1 Kings 13:1-2, 2 Kings 21:19-26, 2 Kings 22, 2 Kings 23:1-30, 2 Chronicles 34, 2 Chronicles 35

The Altar Shall Be Torn Apart

13Now behold, there came ^aa man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of Yahweh, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar ^bto burn incense. ²^aAnd he cried against the altar by the word of Yahweh, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, ^bJosiah is his name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”

Amon Reigns over Judah

¹⁹^aAmon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, ^aas Manasseh his father had done. ²¹And he walked in all the way that his father had walked and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. ²²So ^ahe forsook Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of Yahweh. ²³^aThen the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house. ²⁴Then ^athe people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. ²⁵Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁶And he was buried in his grave ^ain the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son became king in his place.

Josiah Reigns over Judah

22^aJosiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of ^bBozkath. ²And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh and walked in all the way of his father David and did not ^aturn aside to the right or to the left.

³Now it happened ^ain the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of Yahweh saying, ⁴“^aGo up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may ¹count the money brought into the house of Yahweh which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. ⁵“^aAnd let them give it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh, and let them give it to those who do the work, who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the ¹damages of the house, ⁶to the craftsmen and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. ⁷“Only ^ano accounting shall be made with them for the money given into their hands, for they deal faithfully.”

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

⁸Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “^aI have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. ⁹Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and responded to the king with a word and said, “Your servants have poured out the money that was found in the house and have given it into the hand of those who do the work, who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh.” ¹⁰Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

¹¹Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the book of the law, ^ahe tore his clothes. ¹²Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^aAhikam the son of Shaphan, ¹^,^bAchbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ¹³“Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and the people and all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found, for ^agreat is the wrath of Yahweh which is set aflame against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Huldah Says Yahweh Is Bringing Evil

¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ¹^,^aTikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the ^bSecond Quarter); and they spoke to her. ¹⁵And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I ^aam bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷“^aBecause they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ ¹⁸“But to ^athe king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, ¹⁹^abecause your heart was soft and ^byou humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become ^can object of horror, and a ^dcurse, and you have ^etorn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. ²⁰“Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and ^ayou will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

Josiah Reads the Book of the Covenant

23^aThen the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ²And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and ^ahe read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant ^bwhich was found in the house of Yahweh. ³^aThen the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, ^bto walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people ¹entered into the covenant.

⁴Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and ^athe priests of the second order and the ¹doorkeepers, ^bto bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for ²Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and ^che burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁵And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the ^ahost of heaven. ⁶And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ^aground it to dust, and ^bthrew its dust on the graves of the ¹common people. ⁷He also tore down the houses of the ^amale cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where ^bthe women were weaving ¹hangings for the Asherah. ⁸Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from ^aGeba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. ⁹Nevertheless ^athe priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. ¹⁰^aHe also defiled ¹Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, ^bthat no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for ^cMolech. ¹¹And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the ^asun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹²^aAlso, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and ^bthe altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he ¹crushed them there and ^cthrew their dust into the brook Kidron. ¹³And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of ^athe mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for ^bAshtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for ^cChemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. ¹⁴^aAnd he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and ^bfilled their places with human bones.

¹⁵Furthermore, ^athe altar that was at Bethel and the ^bhigh place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he ¹^,^cdemolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. ¹⁶Then Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it ^aaccording to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. ¹⁷Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “^aIt is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” ¹⁸And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they ¹left his bones undisturbed ^awith the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. ¹⁹And also all the houses of the high places which were ^ain the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking ¹Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them ²just as he had done in Bethel. ²⁰And all the priests of the high places who were there ^ahe ¹slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

²¹Then the king commanded all the people saying, “^aCelebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God ^bas it is written in this book of the covenant.” ²²^aFor such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. ²³But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem.

²⁴Moreover, ^athe mediums and the spiritists and the ^bteraphim and ^cthe idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah purged in order ^dthat he might ¹establish the words of the law which were written ^ein the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. ²⁵And before him there was no king ^alike him who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

²⁶However, Yahweh did not turn from His great burning anger, His anger which burned against Judah, ^abecause of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him to anger. ²⁷And Yahweh said, “I will remove Judah also from My presence, ^aas I have removed Israel. And ^bI will reject Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the ¹house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”

Jehoahaz Reigns Over Judah

²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁹^aIn his days ^bPharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he put him to death at ^cMegiddo. ³⁰^aAnd his servants drove ¹his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ^bThen the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

Josiah Reigns over Judah

34^aJosiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ²^aAnd he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³Now in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to ^aseek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began ^bto cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the graven images, and the molten images. ⁴And they tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and ^athe incense altars that were high above them he cut in pieces; also the Asherim, the graven images, and the molten images he broke in pieces and ^bground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵Then ^ahe burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶^aAnd in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ¹ruins, ⁷he also tore down the altars and ^abeat the Asherim and the graven images into powder, and cut in pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Repairs the House of Yahweh

