2 Chronicles 34 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.
He did what was right in Yahweh's eyes and in the of his ancestor David, not turning aside to the right or the left.
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began the God of his ancestor David. Then in the twelfth year, he began out Judah and Jerusalem — removing the elevated shrines, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast metal images.
They tore down the of the Baals right in front of him. He cut down the that stood above them, smashed the Asherah poles and the carved and cast metal images, ground them to dust, and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
He the of the on their own altars and so cleaned out Judah and Jerusalem.
In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, he did the same thing throughout their
He tore down the altars and the Asherah poles, crushed the carved images to powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout the entire land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had cleaned out the land and the Temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the to repair the house of Yahweh his God.
They went to Hilkiah the high priest and handed over the money that had been brought into God's house — what the had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, all the rest of Israel, and from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the residents of Jerusalem.
They gave it to the work supervisors who oversaw Yahweh's house, and those supervisors paid the workers who were doing the repairs and restoration on the Temple.
They gave money to the carpenters and builders to buy quarried stone and timber for beams and rafters for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let fall apart.
The workers did their jobs faithfully. Over them were the supervisors Jahath and Obadiah — Levites from the Merari clan — and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathite clan, to direct the work. All these Levites were
They also supervised the laborers and directed all the workers on every kind of task. Some of the Levites served as scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.
While they were bringing out the money that had been deposited in Yahweh's house, Hilkiah the priest found the of the of given through Moses.
Hilkiah told Shaphan the "I've found the Book of the Instruction in Yahweh's house!" And Hilkiah handed the book to Shaphan.
Shaphan brought the book to the king and also reported to him, "Your officials are doing everything that was assigned to them."
"They've emptied out the money stored in Yahweh's house and handed it over to the supervisors and workers."
Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in front of the king.
When the king heard the words of the he
The king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's attendant:
"Go and inquire of Yahweh for me and for the people still left in Israel and Judah about the words of this book that was found. Yahweh's that has been out on us must be enormous — because our ancestors didn't follow the word of Yahweh or do everything written in this book."
So Hilkiah and those the king had sent went to Huldah the the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath son of Hasrah, keeper of the royal wardrobe. She lived in the of Jerusalem. They spoke to her about this.
She told them, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,
"'This is what Yahweh says: I am about to bring on this place and on its people — all the curses written in the book that was read before the king of Judah.
"Because they abandoned me and burned incense to other gods, provoking me with everything their hands have made — my fury has been poured out on this place and will not be
"But tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Yahweh: This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard:
"Because your heart was and you before God when you heard his words against this place and its people — because you before me, tore your clothes, and wept in my presence — I have heard you, declares Yahweh.
"I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am bringing on this place and its people."' They brought her answer back to the king.
Then the king sent word and gathered all the of Judah and Jerusalem.
The king went up to Yahweh's house with all the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites — all the people from the least to the greatest. He read aloud to them every word of the of the that had been found in Yahweh's house.
The king stood in place and made a before Yahweh to follow Yahweh, to keep commands, decrees, and rules with and being — to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.
He had everyone present in Jerusalem and Benjamin commit to it. And the residents of Jerusalem acted according to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
Josiah removed all the from all the territories that belonged to the Israelites, and he required everyone in Israel to Yahweh their God. For his entire lifetime, they did not turn away from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.