Chronicles II 34

1 Josias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

Josiah was eight when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.

2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

He did what was right in the Lord's sight and followed the ways of his forefather David—he did not deviate to the right or to the left.

3 And in the eighth year of his reign, and he [being] yet a youth, he began to seek the Lord God of his father David: and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the ornaments for the altars, and the molten images.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to publicly worship the God of David his forefather, and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem by removing the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the metal images.

4 And he pulled down the altars of Baalim that were before his face, and the high places that were above them; and he cut down the groves, and the graven images, and broke in pieces the molten images, and reduced them to powder, and cast [it] upon the surface of the tombs of those who [had] sacrificed to them.

He had the altars of Baal torn down in front of him, and the incense altars above them cut down. In addition, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the metal images were smashed to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had been sacrificing to them.

5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon the altars, and purged Juda and Jerusalem.

He burned the bones of the idolatrous priests on their altars. In this way he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

6 And [he did so] in the cities of Manasse, and Ephraim, and Symeon, and Nephthali, and the places round about them.

Josiah repeated this in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, all the way to Naphtali, and in their surrounding areas.

7 And he pulled down the altars and the groves, and he cut the idols in small pieces, and cut off all the high places from all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.

He tore down the altars and crushed the Asherah poles and the images to dust, and cut down all the incense altars across the whole land of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

8 And in the eighteenth year of his reign, after having cleansed the land, and the house, he sent Saphan the son of Ezelias, and Maasa prefect of the city, and Juach son of Joachaz his recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, once he had finished cleansing the land and the Temple, Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city governor, and Joah, son of Joahaz, the record-keeper, to repair the Temple of the Lord his God.

9 And they came to Chelcias the high priest, and gave the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the gate collected of the hand of Manasse and Ephraim, and of the princes, and of every one that was left in Israel, and of the children of Juda and Benjamin, and of the dwellers in Jerusalem.

They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought to God's Temple. The Levites at the entrances had collected this money from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim, from what was left of the people of Israel, as well as contributions from Judah, Benjamin, and the people of Jerusalem.

10 And they gave it into the hand of the workmen, who were appointed in the house of the Lord, and they gave it to the workmen who wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and strengthen the house.

They handed it over to those who were supervising the repair work on Lord's Temple, who in turn paid the workmen doing the restoring and repairing.

11 They gave [it] also to the carpenters and builders, to buy squared stones, and timber for beams to cover the houses which the kings of Juda had destroyed.

They also paid carpenters and builders to buy cut stone, as well as timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let deteriorate.

12 And the men [were] faithfully [engaged] in the works: and over them were superintendents, Jeth and Abdias, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zacharias and Mosollam, of the sons of Caath, [appointed] to oversee; and every Levite, and every one that understood [how] to play on musical instruments.

The men did good, honest work. In charge of them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, Levites from the sons of the Kohathites. The Levites, all skilled musicians,

13 And [overseers were] over the burden-bearers, and over all the workmen in the respective works; and of the Levites [were appointed] scribes, and judges, and porters.

were in charge of the workmen and directed everyone involved, depending on what was required. Some of the Levites were scribes, some officers, and some gatekeepers.

14 And when they brought forth the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, Chelcias the priest found a book of the law of the Lord [given] by the hand of Moses.

In the process of taking out the money donated to the Lord's Temple, Hilkiah the priest discovered the Book of the Lord's Law written down by Moses.

15 And Chelcias answered and said to Saphan the scribe, I have found a book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Chelcias gave the book to Saphan.

Hilkiah told Shaphan the scribe, “I've found the Book of the Law in the Lord's Temple.” He gave it to Shaphan.

16 And Saphan brought in the book to the king, and moreover gave an account to the king, [saying, This is] all the money given into the hand of your servants that work.

Shaphan took the book to the king and told him, “We your servants are doing everything we were instructed to do.

17 And they have collected the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and given it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of them that do the work.

The money collected at the Lord's Temple has been handed over to those who are supervising the workers, paying them to do the repairs.”

18 And Saphan the scribe brought word to the king, saying, Chelcias the priest has given me a book. And Saphan read it before the king.

Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me this book.” Shaphan read it to the king.

19 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the law, that he tore his garments.

When the king heard what the Law said, he tore his clothes.

20 And the king commanded Chelcias, and Achicam the son of Saphan, and Abdom the son of Michaias, and Saphan the scribe, and Asia the servant of the king, saying,

Then he issue the following orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Abdon, son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, the king's assistant:

21 Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for every one that is left in Israel and Juda, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord [which] has been kindled amongst us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of the Lord, to do according to all the things written in this book.

“Go and talk to the Lord for me, and also for those who still live in Israel and Judah, about what is said in the book that's been found. For the Lord must be really angry with us because our forefathers have not obeyed the Lord's instructions by following all that's written in this book.”

22 And Chelcias went, and [the others] whom the king told, to Olda the prophetess, the wife of Sellem son of Thecoe, son of Aras, who kept the commandments; and she lived in Jerusalem in the second [quarter]: and they spoke to her accordingly.

Hilkiah and those the king had selected went and talked with Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, custodian of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the city's second quarter.

23 And she said to them, Thus has the Lord God of Israel said, Tell the man who sent you to me,

Huldah told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,

24 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I bring evil upon this place, [even] all the words that are written in the book that was read before the king of Juda:

this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring disaster down on this place and on its people, in accordance with all the curses written in the book that has been read to the king of Judah.

25 because they have forsaken me, and burnt incense to strange gods, that they might provoke me by all the works of their hands; and my wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.

They have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, making me angry by everything they've done. My anger will be poured out upon this place and will not be stopped.

26 And concerning the king of Juda, who sent you to seek the Lord, —thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, [As for] the words which you has heard,

But tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord, tell him this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: As for the what you heard read to you—

27 forasmuch as your heart was ashamed, and you was humbled before me when you heard my words against this place, and against the inhabitants of it, and you were humbled before me, and did rend your garments, and did weep before me; I also have heard, says the Lord.

because you were receptive and repentant before God when you heard his warnings against this place and against its people, and because you have repented, tearing your clothes and weeping before me, I have also heard you, declares the Lord.

28 Behold, I [will] gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not look upon all the evils which I am bringing upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of it. And they brought back word to the king.

All this will not happen until after you have died, and you will die in peace. You will not see all the disaster that I'm going to bring down on this place and on its inhabitants.” They went back to the king and gave him her response.

29 And the king sent and gathered the elders of Juda and Jerusalem.

Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, [he] and all Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that were found in the house of the Lord.

He went to the Lord's Temple with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, together with the priests and the Levites, all the people from the least to the greatest, and he read to them the whole Book of the Agreement that had been discovered in the Lord's Temple.

31 And the king stood at a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk before the Lord, to keep his commandments and testimonies, and his ordinances, with all [his] heart and with all [his] soul, so as to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.

The king stood by the pillar and made a solemn agreement before the Lord to follow him and to keep his commandments, laws, and regulations with total dedication, and to observe the requirements of the agreement as written in the book.

32 And he caused all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem made a covenant in the house of the Lord God of their fathers.

Then he had everyone present from Jerusalem and Benjamin stand up to show they agreed to it. So all the people of Jerusalem accepted and followed the agreement with God, the God of their forefathers.

33 And Josias removed all the abominations out of the whole land which belonged to the children of Israel, and caused all that were found in Jerusalem and in Israel, to serve the Lord their God all his days: he departed not from following the Lord God of his fathers.

Josiah demolished all the vile idols from the whole territory belonging to the Israelites, and he made everyone in Israel serve the Lord their God. During his reign they did not give up worshiping the Lord, the God of their fathers.