Old/New Testament

Josiah King of Judah

34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled 31 years in Jerusalem. ² He did what the Lord said was right. He did good things as his ancestor David had done. Josiah did not stop doing what was right.

³ In his eighth year as king, Josiah began to obey the God his ancestor David had followed. This was while Josiah was still young. In his twelfth year as king, Josiah began to remove the false gods from Judah and Jerusalem. He destroyed the places for worshiping false gods. He removed the Asherah idols and the wooden and metal idols. ⁴ The people tore down the altars for the Baal gods as Josiah directed. Then Josiah cut down the incense altars that were above them. He broke up the Asherah idols and the wooden and metal idols. He beat them into powder. Then he sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices to these gods. ⁵ He burned the bones of their priests on their own altars. So Josiah removed idol worship from Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ He did the same for the towns in the areas of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He did this all the way to Naphtali. And he did the same for the ruins near these towns. ⁷ Josiah broke down the altars and Asherah idols. Then he beat the idols into powder. He cut down all the incense altars in all of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸ In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king, he made Judah and the Temple pure again. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city leader and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder. They were to repair the Temple of the Lord, the God of Josiah. ⁹ These men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money the people had given for the Temple of God. The Levite doorkeepers had collected this money from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and all the Israelites who were left alive. They also collected this money from all the people of Judah, Benjamin and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then the Levites gave it to the men who directed the work on the Temple of the Lord. And these supervisors paid the workers that rebuilt and repaired the Temple. ¹¹ They gave money to carpenters and builders to buy cut rocks and wood. The wood was used to rebuild the buildings and to make beams for them. The kings of Judah had let the buildings become ruins. ¹² The men did their work well. Their supervisors were Jahath, Obadiah, Zechariah and Meshullam. Jahath and Obadiah were Levites from the family of Merari. Zechariah and Meshullam were from the family of Kohath. These Levites were all skilled musicians. ¹³ They were in charge of the workers who carried things and all the other workers. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officers and doorkeepers.

The Law Is Found

¹⁴ The Levites brought out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. As they were doing this, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Lord’s Teachings. These teachings had been given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the royal assistant, “I’ve found the Book of the Teachings. It was in the Temple of the Lord!” He gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to Josiah: “Your officers are doing everything you told them to do. ¹⁷ They have paid out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. They have given it to the supervisors and the workers.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the royal assistant told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from the book to the king.

¹⁹ The king heard the words of the Teachings. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. ²⁰ He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan. He also gave them to Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan and Asaiah. Shaphan was the royal assistant. And Asaiah was the king’s servant. These were the orders: ²¹ “Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book that was found. Ask for me and for the people who are left alive in Israel and Judah. 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 So Hilkiah and those the king sent with him left. They went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas. Harhas took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.

²³ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. I will bring all the curses that are written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. ²⁵ The people of Judah have left me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the bad things they have made. So I will punish them in my anger. My anger will not be stopped.’ ²⁶ Tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard: ²⁷ You heard my words against this place and its people. And you became sorry for what you had done. You became sorry in my presence. You tore your clothes to show how upset you were. And you cried in my presence. This is why I have heard you, says the Lord. ²⁸ So I will let you die. You will be buried in peace. You won’t see all the trouble that I will bring to this place and the people living here.’”

So they took her message back to the king.

²⁹ Then the king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together. ³⁰ He went up to the Temple of the Lord. All the men from Judah and the people from Jerusalem went with him. The priests and the Levites and all the people—from the most important to the least important—went with him. He read to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement. That book was found in the Temple of the Lord. ³¹ Then the king stood by his pillar. He made an agreement in the presence of the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord and to obey his commands, rules and laws with his whole being. And he agreed to obey 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 And Josiah threw out the hated idols from all the land that belonged to the Israelites. He led everyone in Israel to serve the Lord their God. While Josiah lived, the people obeyed the Lord, the God their ancestors obeyed.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

35 King Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was killed on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² Josiah chose the priests to do their duties. And he encouraged them as they served in the Temple of the Lord. ³ The Levites taught the Israelites and were made holy for service to the Lord. Josiah said to them: “When David’s son Solomon was king of Israel, he built the Temple. Put the Ark of the Covenant in that Temple. Do not carry it from place to place on your shoulders anymore. Now serve the Lord your God and his people the Israelites. ⁴ Prepare yourselves by your family groups for service. Do the jobs that King David and his son Solomon gave you to do.

