The Daily Audio Bible

¹⁴ After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of David’s City, west of the Gihon Spring in the valley, extending as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate, enclosing the elevated fortress^[a] and greatly increasing its height. He also installed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord’s temple, as well as all the altars he had built on the hill of the Lord’s temple and in Jerusalem, dumping them outside the city. ¹⁶ He restored the Lord’s altar, offered well-being sacrifices and thank offerings on it, and ordered the people of Judah to worship the Lord, Israel’s God. ¹⁷ The people, however, still sacrificed at the shrines, but only to the Lord their God. ¹⁸ The rest of Manasseh’s deeds, including his prayer to God and what the seers told him in the name of the Lord, Israel’s God, are found in the records of Israel’s kings. ¹⁹ Manasseh’s prayer and its answer, all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the locations of the shrines, sacred poles,^[b] and idols he set up before he submitted are written in the records of Hozai.^{[c] 20} Manasseh lay down with his ancestors and was buried in his palace. His son Amon succeeded him as king.

Amon rules

²¹ Amon was 22 years old when he became king, and he ruled for two years in Jerusalem. ²² He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, just as his father Manasseh had done. He sacrificed to all the idols his father had made and worshipped them. ²³ But unlike his father Manasseh, Amon didn’t submit before the Lord; instead, Amon increased his guilt. ²⁴ His own officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. ²⁵ The people of the land then executed all those who had plotted against King Amon and made his son Josiah the next king.

Josiah rules

34 Josiah was 8 years old when he became king, and he ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s eyes and walked in the ways of his ancestor David, not deviating from it even a bit to the right or left. ³ In the eighth year of his rule, while he was just a boy, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began purifying Judah and Jerusalem of the shrines, the sacred poles,^[d] idols, and images. ⁴ Under his supervision, the altars for the Baals were torn down, and the incense altars that were above them were smashed. He broke up the sacred poles, idols, and images, grinding them to dust and scattering them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, purifying Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, all the way up to Naphtali, he removed their temples,^{[e] 7} tore down the altars and sacred poles, ground the idols to dust, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then Josiah returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah repairs the temple

⁸ In the eighteenth year of his rule, after he had purified the land and the temple, Josiah sent Azaliah’s son Shaphan, Maaseiah the mayor of the city, and Joahaz’s son Joah the secretary to repair the Lord his God’s temple. ⁹ When they came to the high priest Hilkiah, they delivered the money that had been collected in God’s temple by the levitical gatekeepers from Manasseh, Ephraim, and the rest of Israel, as well as from Judah, Benjamin, and the residents of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They handed it over to the supervisors^[f] in charge of the Lord’s temple, who in turn paid it to those working on, repairing, and restoring the Lord’s temple. ¹¹ They then gave it to the carpenters and the builders to pay for quarried stone and lumber for rafters and beams in the buildings the kings of Judah had neglected. ¹² The men worked conscientiously under the supervision of Jahath and Obadiah, who were Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites. The Levites, all of whom were accomplished musicians, ¹³ were also in charge of the laborers and all the workers, no matter what their jobs, while some of the Levites served as scribes, officials, and guards.

The Instruction scroll

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the Lord’s temple, Hilkiah the priest found the Instruction scroll that the Lord had given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah told the secretary Shaphan, “I have found the Instruction scroll in the Lord’s temple.”

Then Hilkiah turned the scroll over to Shaphan, ¹⁶ who brought it to the king with this report: “Your servants are doing everything you’ve asked them to do. ¹⁷ They have released the money that was found in the Lord’s temple and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workers.” ¹⁸ Then the secretary Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a scroll,” and he read it out loud before the king.

¹⁹ As soon as the king heard what the Instruction scroll said, he ripped his clothes. ²⁰ The king ordered Hilkiah, Shaphan’s son Ahikam, Micah’s son Abdon, the secretary Shaphan, and the royal officer Asaiah as follows: ²¹ “Go and ask the Lord on my behalf, and on behalf of those who still remain in Israel and Judah, concerning the contents of this scroll that has been found. The Lord must be furious with us because our ancestors failed to obey the Lord’s word and do everything written in this scroll.”

²² So Hilkiah and the royal officials went to the prophetess Huldah. She was married to Shallum, Tokhath’s son and Hasrah’s grandson, who was in charge of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the second district. When they spoke to her, ²³ she replied, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: Tell this to the man who sent you to me: ²⁴ This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and its citizens—all the curses written in the scroll that they have read to Judah’s king. ²⁵ My anger burns against this place, never to be quenched, because they’ve deserted me and have burned incense to other gods, angering me by everything they have done.^{[g] 26} But also say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to question the Lord: This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says about the message you’ve just heard: ²⁷ Because your heart was broken and you submitted before the Lord when you heard what he said against this place and its citizens,^[h] and because you ripped your clothes and cried before me, I have listened to you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will go to your grave in peace. You won’t experience the disaster I am about to bring on this place and its citizens.”

When they reported Huldah’s words to the king, ²⁹ the king sent a message and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ Then the king went up to the Lord’s temple, together with all the people of Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people, young and old alike. There the king read out loud all the words of the covenant scroll that had been found in the Lord’s temple. ³¹ The king stood in his place and made a covenant with the Lord that he would follow the Lord by keeping his commandments, his instructions, and his regulations with all his heart and all his being, in order to fulfill the words of the covenant that were written in this scroll. ³² Then he made everyone found in Jerusalem and Benjamin join in a similar promise. The citizens of Jerusalem lived according to the covenant made with God, the God of their ancestors. ³³ Josiah got rid of all the detestable idols from all the regions that belonged to the Israelites, and he made everyone who lived in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as Josiah lived, they didn’t turn away from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

¹⁰ Say hello to Apelles, who is tried and true in Christ. Say hello to the members of the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Say hello to my relative Herodion. Say hello to the members of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. ¹² Say hello to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who are workers for the Lord. Say hello to my dear friend Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Say hello to Rufus, who is an outstanding believer, along with his mother and mine. ¹⁴ Say hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. ¹⁵ Say hello to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶ Say hello to each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ say hello to you.

Warning against divisions

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, I urge you to watch out for people who create divisions and problems against the teaching that you learned. Keep away from them. ¹⁸ People like that aren’t serving the Lord. They are serving their own feelings. They deceive the hearts of innocent people with smooth talk and flattery. ¹⁹ The news of your obedience has reached everybody, so I’m happy for you. But I want you to be wise about what’s good, and innocent about what’s evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan^[a] under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Greetings from Paul’s coworkers

²¹ Timothy my coworker says hello to you, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives. ²² I’m Tertius, and I’m writing this letter to you in the Lord—hello! ²³ Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, says hello to you. Erastus the city treasurer says hello to you, along with our brother Quartus.^[b]

Final prayer

²⁵ May the glory be to God who can strengthen you with my good news and the message that I preach about Jesus Christ. He can strengthen you with the announcement of the secret^[c] that was kept quiet for a long time. ²⁶ Now that secret is revealed through what the prophets wrote. It is made known to the Gentiles^[d] in order to lead to their faithful obedience based on the command of the eternal God. ²⁷ May the glory be to God, who alone is wise! May the glory be to him through Jesus Christ forever! Amen.

Psalm 26

Of David.