Old/New Testament
Josiah King of Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Josiah Cleanses the Land
3 In the eighth year of his reign, when he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David. In the twelfth year he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images. 4 In his presence they tore down the altars of the Baals. He chopped down the sun pillars, which stood above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images into pieces and ground them to dust, which he scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of their priests on their altars. In this way he purified Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, as well as in the ruins around them, 7 he tore down the altars, the Asherah poles, and the images. He ground them into powder. He cut to pieces all the sun pillars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Repairs the Temple
8 In the eighteenth year of his rule, in order to purify the land and the House, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Ma’aseiah the administrator of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the House of the Lord his God. 9 They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, from all of the remnant of Israel, and from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the residents of Jerusalem. 10 They gave it to those doing the work, to the ones who were organized to work in the House of the Lord. Those who were doing the work in the House of the Lord used it to repair and restore the building. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stones and timbers for joists and beams for the buildings which the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.
12 The men were doing the work faithfully. The supervisors appointed to oversee the work were Jahath and Obadiah, who were Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, who were Levites descended from Kohath. These Levites were all skillful with musical instruments. 13 They were in charge of the people transporting material and were overseers for all those doing the different kinds of work. Some of the Levites also served as scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
14 When they brought out the silver that had been brought into the House of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been received from the hand of Moses. 15 Hilkiah responded by telling Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of the Lord.” Hilkiah then gave the scroll to Shaphan.
16 Shaphan brought the scroll to the king. He also brought this report to the king: “Your servants are doing everything they were assigned to do. 17 They have emptied the silver found in the House of the Lord from the chest and have delivered it to the overseers and to the workmen.”
18 Shaphan the secretary then told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. 19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothing.
20 The king gave this command to Hilkiah and to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah servant of the king:[a] 21 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for those who remain in Israel and in Judah concerning the words of the book which has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is being poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord by doing everything that is written in this book.”
22 Hilkiah and the men the king sent with him went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah,[b] the keeper of the vestments.[c] She was living in Jerusalem in the Second District. They spoke to her concerning this matter.
23 She told them:
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Tell the man who sent you to me that 24 this is what the Lord says:
Look! I am bringing disaster on this place and on its inhabitants—all the curses written in the book which they read before the king of Judah— 25 because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with all the work of their hands. My anger will be poured out on this place. It will not be quenched.
26 To the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, you will also say this:
The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken the words which you have heard. 27 But because your heart was receptive, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you have humbled yourself before me, have ripped your clothing, and have wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.
28 Listen to my response! I will gather you to your fathers. You will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.
They brought back this message to the king.
The Book of the Covenant Is Read and Followed
29 The king then summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the House of the Lord with all the men of Judah, with the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people from the least to the greatest. In their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the House of the Lord.
31 The king stood in his place by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord to walk in the way of the Lord, to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, and to uphold the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
32 Then he made all those who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand up and do the same. The inhabitants of Jerusalem acted according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
Josiah Cleanses the Land
33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands that belonged to the people of Israel. He influenced everyone in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout all his days, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their fathers.
Josiah Celebrates a Passover
35 Josiah celebrated a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their offices. He encouraged them in the service for the House of the Lord.
3 He said this to the Levites, who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord:
Keep the holy ark in the house built by Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel. Do not carry it on your shoulders anymore. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves according to your divisions, by your fathers’ house, as instructed by David king of Israel and his son Solomon.
5 Take up your positions in this holy place with a group of Levites assigned to each fathers’ house of your brothers, the people of Israel. Part of a fathers’ house of the Levites is assigned to each group. 6 Slaughter the Passover lamb. Consecrate yourselves. Prepare it for your brother Israelites according to the word of the Lord through Moses.
7 Josiah contributed a total of thirty thousand lambs and young goats as Passover offerings for all the people who were present, and three thousand cattle. These were contributed from the possessions of the king. 8 His officials contributed toward a voluntary offering on behalf of the people, the priests, and the Levites.
Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the House of God, gave the priests twenty-six hundred lambs for Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.
9 Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, with Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, contributed five thousand Passover lambs and five hundred cattle to the Levites.
10 When preparations for the service had been completed, the priests stood in their places, and the Levites stood in their divisions as the king had commanded. 11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests applied the blood they had received, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They set aside the burnt offerings to present them on behalf of the groups of fathers’ houses of the people, to offer them to the Lord as is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. 13 They roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the regulation. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They distributed them quickly to all the people.
