers put his body in a chariot and carried him from Megiddo to Jerusalem. They buried Josiah in his own grave.

Then the common people took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and anointed him. They made Jehoahaz the new king.

Jehoahaz Becomes King of Judah

³¹ Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. He ruled three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. ³² Jehoahaz did what the Lord said was wrong. He did all the same things that his ancestors had done.

³³ Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Jehoahaz could not rule in Jerusalem. Pharaoh Neco forced Judah to pay 7500 pounds^[j] of silver and 75 pounds^[k] of gold.

³⁴ Pharaoh Neco made Josiah’s son Eliakim the new king. Eliakim took the place of Josiah his father. Pharaoh Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh Neco took Jehoahaz away to Egypt where he died. ³⁵ Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh. But Jehoiakim made the common people pay taxes and used that money to give to Pharaoh Neco. So everyone paid their share of silver and gold, and King Jehoiakim gave the money to Pharaoh Neco.

³⁶ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. ³⁷ Jehoiakim did what the Lord said was wrong. He did all the same things his ancestors had done.

Josiah, King of Judah

34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. ² He lived in a way that pleased the Lord, always doing what was right, as his ancestor David had done. Josiah never changed this way of life. ³ When Josiah was in his eighth year as king, he began to follow the God worshiped by David his ancestor. He was still young when he began to obey God. When he was in his twelfth year as king he began to destroy the high places, the Asherah poles, and idols that were carved and idols that were made from molds from Judah and Jerusalem. ⁴ As Josiah watched, the people broke down the altars for the Baal gods. Then he cut down the incense altars that stood high above the people. He broke the idols that were carved and the idols that were made from molds. He beat the idols into powder and sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices to the Baal gods. ⁵ Josiah even burned the bones of the priests who had served the Baal gods on their own altars. This is how he destroyed idols and idol worship from Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ Josiah did the same for the towns in the areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and all the way to Naphtali. He did the same for the ruins near all these towns.^{[a] 7} Josiah broke down the altars and the Asherah poles. He beat the idols into powder. He cut down all the incense altars used for Baal worship in all the country of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸ When Josiah was in his 18th year as king of Judah, he sent Shaphan, Maaseiah, and Joah to rebuild and repair the Temple of the Lord his God. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah. Maaseiah was the city leader. Joah, who was the son of Joahaz, wrote about what happened.

So Josiah commanded the Temple to be repaired so that he could make Judah and the Temple clean. ⁹ These men came to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money that people gave for God’s Temple. The Levite doorkeepers had collected this money from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from all the Israelites who were left. They also collected this money from all Judah, Benjamin, and all the people living in Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then the Levites paid the men who supervised the work on the Lord’s Temple. And the supervisors paid the workers who repaired the Lord’s Temple. ¹¹ They gave the money to carpenters and builders to buy large rocks that were already cut, and to buy wood. The wood was used to rebuild the buildings and to make beams for the buildings. In the past, the kings of Judah did not take care of the Temple buildings. The buildings had become old and ruined. ^12-13 The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah. Jahath and Obadiah were Levites, and they were descendants of Merari. Other supervisors were Zechariah and Meshullam. They were descendants of Kohath. The Levites who were skilled in playing instruments of music also supervised the laborers and all the other workers. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officials, and doorkeepers.

The Book of the Law Found

¹⁴ The Levites brought out the money that was in the Lord’s Temple. At that time Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that was given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s house.^[b]” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶ Shaphan brought the book to King Josiah. Shaphan reported to the king, “Your servants are doing everything you told them to do. ¹⁷ They got the money that was in the Lord’s Temple and are paying the supervisors and the workers.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan said to King Josiah, “Hilkiah the priest gave a book to me.” Then Shaphan read from the book in front of the king. ¹⁹ When King Josiah heard the words of the law being read, he tore his clothes.^{[c] 20} Then the king gave a command to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant. ²¹ The king said, “Go, ask the Lord for me and for the people who are left in Israel and in Judah. Ask about the words in the book that was found. The Lord is very angry with us because our ancestors did not obey the Lord’s word. They did not do everything this book says to do.”

²² Hilkiah and the king’s servants^[d] went to the newer part of Jerusalem to see Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, whose father was Hasrah. Shallum had the job of taking care of the king’s clothes. Hilkiah and the king’s servants told Huldah what had happened. ²³ Huldah said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell King Josiah that ²⁴ the Lord says, ‘I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. I will bring all the terrible things that are written in the book that was read in front of the king of Judah. ²⁵ I will do this because the people left me and burned incense to other gods. They made me angry because of all the bad things they have done. So I will pour out my anger on this place. Like a hot burning fire, my anger will not be put out!’

²⁶ “Go back to King Josiah of Judah, who sent you to ask what the Lord wants. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard being read: ²⁷ Josiah, when you heard my words against this city and its people, you were sorry and humbled yourself before me. You even tore your clothes to show your sorrow and cried before me. Because your heart was tender, I the Lord, have heard you. ²⁸ I will take you to be with your ancestors.^[e] You will go to your grave in peace. You will not have to see any of the trouble that I will bring on this place and on the people living here.’” Hilkiah and the king’s servants brought back this message to King Josiah.

²⁹ Then King Josiah called for all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to come and meet with him. ³⁰ The king went up to the Lord’s Temple. All the people from Judah, the people living in Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, both important and not important, were with Josiah. He read to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement. That book was found in the Lord’s Temple. ³¹ Then the king stood up in his place. He made an agreement with the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. He agreed to obey with all his heart and soul the words of the agreement written in this book. ³² Then Josiah made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to accept the agreement. The people of Jerusalem obeyed the agreement of God, the God their ancestors obeyed. ³³ The Israelites had idols from many different countries, but Josiah destroyed all the terrible idols. He made all the people in Israel serve the Lord their God. And as long as Josiah was alive, the people continued to serve the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

Josiah Celebrates Passover

35 King Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was killed on the 14th day of the first month. ² Josiah chose the priests to do their duties. He encouraged the priests while they were serving in the Lord’s Temple. ³ He spoke to the Levites who taught the Israelites and who were made holy for service to the Lord. He said to the Levites, “Put the Holy Box in the Temple that Solomon built. Solomon was David’s son. David was king of Israel. Don’t carry the Holy Box from place to place on your shoulders again. Now serve the Lord your God and his people, the Israelites. ⁴ Make yourselves ready for service in the Temple by your tribes. Do the jobs that King David and his son King Solomon gave you to do. ⁵ Stand in the Holy Place with a group of Levites. Do this for each different tribe of the people so that you can help them. ⁶ Kill the Passover lambs and make yourselves holy to the Lord. Get ready to help your fellow Israelites. Do everything the Lord commanded us in the laws he gave to Moses.”

⁷ Josiah gave the Israelites 30,000 sheep and goats to kill for the Passover sacrifices. He also gave 3000 cattle to the people. All these animals were from King Josiah’s own animals. ⁸ Josiah’s officials also freely gave animals and things to the people, to the priests, and Levites to use for the Passover. Hilkiah the high priest, Zechariah, and Jehiel were the officials in charge of the Temple. They gave the priests 2600 lambs and goats and 300 bulls for Passover sacrifices. ⁹ Also Conaniah with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad gave 500 sheep and goats and 500 bulls for Passover sacrifices to the Levites. These men were leaders of the Levites.

¹⁰ When everything was ready for the Passover service to begin, the priests and Levites went to their places. This is what the king commanded. ¹¹ The Passover lambs were killed. Then the Levites skinned the animals and gave the blood to the priests. The priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. ¹² Then they gave the animals to be used for burnt offerings to the different tribes. This was done so that the burnt offerings could be offered to the Lord the way the Law of Moses taught. And they did the same with the bulls. ¹³ The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire in the way they were commanded. And they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. Then they quickly gave the meat to the people. ¹⁴ After this was finished, the Levites got meat for themselves and for the priests who were descendants of Aaron. These priests were kept very busy, working until it got dark. They worked hard burning the burnt offerings and the fat of the sacrifices. ¹⁵ The Levite singers from Asaph’s family got in the places that King David had chosen for them to stand. They were Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. The gatekeepers at each gate did not have to leave their places because their brother Levites made everything ready for them for the Passover.

¹⁶ So everything was done that day for the worship of the Lord as King Josiah commanded. The Passover was celebrated and the burnt offerings were offered on the Lord’s altar. ¹⁷ The Israelites who were there celebrated Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. ¹⁸ Passover hadn’t been celebrated like this since the time of Samuel the prophet! None of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover like this. King Josiah, the priests, the Levites, and the people of Judah and Israel who were there with all the people in Jerusalem celebrated the Passover in a very special way. ¹⁹ They celebrated this Passover in Josiah’s 18th year as king.

The Death of Josiah

²⁰ Josiah did all these good things for the Temple. Later, King Neco of Egypt led an army to fight against the town of Carchemish on the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to fight against Neco. ²¹ But Neco sent messengers to Josiah.

They said, “King Josiah, this war is not your problem. I didn’t come to fight against you. I came to fight my enemies. God told me to hurry. He is on my side, so don’t bother me. If you fight against me, God will destroy you!”

²² But Josiah did not go away. He put on different clothes to hide who he was and went to fight the battle. Josiah refused to listen to the warning Neco had received from God and went to fight on the plain of Megiddo. ²³ Then King Josiah was shot by arrows while he was in the battle. He told his servants, “Take me away, I am wounded badly!”

²⁴ So the servants took Josiah out of his chariot and put him in another chariot he had brought with him to the battle. Then they took Josiah to Jerusalem. He died there and was buried in the tombs where his ancestors were buried. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem were very sad because Josiah was dead. ²⁵ Jeremiah wrote and sang some funeral songs for Josiah. And the men and women singers still sing these sad songs today. It became something the people of Israel always do—they sing a sad song for Josiah. These songs are written in the book, Funeral Songs.

^26-27 Everything else Josiah did while he was king, from the beginning to the end of his rule, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. The book tells about the way he served God faithfully by obeying the law of the Lord.