⁵ “Stand in the holy place with a group of the Levites. Do this for each family group of the people so you may help them. ⁶ Kill the Passover lambs. Make yourselves holy to the Lord. And prepare the lambs for your relatives, the people of Israel. Do everything the Lord through Moses commanded us to do.”

⁷ Josiah gave the Israelites 30,000 sheep and goats to kill for the Passover sacrifices. He also gave them 3,000 cattle. They were all King Josiah’s own animals.

⁸ Josiah’s officers also gave willingly to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel were the officers in charge of the Temple. They gave the priests 2,600 lambs and goats and 300 cattle for Passover sacrifices. ⁹ Also Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad gave the Levites animals. They gave 5,000 sheep and goats and 500 cattle for Passover sacrifices. These men were leaders of the Levites.

¹⁰ When everything was ready for the Passover service, the priests and Levites went to their places. This is what the king had 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 for the burnt offerings to the different family groups. This was done so the burnt offerings could be offered to the Lord as the Law of Moses taught. They also did this with the cattle. ¹³ The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire as 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 prepared meat for themselves and for the priests. The priests were the descendants of Aaron. The priests worked until night, offering the burnt offerings and burning the fat of the sacrifices.

¹⁵ The Levite singers were from Asaph’s family. They stood in the places King David had chosen for them. They were Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, the king’s seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not have to leave their places. This was because their fellow Levites had prepared everything for them for the Passover.

¹⁶ So everything was done that day for the worship of the Lord. And it was done 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 the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. ¹⁸ The Passover had not been celebrated like this in Israel since the prophet Samuel was alive. None of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated a Passover like this. King Josiah, the priests and the Levites celebrated it. And the people of Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem celebrated it. ¹⁹ This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year Josiah was king.

The Death of Josiah

²⁰ So Josiah did all this for the Temple. After this, King Neco of Egypt led an army to attack Carchemish. It was a town on the Euphrates River. And Josiah marched out to fight against Neco. ²¹ But Neco sent messengers to Josiah. They said, “King Josiah, there should not be war between us. I did not come to fight you, but my enemies. God told me to hurry, and he is on my side. So don’t fight God, or he will destroy you.”

²² But Josiah did not go away. He wore different clothes so no one would know who he was. He refused to listen to what Neco said at God’s command. So Josiah went to fight on the plain of Megiddo. ²³ In the battle King Josiah was shot by arrows. He told his servants, “Take me away. I am badly wounded.” ²⁴ So they took him out of his chariot. And they put him in another chariot he had brought to the battle. Then they took him to Jerusalem where he died. He was buried in the graves where his ancestors were buried. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem were very sad because he was dead.

²⁵ Jeremiah wrote some sad songs about Josiah. Even to this day all the men and women singers remember and honor Josiah with these songs. It became a custom in Israel to sing these songs. They are written in the collection of sad songs.

^26-27 The other things Josiah did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written down. They are in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. It tells how he loved the Lord and obeyed the Lord’s teachings.

Jehoahaz King of Judah

36 The people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz. They made him king in Jerusalem in his father’s place.

² Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months. ³ Then King Neco of Egypt made Jehoahaz no longer a king in Jerusalem. Neco made the people of Judah pay about 7,500 pounds of silver and about 75 pounds of gold. ⁴ The king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim the king of Judah and Jerusalem. Then Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz to Egypt.

Jehoiakim King of Judah

⁵ Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. He did what the Lord his God said was wrong. ⁶ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Judah. He captured Jehoiakim and put bronze chains on him. Then Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar took some of the things from the Temple of the Lord. And he took them to Babylon and put them in his own palace.

