2 Kings 22; 2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 34; 2 Chronicles 35

1 Josiah was 8 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath.

2 Josiah did what the LORD considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped.

3 In Josiah's eighteenth year as king of Judah, he sent the scribe Shaphan, son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, to the LORD's temple with these instructions:

4 "Go to the chief priest Hilkiah. Have him count the money that has been brought into the LORD's temple, [the money] that the doorkeepers have collected from the people.

5 Give [some of] it to the foremen who are in charge of the LORD's temple. They should give it to the workmen who are making repairs on the LORD's temple.

6 (These workers include the carpenters, builders, and masons.) Also, use [the rest of] the money to buy lumber and quarried stones to repair the temple.

7 Since the workmen are honest, don't require them to account for the money you give them."

8 The chief priest Hilkiah told the scribe Shaphan, "I have found the Book of Moses' Teachings in the LORD's temple." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who then read it.

9 The scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, "We have taken the money donated in the temple and have given it to the workmen who are in charge of the LORD's temple."

10 Then the scribe Shaphan told the king, "The priest Hilkiah has given me a book." And Shaphan read it to the king.

11 When the king heard what the book of the Teachings said, he tore his clothes [in distress].

12 Then the king gave an order to the priest Hilkiah, to Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Achbor (son of Micaiah), the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said,

13 "On behalf of the people, all of Judah, and me, ask the LORD about the words in this book that has been found. The LORD's fierce anger is directed towards us because our ancestors did not obey the things in this book or do everything written [in it]."

14 So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to talk to the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas. Shallum was in charge of the [royal] wardrobe. Huldah was living in the Second Part of Jerusalem.

15 She told them, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

16 'This is what the LORD says: I'm going to bring disaster on this place and on the people living here according to everything written in the book that the king of Judah has read.

17 I will do this because they have abandoned me and sacrificed to other gods in order to make me furious. Therefore, my burning anger directed at this place will never be extinguished.'"

18 [Huldah added,] "But tell Judah's king who sent you to me to ask the LORD a question, 'This is what the LORD God of Israel says about the words you heard:

19 You had a change of heart and humbled yourself in front of the LORD when you heard my words against this place and those who live here. I had said that those who live here will be destroyed and cursed. You also tore your clothes [in distress] and cried in front of me. So I will listen [to you], declares the LORD.

20 That is why I'm going to bring you to your ancestors. I'm going to bring you to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I'm going to bring on this place.'" So they reported this to the king.

1 Then the king sent for all the respected leaders of Judah and Jerusalem to join him.

2 The king, everyone in Judah, everyone living in Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people (young and old) went to the LORD's temple. Josiah read everything written in the Book of the Promise found in the LORD's temple so that they could hear it.

3 The king stood beside the pillar and made a promise to the LORD that he would follow the LORD and obey his commands, instructions, and laws with all his heart and soul. He confirmed the terms of the promise written in this book. And all the people joined in the promise.

4 Then the king ordered the chief priest Hilkiah, the priests who served under Hilkiah, and the doorkeepers to take out of the LORD's temple all the utensils that had been made for Baal, Asherah, and the entire army of heaven. Josiah burned the utensils outside Jerusalem in an open field near the Kidron Brook. Then he carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 He got rid of the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Judah and all around Jerusalem. They had been sacrificing to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the zodiac, and the entire army of heaven.

6 He took the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah from the temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it in the Kidron Valley, ground it to dust, and threw its ashes on the tombs of the common people.

7 He tore down the houses of the male temple prostitutes who were in the LORD's temple, where women did weaving for Asherah.

8 He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah from Geba to Beersheba and made the places where those priests sacrificed unclean. He tore down the worship site at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the gate named after the mayor of the city. (The worship site was to the left of anyone going through the city gate.)

9 The priests of the illegal worship sites had never gone to the LORD's altar in Jerusalem. Instead, they ate their unleavened bread among the other worshipers.

10 Josiah also made Topheth in the valley of Ben Hinnom unclean so that people would never again sacrifice their sons or daughters by burning them to the god Molech.

11 He removed the horses that Judah's kings had dedicated to the sun god at the entrance of the LORD's temple. They were in the temple courtyard near the room of the eunuch Nathan Melech. He also burned the chariots of the sun god,

12 the altars that Judah's kings had made and placed on the roof of Ahaz's upstairs room, and the altars Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the LORD's temple. The king tore them down from there, crushed them, and dumped their rubble in the Kidron Valley.

13 The king made the illegal places of worship east of Jerusalem unclean. They were on the southern part of the Hill of Destruction. King Solomon of Israel had built them for Astarte (the disgusting goddess of the Sidonians), Chemosh (the disgusting god of Moab), and Milcom (the disgusting god of the Ammonites).

14 Josiah crushed the sacred stones, cut down the poles dedicated to Asherah, and filled their places with human bones.

15 He also tore down the altar at Bethel--the place of worship made by Jeroboam (Nebat's son), who had made Israel sin. He tore down both the altar and the place of worship. They burned the worship site, crushing it to powder and burning the pole dedicated to Asherah.