⁸^aNow in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah ^ban official of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of Yahweh his God. ⁹And they came to ^aHilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the ¹doorkeepers, had gathered from the hand of ^bManasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰Then they gave it into the hand of ¹those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh; and those who did the work, who were doing this in the house of Yahweh, ²used it to restore and repair the house. ¹¹They in turn gave it to the craftsmen and to the builders to buy hewn stone and timber for clamps and to make beams for the houses ^awhich the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ¹²^aAnd the men did the work faithfully with foremen over them to direct: Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites of the sons of Merari, Zechariah and Meshullam of the sons of the Kohathites, and ^bthe Levites, all who were skillful with musical instruments. ¹³They were also over ^athose who carried loads, and directed all those who did the work from service to service; and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

¹⁴When they were taking out the money which had been brought into the house of Yahweh, ^aHilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Yahweh given by the hand of Moses. ¹⁵So Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and furthermore ¹responded to the king with a word, saying, “Everything that was given to the hand of your servants they are doing. ¹⁷“They have also poured out the money that was found in the house of Yahweh, and have given it into the hand of the supervisors and those who did the work.” ¹⁸Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹Now it happened that when the king heard ^athe words of the law, ^bhe tore his clothes. ²⁰Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ¹Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, ²¹“Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found, for ^agreat is the wrath of Yahweh which is poured out against us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Josiah Will Not See Yahweh’s Wrath

²²So Hilkiah and those whom the king ¹had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of ²Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. ²³And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴thus says Yahweh, “Behold, ^aI am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all ^bthe curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. ²⁵“^aBecause they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore My wrath will be poured out against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”’ ²⁶“But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh, thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, ²⁷^abecause your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. ²⁸“Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

²⁹^aThen the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and ^aall the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh.

Josiah Cuts a Covenant with Yahweh

³¹Then the king ^astood in his place and ^bcut a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³²Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³And Josiah ^atook away all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve Yahweh their God. Throughout his ¹lifetime they did not turn away from following Yahweh, the God of their fathers.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover

35Then Josiah ^acelebrated the Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem, and ^bthey slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²And he caused the priests to stand in their responsibilities and ^astrengthened them in the service of the house of Yahweh. ³He also said to ^athe Levites who provided understanding to all Israel and who were holy to Yahweh, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; ^bit will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve Yahweh your God and His people Israel. ⁴“^aSo prepare yourselves by your fathers’ households in your divisions, according to the writing of David king of Israel and ^baccording to the writing of his son Solomon. ⁵“Moreover, ^astand in the holy place according to the sections of the fathers’ households of your brothers the ¹lay people, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. ⁶“Now ^aslaughter the Passover animals, ^bsanctify yourselves and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.”

⁷And Josiah contributed to the lay people, to all who were present, flocks of lambs and young goats, all for the Passover offerings, numbering 30,000 plus 3,000 bulls; these were from the king’s possessions. ⁸His officials also contributed a freewill offering to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, ^athe officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 from the flocks and 300 bulls. ⁹^aConaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the ¹officials of the Levites, contributed to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 from the flocks and 500 bulls.

¹⁰So the service was prepared, and ^athe priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s commandment. ¹¹^aAnd ¹they slaughtered the Passover animals, and while ^bthe priests splashed ²the blood received from their hand, ^cthe Levites skinned them. ¹²Then they took away the portions for the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to bring near to Yahweh, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls. ¹³So ^athey roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the legal judgment, and they boiled ^bthe holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people. ¹⁴Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵The singers, the sons of Asaph, were also at their stations ^aaccording to the commandment of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer; and ^bthe gatekeepers at each gate did not have to turn aside from their service, because the Levites their brothers prepared for them.

¹⁶So all the service of Yahweh was prepared on that day to celebrate the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh according to the commandment of King Josiah. ¹⁷Thus ^athe sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. ¹⁸^aAnd there had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah celebrated with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated.

Josiah Dies in War

²⁰^aAfter all this, when Josiah had set the ¹house in order, Neco king of Egypt went up to make war at ^bCarchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. ²¹But ¹Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “^aWhat have I to do with you, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the house with which I am at war, and God has said for me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not bring you to ruin.” ²²However, Josiah would not turn ¹away from him, but ^adisguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco ^bfrom the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of ^cMegiddo. ²³Then the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” ²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot and drove him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem ¹where he died, and he was buried in the tombs of his fathers. ^aAnd all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵Then ^aJeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them a statute in Israel; behold, they are also written in the lamentations. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of lovingkindness according to what was written in the law of Yahweh, ²⁷and his acts, first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.