[1] Josiah was eight years old when he became king; he was ruling in
Jerusalem for thirty-one years. [2] And he did what was right in the eyes
of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father David, without turning to
the right hand or to the left. [3] In the eighth year of his rule, while he
was still young, his heart was first turned to the God of his father David;
and in the twelfth year he undertook the clearing away of all the high
places and the pillars and the images of wood and metal from Judah and
Jerusalem. [4] He had the altars of the Baals broken down, while he himself
was present; and the sun-images which were placed on high over them he had
cut down; and the pillars of wood and the metal images he had broken up and
crushed to dust, dropping the dust over the resting-places of the dead who
had made offerings to them. [5] And he had the bones of the priests burned
on their altars, and so he made Judah and Jerusalem clean. [6] And in all
the towns of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon as far as Naphtali, he made
waste their houses round about. [7] He had the altars and the pillars of
wood pulled down and the images crushed to dust, and all the sun-images cut
down, through all the land of Israel, and then he went back to Jerusalem.
[8] Now in the eighteenth year of his rule, when the land and the house had
been made clean, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the
ruler of the town, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to make good
what was damaged in the house of the Lord his God. [9] And they came to
Hilkiah, the chief priest, and gave him all the money which had been taken
into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the door, had got
from Manasseh and Ephraim and those of Israel who had not been taken away
as prisoners, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the people of Jerusalem.
[10] And they gave it to the overseers of the work of the Lord's house, and
the overseers gave it to the workmen working in the house, for building it
up and making good what was damaged; [11] Even to the woodworkers and
builders to get cut stone and wood for joining the structure together and
for making boards for the houses which the kings of Judah had given up to
destruction. [12] And the men did the work well; and those who had
authority over them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari,
and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, who were to be
responsible for seeing that the work was done; and others of the Levites,
who were expert with instruments of music, [13] Had authority over the
transport workers, giving directions to all who were doing any sort of
work; and among the Levites there were scribes and overseers and
door-keepers. [14] Now when they were taking out the money which had come
into the Lord's house, Hilkiah the priest came across the book of the law
of the Lord, which he had given by the mouth of Moses. [15] Then Hilkiah
said to Shaphan the scribe, I have made discovery of the book of the law in
the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. [16] And
Shaphan took the book to the king; and he gave him an account of what had
been done, saying, Your servants are doing all they have been given to do;
[17] They have taken out all the money which was in the Lord's house and
have given it to the overseers and to the workmen. [18] Then Shaphan the
scribe said to the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book; and he
made a start at reading some of it to the king. [19] And the king, hearing
the words of the law, took his robe in his hands, violently parting it as a
sign of his grief. [20] And he gave orders to Hilkiah and to Ahikam, the
son of Shaphan, and Abdon, the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe and
Asaiah, the king's servant, saying, [21] Go and get directions from the
Lord for me and for those who are still in Israel and for Judah, about the
words of this book which has come to light; for great is the wrath of the
Lord which has been let loose on us, because our fathers have not kept the
word of the Lord or done what is recorded in this book. [22] So Hilkiah,
and those whom the king sent, went to Huldah the woman prophet, the wife of
Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the robes
(now she was living in Jerusalem, in the second part of the town); and they
had talk with her about this thing. [23] And she said to them, The Lord,
the God of Israel, has said, Say to the man who sent you to me, [24] These
are the words of the Lord: See, I will send evil on this place and on its
people, even all the curses in the book which they have been reading before
the king of Judah; [25] Because they have given me up, burning offerings to
other gods and moving me to wrath by all the works of their hands; so my
wrath is let loose on this place and will not be put out. [26] But to the
king of Judah who sent you to get directions from the Lord, say, This is
what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said: Because you have given ear to
my words, [27] And your heart was soft, and you made yourself low before
God, on hearing his words about this place and its people, and with weeping
and signs of grief have made yourself low before me, I have given ear to
you, says the Lord God. [28] See, I will let you go to your fathers, and be
put in your last resting-place in peace, and your eyes will not see all the
evil which I will send on this place and on its people. So they took this
news back to the king. [29] Then the king sent and got together all the
responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem. [30] And the king went up to the
house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem,
and the priests and the Levites and all the people, small and great; and
they were present at his reading of the book of the law which had come to
light in the house of the Lord. [31] Then the king, taking his place by the
pillar, made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord,
and to keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart
and with all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in
this book. [32] And he made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin give
their word to keep it. And the people of Jerusalem kept the agreement of
God, the God of their fathers. [33] Josiah took away all the disgusting
things out of all the lands of the children of Israel, and made all who
were in Israel servants of the Lord their God. And as long as he was living
they were true to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

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