The Daily Audio Bible

¹⁴ Later, Manasseh rebuilt the eastern section of Jerusalem's outer wall and made it taller. This section went from Gihon Valley north to Fish Gate and around the part of the city called Mount Ophel. He also assigned army officers to each of the fortified cities in Judah.^[a]

¹⁵ Manasseh also removed the idols and the stone image of the foreign god from the temple, and he gathered the altars he had built near the temple and in other parts of Jerusalem. He threw all these things outside the city. ¹⁶ Then he repaired the Lord's altar and offered sacrifices to thank him and sacrifices to ask his blessing.^[b] He gave orders that everyone in Judah must worship the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁷ The people obeyed Manasseh, but they worshiped the Lord at their own shrines.

¹⁸ Everything else Manasseh did while he was king, including his prayer to the Lord God and the warnings from his prophets, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁹ Hozai^[c] wrote a lot about Manasseh, including his prayer and God's answer. But Hozai also recorded the evil things Manasseh did before turning back to God, as well as a list of places where Manasseh set up idols, and where he built local shrines and places to worship Asherah. ²⁰ Manasseh died and was buried near the palace, and his son Amon became king.

King Amon of Judah

(2 Kings 21.19-26)

²¹ Amon was 22 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 2 years. ²² Amon disobeyed the Lord, just as his father Manasseh had done, and he worshiped and offered sacrifices to the idols his father had made. ²³ Manasseh had turned back to the Lord, but Amon refused to do that. Instead, he sinned even more than his father.

²⁴ Some of Amon's officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. ²⁵ But the people of Judah killed the murderers of Amon and made his son Josiah king.

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^[d] in Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the sacred poles^[e] 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.^[f]

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^[g] 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,^[h] 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,^[i] 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^[j] 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.

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, a faithful servant of Christ.

Greet Aristobulus and his family.

¹¹ Greet Herodion, who is a relative^[a] of mine.

Greet Narcissus and the others in his family, who have faith in the Lord.

¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work hard for the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis. She also works hard for the Lord.

^13 (A) Greet Rufus, that special servant of the Lord, and greet his mother, who has been like a mother to me.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, and Hermas, as well as our friends who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all of God's people who are with them.

¹⁶ Be sure to give each other a warm greeting.

All of Christ's churches greet you.

¹⁷ My friends, I beg you to watch out for anyone who causes trouble and divides the church by refusing to do what all of you were taught. Stay away from them! ¹⁸ They want to serve themselves and not Christ the Lord. Their flattery and fancy talk fool people who don't know any better. ¹⁹ I am glad that everyone knows how well you obey the Lord. But still, I want you to understand what is good and not have anything to do with evil. ²⁰ Then God, who gives peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. I pray that our Lord Jesus will be kind to you.

^21 (B) Timothy, who works with me, sends his greetings, and so do my relatives,^[b] Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater.

²² I, Tertius, also send my greetings. I am a follower of the Lord, and I wrote this letter.^[c]

^23-24 (C) Gaius welcomes me and the whole church into his home, and he sends his greetings.

Erastus, the city treasurer, and our dear friend Quartus send their greetings too.^[d]

Paul's Closing Prayer

²⁵ Praise God! He can make you strong by means of my good news, which is the message about^[e] Jesus Christ. For ages and ages this message was kept secret, ²⁶ but now at last it has been told. The eternal God commanded his prophets to write about the good news, so that all nations would obey and have faith. ^27 (D) And now, because of Jesus Christ, we can praise the only wise God forever! Amen.^[f]

(By David.)

The Prayer of an Innocent Person