2 Chronicles 34

34 ¹ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the eyes of our Father and walked in the ways of David his father, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to seek our Father, the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast metal images. ⁴ In his presence they tore down the altars of the Baals, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images, ground them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵ He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, ^a a v6 The northern towns Josiah visited had been left largely in ruins by Assyrian conquest and deportation decades earlier. ⁷ he tore down the altars, beat the Asherah poles and the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout the whole land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

⁸ Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of our Father. ⁹ They came to Hilkiah the high priest and handed over the money that had been brought into the house of our Father, which the Levites who served as gatekeepers had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they handed it over to the workers who oversaw the house of our Father, and the workers in the house of our Father used it to repair and restore it. ¹¹ They gave it to the carpenters and builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for the joists and beams of the buildings that the kings of Judah had let fall into ruin. ¹² The men did the work faithfully. Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, were appointed over them to direct the work; and the Levites, all who were skilled musicians, ¹³ were over the laborers and directed all who did the work, task by task. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of our Father, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of our Father, given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of our Father." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Shaphan brought the book to the king and also reported to him, "Your servants are doing all that was entrusted to them. ¹⁷ They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of our Father and have handed it over to the overseers and the workmen." ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it to the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. ²⁰ And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant: ²¹ "Go, inquire of our Father for me and for those who remain in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is his wrath that has been poured out on us, because our fathers did not keep the word of our Father by doing all that is written in this book."

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

²³ She said to them, "This is what our Father, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ This is what our Father says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants — all the curses written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have forsaken me and made offerings to other gods, provoking me to anger with all the works of their hands, my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. ²⁶ But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, say this: This is what our Father, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you have heard: ²⁷ Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before our Father when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and wept before me, I myself have heard you, declares our Father. ²⁸ I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants."' " So they brought this message back to the king.

²⁹ Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the house of our Father with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem — the priests, the Levites, and all the people, both great and small. He read to them all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of our Father. ³¹ The king stood in his place and made a covenant before our Father, to follow our Father and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, carrying 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 according to the covenant of our Father, the God of their fathers. ³³ Josiah removed all the detestable things from all the territory belonging to the people of Israel, and he made everyone in Israel serve our Father, their God. As long as he lived, they did not turn away from following our Father.