16 When Josiah turned and saw the tombs on the hill there, he sent men to take the bones out of the tombs and burn them on the altar to make it unclean. This fulfilled the word of the LORD announced by the man of God.

17 Then he asked, "What is this monument that I see?" The people of the city answered him, "It's the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah to announce that you would do these things to the altar of Bethel."

18 So Josiah said, "Let him rest. Don't disturb his bones." So they left his bones with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.

19 Josiah also got rid of all the temples at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had built these places to make the LORD furious. He did to them everything that he had done to the worship places at Bethel.

20 He slaughtered all the priests of the illegal worship sites on their altars and then burned human bones on them. He went back to Jerusalem.

21 The king ordered all the people to celebrate the Passover for the LORD their God as it is written in this Book of the Promise.

22 The Passover had never been celebrated like this during the time of the judges who governed Israel or during the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah.

23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign, this Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem for the LORD.

24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums, psychics, family idols, other idols, and disgusting gods that could be seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to confirm the words of the Teachings written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the LORD's temple.

25 No king before Josiah had turned to the LORD with all his heart, soul, and strength, as directed in Moses' Teachings. No other [king] was like Josiah.

26 But the LORD still didn't turn his hot, burning anger from Judah. After all, Manasseh had done all these things to make him furious.

27 The LORD had said, "I will put Judah out of my sight as I put Israel out of my sight. I will reject Jerusalem, the city that I chose, and I will reject the temple where I said my name would be."

28 Isn't everything else about Josiah--everything he did--written in the official records of the kings of Judah?

29 In Josiah's days Pharaoh Necoh (the king of Egypt) came to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to attack Necoh. When Pharaoh saw him at Megiddo, Pharaoh killed him.

30 His officers put his dead body in a chariot and brought it from Megiddo to Jerusalem. They buried Josiah in his tomb. Then the people of the land took Josiah's son Jehoahaz, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.

31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he was king for 3 months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

32 He did what the LORD considered evil, as his ancestors had done.

33 Pharaoh Necoh made him a prisoner at Riblah in the territory of Hamath during his reign in Jerusalem and fined the country 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold.

34 Then Pharaoh Necoh made Josiah's son Eliakim king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz away to Egypt, where he died.

35 Jehoiakim gave Pharaoh the silver and the gold. But he had to tax the country to pay the silver Pharaoh had demanded. He taxed each person according to his wealth so that he could get the silver and gold from the people of the land and give it to Pharaoh Necoh.

36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zebidah, daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah.

37 Jehoiakim did what the LORD considered evil, as his ancestors had done.

1 Josiah was 8 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem.

2 He did what the LORD considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped living this way.

3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to dedicate his life to serving the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king, he began to make Judah and Jerusalem clean by destroying the illegal places of worship, poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, carved idols, and metal idols.

4 He had the altars of the various Baal gods torn down. He cut down the incense altars that were above them. He destroyed the Asherah poles, carved idols, and metal idols. He ground them into powder and scattered the powder over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.

5 He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he made Judah and Jerusalem clean.

6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, he removed all their temples,

7 tore down the altars, beat the Asherah poles and idols into powder, and cut down all the incense altars everywhere in Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

8 In the eighteenth year of his reign as he was making the land and the temple clean, Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the mayor of the city, and Joah, the royal historian and son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the LORD his God.

9 They came to the chief priest Hilkiah and gave him the money that had been brought to God's temple, the money that the Levite doorkeepers had collected from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all who were left in Israel, from everyone in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

10 They gave the money to the foremen who were in charge of the LORD's temple. These foremen gave it to the workmen who were restoring and repairing the temple.

11 (These workers included carpenters and builders.) They were to buy quarried stones and wood for the fittings and beams of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to become run-down.

12 The men did their work faithfully under the supervision of Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), and Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, who were skilled musicians,

13 also supervised the workers and directed all the workmen on the various jobs. Some of the Levites served as scribes, officials, or gatekeepers.

14 When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the LORD's temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the LORD's Teachings written by Moses.

15 Hilkiah told the scribe Shaphan, "I have found the book of the Teachings in the LORD's temple." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

16 Shaphan took the book to the king and reported, "We are doing everything you told us to do.

17 We took the money that was donated in the LORD's temple and gave it to the supervisors and the workmen."

18 Then the scribe Shaphan told the king, "The priest Hilkiah has given me a book." And Shaphan read it to the king.

19 When the king heard what the Teachings said, he tore his clothes [in distress].

20 Then the king gave an order to Hilkiah, Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Abdon (son of Micah), the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said,

21 "On behalf of those who are left in Israel and Judah and me, ask the LORD about the words in this book that was found. The LORD's fierce anger has been poured on us because our ancestors did not obey the word of the LORD by doing everything written in this book."