14 Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were busy offering the burnt offerings and the fat portions until it was nighttime. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
15 The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were in their places according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer.
The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their assigned posts because their brother Levites prepared the Passover for them.
16 So all the service for the Lord was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah.
17 The people of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and also the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.
18 No Passover like it had been celebrated in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests and the Levites, and with all Judah and Israel, whoever was present, and with the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.
Josiah’s Death
20 After all this, when Josiah had restored the House, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.
21 Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What do we have to do with each other, King of Judah? I am not against you this day, but only against the house[d] against which I am waging war. God has said that I should hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, so he will not destroy you.”
22 But Josiah did not turn aside from him. Instead, he disguised himself to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco, which were from the mouth of God, but he went out to battle on the plain near Megiddo.
23 The archers shot King Josiah, so the king said to his attendants, “Take me away, because I am badly wounded.” 24 His attendants took him out of the chariot and carried him to his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. He died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25 Jeremiah composed a lament for Josiah, and all the male and female singers have sung about Josiah in their laments right up until the present day. They made this into a customary practice in Israel. You can find them recorded among the laments.
26 The rest of the acts of Josiah and his faithful deeds, which were performed according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his actions from first to last, you can find these written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Jehoahaz King of Judah
36 The people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father. 2 Jehoahaz[e] was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned as king in Jerusalem for three months.
3 The king of Egypt removed him from the kingship in Jerusalem. He also imposed on the land a penalty of one hundred talents of silver and a talent[f] of gold. 4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim, Jehoahaz’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Neco took Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim’s brother, and carried him off to Egypt.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king. He ruled as king in Jerusalem for eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God.
6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up against him. He bound him in bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar carried off some of the vessels from the House of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon.
8 The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he committed, and the charges that were established against him, you can find written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin ruled as king in his place.
Jehoiachin King of Judah
9 Jehoiachin was eighteen[g] years old when he became king. He reigned as king for three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
10 In the spring of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent men and had him brought to Babylon, along with the precious vessels of the House of the Lord. He made his uncle[h] Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah King of Judah
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned as king in Jerusalem for eleven years.
12 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.[i] 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God. Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the officials of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, by following all the abominations of the nations and polluting the House of the Lord, which he had made holy in Jerusalem.
The Fall of Jerusalem
15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, persistently sent warnings to them through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But the people kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord rose up against his people, until there was no remedy. 17 He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. He had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. The Lord gave them all into his hand.
18 All the articles from the House of God, great and small, and the treasures of the House of the Lord and of the king and his officials—all these he brought to Babylon.
19 They burned the house of God and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings with fire. All its precious articles were destroyed.
20 He sent those who escaped from the sword into exile in Babylon. They became servants for him and for his sons until Persia took over the kingdom.
21 To fulfill the word of the Lord that had come by the mouth of Jeremiah, the land completed[j] its sabbath rests. The entire time the land was desolate, it was completing a sabbath rest, which lasted for seventy years.
Cyrus Makes a Proclamation
22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord that came by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom and put it in writing:
23 This is what Cyrus king of Persia says.
The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He himself has appointed me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. From all his people, whoever among you is willing (may the Lord his God be with him) is permitted to go up to Jerusalem.
“Behold the Man!”
19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on his head. Then they threw a purple robe around him. 3 They kept coming to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they kept hitting him in the face.
4 Pilate went outside again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.”
5 So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”
6 When the chief priests and guards saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Pilate told them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 9 He went back inside the palace again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?”
But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 So Pilate asked him, “Are you not talking to me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to release you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over me at all if it had not been given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate tried to release Jesus. But the Jews shouted, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar! Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside. He sat down on the judge’s seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, or Gabbatha in Aramaic. 14 It was about the sixth hour[a] on the Preparation Day for the Passover. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king!”
15 They shouted, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Should I crucify your king?”
“We have no king but Caesar!” the chief priests answered.
16 So then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
“They Crucified Him”
So they took Jesus away. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to what is called the Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him with two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the middle.
19 Pilate also had a notice written and fastened on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”
20 Many of the Jews read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek.
21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that ‘this man said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.