2 Chronicles 34:1–35:27

King Josiah Reforms Judah’s Worship—2 Kings 22:1–2; 23:4–20

¹Josiah was 8 years old when he began to rule, and he was king for 31 years in Jerusalem. ²He did what the Lord considered right. He lived in the ways of his ancestor David and never stopped living this way. 

³In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a boy, he began to dedicate his life to serving the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year as king, he began to make Judah and Jerusalem clean^aby destroying the illegal places of worship, poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, carved idols, and metal idols. ⁴He had the altars of the various Baal gods torn down. He cut down the incense altars that were above them. He destroyed the Asherah poles, carved idols, and metal idols. He ground them into powder and scattered the powder over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he made Judah and Jerusalem clean. ⁶In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, he removed all their temples,⁷tore down the altars, beat the Asherah poles and idols into powder, and cut down all the incense altars everywhere in Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem. 

King Josiah Rededicates Judah to God’s Promise—2 Kings 22:3–23:4

⁸In the eighteenth year of his reign as he was making the land and the temple clean, Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the mayor of the city, and Joah, the royal historian and son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the Lord his God. ⁹They came to the chief priest Hilkiah and gave him the money that had been brought to God’s temple, the money that the Levite doorkeepers had collected from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all who were left in Israel, from everyone in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰They gave the money to the foremen who were in charge of the Lord’s temple. These foremen gave it to the workmen who were restoring and repairing the temple. ¹¹(These workers included carpenters and builders.) They were to buy quarried stones and wood for the fittings and beams of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to become run-down. ¹²The men did their work faithfully under the supervision of Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), and Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, who were skilled musicians, ¹³also supervised the workers and directed all the workmen on the various jobs. Some of the Levites served as scribes, officials, or gatekeepers. 

¹⁴When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the Lord’s temple, the priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Lord’s Teachings written by Moses. ¹⁵Hilkiah told the scribe Shaphan, “I have found the Book of the Teachings in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 

¹⁶Shaphan took the book to the king and reported, “We are doing everything you told us to do. ¹⁷We took the money that was donated in the Lord’s temple and gave it to the supervisors and the workmen.” ¹⁸Then the scribe Shaphan told the king, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it to the king. 

¹⁹When the king heard what the Teachings said, he tore his clothes ⸤in distress⸥. ²⁰Then the king gave an order to Hilkiah, Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Abdon (son of Micah), the scribe Shaphan, and the royal official Asaiah. He said, ²¹“On behalf of those who are left in Israel and Judah and me, ask the Lord about the words in this book that was found. The Lord’s fierce anger has been poured on us because our ancestors did not obey the Lord’s word by doing everything written in this book.” 

²²So Hilkiah and the king’s officials went to talk to the prophet Huldah about this matter. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath and grandson of Hasrah. Shallum was in charge of the ⸤royal⸥ wardrobe. Huldah was living in the Second Part of Jerusalem. 

²³She told them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to bring disaster on this place and on the people living here according to the curses written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. ²⁵I will do this because they have abandoned me and sacrificed to other gods in order to make me furious. Therefore, my anger will be poured on this place and will never come to an end.’ ” 

²⁶⸤Huldah added,⸥ “Tell Judah’s king who sent you to me to ask the Lord a question, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says about the words you heard: ²⁷You had a change of heart and humbled yourself in front of God when you heard my words against this place and those who live here. You humbled yourself, tore your clothes ⸤in distress⸥, and cried in front of me. So I will listen ⸤to you⸥, declares the Lord. ²⁸That is why I’m going to bring you to your ancestors. I’m going to bring you to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see any of the disaster I’m going to bring on this place and those who live here.’ ” 

So they reported this to the king. 

²⁹Then the king sent for all the respected leaders of Judah and Jerusalem to join him. ³⁰The king, everyone in Judah, everyone living in Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people (young and old) went up to the Lord’s temple. He read everything written in the Book of the Promise^cfound in the Lord’s temple so that they could hear it. ³¹The king stood in his place and made a promise to the Lord that he would follow the Lord and obey his commands, instructions, and laws with all his heart and soul. He said he would live by the terms of the promise written in this book. ³²He also made all those found in Jerusalem and Benjamin join with him ⸤in the promise⸥. Then the people of Jerusalem lived according to the promise of God, the God of their ancestors. 

³³Josiah got rid of all the disgusting idols throughout Israelite territory. He made all people found in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they didn’t stop following the Lord God of their ancestors. 

35TH CHAPTER

King Josiah Celebrates the Passover—2 Kings 23:21–23

¹Josiah celebrated the Passover for the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²Josiah appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them to serve in the Lord’s temple. ³He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel and performed ceremonies to make themselves holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the temple that Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, built. It shouldn’t be carried on your shoulders any longer. Serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. ⁴Get yourselves ready with the family groups of your divisions, which are listed in the records of King David of Israel and the records of his son Solomon. ⁵Stand in the holy place representing the family divisions of your relatives, the people ⸤of Israel⸥. Let the Levites be considered a part of each family.⁶Slaughter the Passover lamb, perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy, and prepare ⸤the lambs⸥ for the other Israelites as the Lord instructed ⸤us⸥ through Moses.” 

⁷Josiah provided the people with 33,000 sheep and goats to be sacrificed as Passover offerings for all who were present. In addition, he provided 3,000 bulls. (These animals were the king’s property.) ⁸His officials also voluntarily gave animals to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the men in charge of God’s temple, gave the priests 2,600 sheep and goats and 300 bulls for Passover sacrifices. ⁹Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, gave the Levites 5,000 sheep and goats and 500 bulls as Passover sacrifices. 

¹⁰So the service was prepared. The priests took their positions with the Levites according to their divisions, as the king had ordered. ¹¹They slaughtered the Passover lambs. The priests sprinkled the blood with their hands while the Levites skinned the lambs. ¹²They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the laypeople according to their family divisions. The laypeople could then present them to the Lord as written in the Book of Moses. The Levites did the same with the bulls. ¹³They roasted the Passover lambs according to the directions. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans and immediately served them to all the people. ¹⁴Later, they prepared ⸤the animals⸥ for themselves and for the priests because the priests (Aaron’s descendants) were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat until that evening. 

So the Levites prepared ⸤the animals⸥ for themselves and the priests. ¹⁵The singers (Asaph’s descendants) were in their places as David, Asaph, Heman, and the king’s seer^bJeduthun had commanded. The gatekeepers were stationed at each gate. They didn’t need to leave their work, because their relatives, the Levites, prepared ⸤animals⸥ for them. 

¹⁶So everything was arranged that day for the worship of the Lord. The Passover was celebrated, and the burnt offerings were sacrificed on the Lord’s altar as King Josiah had commanded. ¹⁷The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time. They also celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 

¹⁸Never had a Passover like this been celebrated in Israel during the time of the prophet Samuel or the kings of Israel. They did not celebrate the Passover as Josiah celebrated it with priests, Levites, all of Judah, the people of Israel who could be found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated. 

Josiah’s Sin Leads to His Death—2 Kings 23:28–30a

²⁰After all this, when Josiah had repaired the temple, King Neco of Egypt came to fight a battle at Carchemish at the Euphrates River. Josiah went to attack him. ²¹But Neco sent messengers to Josiah to say, “What’s your quarrel with me, king of Judah? I’m not attacking you. I’ve come to fight those who are at…