22 So Hilkiah and the king's officials went to talk to the prophet Huldah about this matter. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath and grandson of Hasrah. Shallum was in charge of the [royal] wardrobe. Huldah was living in the Second Part of Jerusalem.

23 She told them, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

24 'This is what the LORD says: I'm going to bring disaster on this place and on the people living here according to the curses written in the book that was read to the king of Judah.

25 I will do this because they have abandoned me and sacrificed to other gods in order to make me furious. Therefore, my anger will be poured on this place and will never come to an end.'"

26 [Huldah added,] "Tell Judah's king who sent you to me to ask the LORD a question, 'This is what the LORD God of Israel says about the words you heard:

27 You had a change of heart and humbled yourself in front of God when you heard my words against this place and those who live here. You humbled yourself, tore your clothes [in distress], and cried in front of me. So I will listen [to you], declares the LORD.

28 That is why I'm going to bring you to your ancestors. I'm going to bring you to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I'm going to bring on this place and those who live here.'" So they reported this to the king.

29 Then the king sent for all the respected leaders of Judah and Jerusalem to join him.

30 The king, everyone in Judah, everyone living in Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people (young and old) went up to the LORD's temple. He read everything written in the Book of the Promise found in the LORD's temple so that they could hear it.

31 The king stood in his place and made a promise to the LORD that he would follow the LORD and obey his commands, instructions, and laws with all his heart and soul. He said he would live by the terms of the promise written in this book.

32 He also made all those found in Jerusalem and Benjamin join with him [in the promise]. Then the people of Jerusalem lived according to the promise of God, the God of their ancestors.

33 Josiah got rid of all the disgusting idols throughout Israelite territory. He made all people found in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they didn't stop following the LORD God of their ancestors.

1 Josiah celebrated the Passover for the LORD in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.

2 Josiah appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them to serve in the LORD's temple.

3 He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel and performed ceremonies to make themselves holy to the LORD, "Put the holy ark in the temple that Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, built. It shouldn't be carried on your shoulders any longer. Serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.

4 Get yourselves ready with the family groups of your divisions, which are listed in the records of King David of Israel and the records of his son Solomon.

5 Stand in the holy place representing the family divisions of your relatives, the people [of Israel]. Let the Levites be considered a part of each family.

6 Slaughter the Passover lamb, perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy, and prepare [the lambs] for the other Israelites as the LORD instructed [us] through Moses."

7 Josiah provided the people with 33,000 sheep and goats to be sacrificed as Passover offerings for all who were present. In addition, he provided 3,000 bulls. (These animals were the king's property.)

8 His officials also voluntarily gave animals to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the men in charge of God's temple, gave the priests 2,600 sheep and goats and 300 bulls for Passover sacrifices.

9 Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, gave the Levites 5,000 sheep and goats and 500 bulls as Passover sacrifices.

10 So the service was prepared. The priests took their positions with the Levites according to their divisions, as the king had ordered.

11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests sprinkled the blood with their hands while the Levites skinned the lambs.

12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the laypeople according to their family divisions. The laypeople could then present them to the LORD as written in the Book of Moses. The Levites did the same with the bulls.

13 They roasted the Passover lambs according to the directions. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans and immediately served them to all the people.

14 Later, they prepared [the animals] for themselves and for the priests because the priests (Aaron's descendants) were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat until that evening. So the Levites prepared [the animals] for themselves and the priests.

15 The singers (Asaph's descendants) were in their places as David, Asaph, Heman, and the king's seer Jeduthun had commanded. The gatekeepers were stationed at each gate. They didn't need to leave their work, because their relatives, the Levites, prepared [animals] for them.

16 So everything was arranged that day for the worship of the LORD. The Passover was celebrated, and the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the LORD's altar as King Josiah had commanded.

17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time. They also celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

18 Never had a Passover like this been celebrated in Israel during the time of the prophet Samuel or the kings of Israel. They did not celebrate the Passover as Josiah celebrated it with priests, Levites, all of Judah, the people of Israel who could be found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, this Passover was celebrated.

20 After all this, when Josiah had repaired the temple, King Neco of Egypt came to fight a battle at Carchemish at the Euphrates River. Josiah went to attack him.

21 But Neco sent messengers to Josiah to say, "What's your quarrel with me, king of Judah? I'm not attacking you. I've come to fight those who are at war with me. God told me to hurry. God is with me, so stop now or else he will destroy you."

22 But Josiah would not stop his attack. He disguised himself as he went into battle. He refused to listen to Neco's words, which came from God, and he went to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

23 Some archers shot King Josiah. The king told his officers, "Take me away because I'm badly wounded."

24 His officers took him out of the chariot and brought him to Jerusalem in his other chariot. He died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

25 Jeremiah sang a funeral song about Josiah. All the male and female singers still sing funeral songs about Josiah today. This became a tradition in Israel. They are written in [the Book of] the Funeral Songs.

26 Everything else about Josiah--including his devotion to God by following what is written in the LORD's Teachings

27 and his acts from first to last--are written in the records of the kings of Israel and Judah.