1
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.
2
And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
3
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his father David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images.
4
Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
5
Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.