2 Mambo ya Nyakati 34

Josiah’s reforms

¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD and walked in the ways of his ancestor David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left. ³In his eighth year as king, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem, clearing away the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images and the cast images. ⁴Under his direction they tore down the altars of the Baals, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, the carved images and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered the dust over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around,^{a 7}he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles, crushed the carved images to dust, and cut down all the incense altars in every part of the land of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

The book of the law is found

⁸When he had purged the land and the house, in the eighteenth year of his reign, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city governor and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to make repairs on the house of the LORD his God. ⁹They came to Hilkiah the high priest and handed over the money brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the rest of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin, and they returned to Jerusalem.^{b 10}They handed it to the men doing the work, who had been put in charge of the house of the LORD, and they paid it to the workmen in the house of the LORD to mend and repair the house. ¹¹They gave it to the craftsmen and the builders to buy dressed stone, and timber for the braces and for the beams of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin. ¹²The men did the work honestly. Over them were appointed Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the descendants of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the descendants of Kohath, to direct the work. And the Levites, all who were skilled with musical instruments, ¹³were over the porters and directed all the workmen in every kind of task. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials and gatekeepers. ¹⁴As they were taking out the money brought into the house of the LORD, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law of the LORD, given through Moses. ¹⁵Hilkiah spoke up and said to Shaphan the secretary, “In the house of the LORD I have found the book of the law.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶Shaphan took the book to the king and also reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that was entrusted to them. ¹⁷They have emptied out the money found in the house of the LORD and handed it over to the overseers and to the men doing the work.”^{c 18}Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has handed me a book.” And Shaphan read from it aloud to the king. ¹⁹When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. ²⁰Then the king gave orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s official, ²¹“Go and ask the LORD on my behalf, and on behalf of those who are left in Israel and in Judah, about the words of the book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that has been poured out on us, because our ancestors did not keep the word of the LORD or do all that is written in this book.”

²²So Hilkiah and those the king had sent went to the prophet Huldah, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. Her home was in the Second Quarter of Jerusalem, and they spoke with her about this.

²³She said to them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says this: Tell the man who sent you to me,

²⁴‘The LORD says this: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on those who live in it, all the curses written in the book that was read before the king of Judah, ²⁵because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with all the works of their hands. So my wrath will pour out on this place, and it will not be put out.’ ²⁶But to the king of Judah, who sent you to ask the LORD, say this: ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, says this: As for the words you have heard, ²⁷because your heart was tender, and when you heard his words against this place and its people you humbled yourself before God; and because you humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before me, I in turn have heard you, declares the LORD. ²⁸I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. You will not see with your own eyes all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live in it.’” Then they took her answer back to the king.^d

Josiah renews the covenant

²⁹Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰The king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him went all the people of Judah and those who lived in Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least. In their hearing he read out all the words of the book of the covenant, which had been found in the house of the LORD. ³¹The king stood in his place and made the covenant in the presence of the LORD: to follow the LORD and to keep his commandments, his decrees and his statutes with all his heart and all his being, and so to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book. ³²He had everyone who was present in Jerusalem and Benjamin commit themselves to it, and the people of Jerusalem acted in keeping with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.^{e 33}Josiah removed all the detestable things from all the lands that belonged to the Israelites, and he made everyone present in Israel serve the LORD their God. As long as he lived, they did not turn away from following the LORD, the God of their ancestors.