⁸ The other things Jehoiakim did as king are written down. The hated things he did and everything he was guilty of doing are recorded. They are in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

Jehoiachin King of Judah

⁹ Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did what the Lord said was wrong. ¹⁰ In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent some servants to get Jehoiachin. They took him and some valuable treasures from the Temple of the Lord to Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah the king of Judah and Jerusalem.

Zedekiah King of Judah

¹¹ Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah. And he was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. ¹² Zedekiah did what the Lord his God said was wrong. The prophet Jeremiah spoke messages from the Lord. But Zedekiah did not obey.

Jerusalem Is Destroyed

¹³ Zedekiah turned against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had forced Zedekiah to promise to be loyal to him. And Zedekiah had promised, using God’s name. But Zedekiah became stubborn. He refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Also, all the leaders of the priests and the people of Judah became more wicked. They followed the evil example of the other nations. The Lord had made the Temple in Jerusalem holy. But the leaders made the Temple unholy.

The Fall of Jerusalem

¹⁵ The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent prophets again and again to warn his people. He did this because he had pity for them and for his Temple. ¹⁶ But they made fun of God’s prophets. They hated God’s messages. So they refused to listen to the prophets. Finally God became so angry with his people that he could not be stopped. ¹⁷ So God brought the king of Babylon to attack them. The king killed the young men even when they were in the Temple. He did not have mercy on the people. He killed both young men and women. He even killed the old men and those who were sick. God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon all the things from the Temple of God, both large and small. He took all the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and from the king and his officers. ¹⁹ Nebuchadnezzar and his army set fire to God’s Temple. They broke down Jerusalem’s wall. And they burned all the palaces. They took or destroyed every valuable thing in Jerusalem.

²⁰ Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon the people who were left alive. And he forced them to be slaves for him and his descendants. They remained there as slaves until the Persian kingdom defeated Babylon. ²¹ And so what the Lord had told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah happened. The Lord had said that place would be an empty wasteland for 70 years. This happened to make up for the years of Sabbath rests^[a] that the people had not kept.

²² It was the first year Cyrus was king of Persia. The Lord caused Cyrus to write an announcement and send it everywhere in his kingdom. This happened so the Lord’s message spoken by Jeremiah would come true.

²³ This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

19 Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be taken away and whipped. ² The soldiers used some thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown on Jesus’ head and put a purple robe around him. ³ Then they came to Jesus many times and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They hit Jesus in the face.

⁴ Again Pilate came out and said to them, “Look! I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find nothing I can charge against him.” ⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is the man!”

⁶ When the leading priests and the guards saw Jesus they shouted, “Kill him on a cross! Kill him on a cross!”

But Pilate answered, “Take him and nail him to a cross yourselves. I find nothing I can charge against him.”

⁷ The Jews answered, “We have a law that says he should die, because he said he is the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid. ⁹ He went back inside the palace and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not answer him. ¹⁰ Pilate said, “You refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know that I have power to set you free and power to have you killed on a cross?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “The only power you have over me is the power given to you by God. The man who gave me to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹² After this, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jews cried out, “Anyone who makes himself king is against Caesar. If you let this man go free, you are not Caesar’s friend.”

¹³ Pilate heard what the Jews were saying. So he brought Jesus out to the place called The Stone Pavement. (In the Jewish language^[a] the name is Gabbatha.) Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat there. ¹⁴ It was about six o’clock in the morning on Preparation Day of Passover week. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king!”

¹⁵ They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!”

Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?”

The leading priests answered, “The only king we have is Caesar!”

¹⁶ So Pilate gave Jesus to them to be killed on a cross.

Jesus Is Killed on a Cross

The soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to a place called The Place of the Skull. (In the Jewish language^[b] this place is called Golgotha.) ¹⁸ There they nailed Jesus to the cross. They also put two other men on crosses, one on each side of Jesus with Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate wrote a sign and put it on the cross. It read: “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” ²⁰ The sign was written in the Jewish language, in Latin, and in Greek. Many of the Jews read the sign, because this place where Jesus was killed was near the city. ²¹ The leading Jewish priests said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews.’ But write, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written!”