2 Chronicles
Chapter 34
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.
2 He did what was good in God’s eyes and followed the path of his ancestor David, without turning to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighth year of being king, when he was still young, he started to look for the God of his ancestor David. By the twelfth year, he started to clean Judah and Jerusalem of the hill shrines, sacred trees, carved idols, and metal gods.
4 They destroyed the altars of Baal in front of him, and the statues that were high up, he chopped down; also the sacred poles, the engraved idols, and the cast idols, he smashed into pieces and turned into dust, and scattered the dust on the graves of those who had worshiped them.
5 He burned the priests’ bones on their altars and purified Judah and Jerusalem.
6 He did the same in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and even Naphtali, using their tools all around.
7 After he destroyed the altars and sacred poles, smashed the carved images into dust, and chopped down all the idols all over Israel, he went back to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his rule, after he cleaned the country and the temple, he sent Shaphan, Azaliah’s son, Maaseiah, the city’s leader, and Joah, Joahaz’s son, the historian, to fix God’s temple.
9 When they arrived at High Priest Hilkiah’s, they gave him the money that was collected at God’s house. The doorkeepers, who were Levites, had collected it from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim, the rest of Israel, and from everyone in Judah and Benjamin. Then they went back to Jerusalem.
10 They gave it to the workers in charge of God’s house, and they paid the workers who repaired and fixed God’s house.
11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy cut stones and timber for joining, and to repair the houses that the Judah kings had ruined.
12 The men worked with trust, and Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from Merari’s family, with Zechariah and Meshullam, from the Kohathites, led them. The Levites who were skilled in music also helped.
13 They were also in charge of the laborers and supervised everyone working in any service. Among the Levites, there were secretaries, officials, and gatekeepers.
14 When they took out the money that was brought into God’s house, the priest Hilkiah found a book of God’s law given by Moses.
15 Hilkiah replied to Shaphan the writer, “I have found the law book in God’s house.” Then Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.
16 Shaphan took the book to the king, and told him, “Your servants are doing everything they were told to do.”
17 They collected the money found in God’s house and gave it to the managers and the workers.
18 Then Shaphan the writer told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it to the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.
20 The king told Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah, the king’s servant:
21 Go, ask God for me, and for those who remain in Israel and Judah, about the messages in the found book: for God’s anger is great against us, because our ancestors did not follow God’s commands written in this book.
22 Hilkiah and the men the king chose went to Huldah the prophetess, Shallum’s wife, who was Tikvath’s grandson and the son of Hasrah who took care of clothes. She lived in Jerusalem at the school, and they talked to her about this.
23 She replied to them, “This is what God of Israel says: Tell the man who sent you to me,
24 God says, “I will bring trouble to this place and to everyone living here, all the bad things written in the book they read to the king of Judah.”
25 Because they have left me and worshiped other gods, making me angry with what they have done, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be stopped.
26 Regarding the king of Judah who told you to ask God, this is what you should say to him: This is what God of Israel says about what you heard.
27 Because your heart was soft, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words about this place and its people, and you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes, and cried before me; I have heard you too, says God.
28 Look, I will take you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the bad things I will bring on this place and its people. Then they told the king what was said.
29 The king sent for and brought together all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30 The king went to God’s house with all the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else, both important and not. He read to them every word from the book of the promise found in God’s house.
31 The king stood where he was and promised before God to follow God, to obey His commands, His teachings, and His laws with all his heart and soul, and to do what the agreement written in this book says.
32 He made everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin agree to it. The people of Jerusalem followed God’s agreement, the God of their ancestors.
33 Josiah removed all the bad things from the lands of the Israelites and had everyone in Israel serve God. During his life, they continued to follow God, the God of their ancestors.