2 Chronicles 34

¹ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.

² He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his ancestor David, turning aside neither to the right nor to the left.

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast idols.

⁴ Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast idols, ground them to powder, and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

⁵ He burned the bones of the priests on their own altars, and so he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶ In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them,

⁷ he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles, crushed the carved images to powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸ In the eighteenth year of his reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the ruler of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder to repair the temple of the LORD his God.

⁹ They went to Hilkiah the high priest and handed over the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who guarded the doors had collected from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Then they entrusted it to the supervisors appointed over the work on the temple of the LORD, and these paid the workers who were repairing and restoring the temple.

¹¹ They also gave money to the carpenters and builders to buy dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.

¹² The men did the work faithfully. Over them were appointed Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath, to direct the work. The Levites, all of them skilled with musical instruments,

¹³ were in charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from task to task. Some of the Levites served as secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses.

¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, 'I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.' And he gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Shaphan brought the book to the king and reported to him: 'Your servants are doing everything that has been entrusted to them.

¹⁷ They have emptied out the money that was found in the temple of the LORD and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workers.'

¹⁸ Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, 'Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.' And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.

²⁰ And the king gave this order to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's attendant:

²¹ 'Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah about the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that has been poured out on us because our ancestors did not keep the word of the LORD and do everything written in this book.'

²² So Hilkiah and those the king had sent went to the prophet Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District, and they spoke to her about this.

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 am going to bring disaster on this place and on its people — all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah.

²⁵ Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with everything their hands have made, my wrath will be poured out on this place, and it will not be quenched."

²⁶ But tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD: This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard:

²⁷ "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me, tore your robes, and wept in my presence, I for my part have heard you, declares the LORD.

²⁸ I am going to gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on its people."' So they took her answer back to the king.

²⁹ Then the king sent word and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

³⁰ He went up to the temple of the LORD with all the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites — all the people from the greatest to the least — and he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD.

³¹ The king stood in his place and made the covenant before the LORD: to follow the LORD and keep his commands, statutes, and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

³² Then he had everyone present in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³ Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had everyone in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.