3
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, and the Asherah poles, and the carved images, and the molten images.
4
And they broke down the altars of the Baalim in his presence, and the sun images that were on high above them he cut down; and the Asherah poles and the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of those who had sacrificed unto them.
5
And he burned the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6
And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
7
And when he had broken down the altars and the Asherah poles, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, 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 the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
9
And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
10
And they put it in the hand of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who wrought in the house of the LORD to repair and mend the house.
11
Even to the artificers and builders they gave it to buy hewn stone and timber for couplings and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
12
And the men did the work faithfully. And the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to move it forward, and others of the Levites, all who had skill with instruments of music.
13
Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all who wrought the work in any manner of service; and of the Levites there were scribes and officers and doorkeepers.