2 Chronicles 34

1 Josiah [was] eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

Josiah was eight years old when he became the king [of Judah]. He ruled from Jerusalem for 31 years.

2 And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined [neither] to the right hand, nor to the left.

He did things that were pleasing to Yahweh and conducted his life like his ancestor King David had done. He fully obeyed [IDM] all the laws of God.

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

When he had been ruling for almost eight years, while he was still a young man, he began to worship God like his ancestor [King] David had done. Four years later, he began to get rid of all the pagan shrines on hilltops in Jerusalem and in [other places in] Judah, and the poles to [honor the goddess] Asherah, and the carved idols and statues of gods.

4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that [were] on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust [of them], and strowed [it] upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.

While he directed them, his workers tore down the altars where people worshiped Baal. They smashed the altars that were near those altars, where people burned incense. They smashed the poles [honor the goddess] Asherah and the idols and statues. They smashed them to bits and scattered the bits over the graves of those who had offered sacrifices to them.

5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

They burned the bones of the priests [who had offered sacrifices]; they burned them on their own altars. In that way Josiah caused Jerusalem and other places in Judah to be acceptable places to worship Yahweh again.

6 And [so did he] in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.

In the towns in [the tribes of] Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far [north] as [the tribe of] Naphtali and in the ruins around all those towns,

7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah’s [workers] tore down the pagan altars and the poles to [honor the goddess] Asherah, and crushed the idols to powder. They also smashed to pieces all the altars for burning incense throughout Israel. Then Josiah returned to Jerusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

When Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, he [did something else to] cause the land and the temple to be acceptable places to worship Yahweh. He sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the governor of the city and Joah the son of Joahaz, who wrote on a scroll what happened in the city, to repair the temple of Yahweh.

9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.

They went to Hilkiah the Supreme Priest and gave him the money that had been brought to the temple. That was the money that the descendants of Levi who guarded the doors of the temple had collected from the people of [the tribes of] Manasseh and Ephraim and [other places in northern] Israel, and also from all the people in Jerusalem and other places in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

10 And they put [it] in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:

Then Hilkiah gave some of the money to the men who had been appointed to supervise the work of repairing the temple. The supervisors paid the men who did the repair work.

11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they [it], to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

They also gave some of the money to the carpenters and builders to buy the cut stones and the timber for the joists and the beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to decay.

12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them [were] Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set [it] forward; and [other of] the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.

The workers did their work faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah, who were descendants of [Levi’s son] Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, who were descendants of [Levi’s son] Kohath. All the other descendants of Levi, those who played musical instruments well,

13 Also [they were] over the bearers of burdens, and [were] overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites [there were] scribes, and officers, and porters.

supervised all the workers as they did their various jobs. Some of the descendants of Levi were secretaries and some kept records and some guarded the gates [of the temple].

14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD [given] by Moses.

While they were giving to the supervisors the money that had been taken to the temple, Hilkiah the [Supreme] Priest found a scroll on which were written the laws that Yahweh had told Moses to give to the people.

15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

So Hilkiah said to Shaphan, “I have found in the temple a scroll on which are written the laws [that God gave to Moses]!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan.

16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do [it].

Shaphan [took the scroll] to the king and said to him, “Your officials are doing everything that you told them to do.

17 And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.

They have taken the money that was in the temple, and they have given it to the men who will supervise the workers who will repair the temple.”

18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

Then Shaphan said to the king, “[I have brought to you] a scroll [that] Hilkiah gave to me.” And Shaphan started to read it to the king.

19 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.

When the king heard the laws [that were written in the scroll], he tore his clothes [because he was very dismayed/worried].

20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king’s, saying,

Then he gave these instructions to Hilkiah, to Shaphan’s son Ahikam, to Micah’s son Abdon, to Shaphan, and to Asaiah the king’s special advisor:

21 Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great [is] the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.

“Go and ask Yahweh for me, and for all his people who are still alive in Judah and Israel, about what is written in this scroll that has been found. Because [it is clear that] Yahweh is very angry with us because our ancestors disobeyed what Yahweh said; they did not obey the laws that are written on this scroll.”

22 And Hilkiah, and [they] that the king [had appointed], went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college: ) and they spake to her to that [effect].

So Hilkiah and the others went to talk with a woman whose name was Huldah, who was a prophetess who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. Her husband Shallum who was the son of Tikvah, took care of the robes that were worn [in the temple].

23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,

[When they told her what the king had said, ] she said to them, “This is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says: ‘Go back and tell the king who sent you

24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, [even] all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:

that this is what Yahweh says: “Listen to this carefully. I am going to cause a disaster to strike Jerusalem and all the people who live here. I will cause them to experience the curses that were written in the scroll that was read to the king of Judah.

25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

I will do that because they have rejected me, and they burn incense to [honor] other gods. They have caused me to become very angry because of all the idols that they have made (OR, because of all the wicked things that they have done), [and my anger is like] a fire that will not be extinguished.

26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel [concerning] the words which thou hast heard;

The king of Judah sent you to ask what I, Yahweh, want. Go and tell him that this is what I, Yahweh, the God whom you Israelis worship, say about what you read:

27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard [thee] also, saith the LORD.

“Because you heeded [what was written in the scroll], and you humbled yourself when you heard what I said to warn [about what would happen to] this city and the people who live here, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you.

28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.

So I will allow you to die and be buried peacefully. I will cause a great disaster to strike this place and the people who live here, but you will not [be alive to] see it.”’” So they reported her reply to the king.

29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judea.

30 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, 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 was found in the house of the LORD.

They went up together to the temple with the leaders of Judah and many other people of Jerusalem and the priests and other descendants of Levi, from the least important to the most important ones. And while they listened, the king read to them everything that was in the scroll containing God’s laws that had been found in the temple.

31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.

Then the king stood next to the pillar [at the entrance to the temple, where kings stood when they announced something important], and while Yahweh was listening, he repeated his promise to very sincerely and completely obey Yahweh and all his commands and regulations and decrees that were written on the scroll.

32 And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand [to it]. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

Then the king said that everyone who lived in Jerusalem and from [the tribe of] Benjamin should promise that they also would obey those laws. And they did that, agreeing that they would keep the agreement that God, whom their ancestors had worshiped, had made with them.

33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that [pertained] to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, [even] to serve the LORD their God. [And] all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Josiah [instructed his workers to] remove all the detestable idols from everywhere in the land of the Israeli people, and he commanded that all the people from Israel who were there should worship [only] Yahweh their God. And as long as Josiah was alive, the people did what was pleasing to Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped].