2 Chronicles 34–36

Josiah Makes Judah a Better Nation

34Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years.

²He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t turn away from it to the right or the left.

³While he was still young, he began to worship the God of King David. It was the eighth year of Josiah’s rule.

In his 12th year he began to get rid of the high places in Judah and Jerusalem. He removed the poles that were used to worship the goddess Asherah. He also removed the wooden and metal statues of gods. ⁴He ordered the altars of the gods that were named after Baal to be torn down. He cut to pieces the altars for burning incense that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles. He also smashed the wooden and metal statues of gods. He broke all of them to pieces. He scattered the pieces over the graves of those who had offered sacrifices to those gods. ⁵He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. That’s the way he made Judah and Jerusalem pure and clean.

⁶He went to the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He went all the way to Naphtali. He also went to the destroyed places around all of those towns. ⁷Everywhere he went he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles. He crushed the statues of gods to powder. He cut to pieces all of the altars for burning incense. He destroyed all of those things everywhere in Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸In the 18th year of Josiah’s rule, he decided to make the land and temple pure and clean. So he sent Shaphan, Maaseiah and Joah to repair the temple of the Lord his God. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah. Maaseiah was ruler of the city. And Joah, the son of Joahaz, kept the records.

⁹They went to the high priest Hilkiah. They gave him the money that had been brought into God’s temple. The Levites who guarded the doors had collected it. They had received some of the money from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the others who remained in Israel. They had received the rest of it from the people of Judah and Benjamin and those who lived in Jerusalem.

¹⁰They put all of the money in the care of the men who had been appointed to direct the work on the Lord’s temple. Those men paid the workers who repaired the temple and made it look like new again. ¹¹They also gave money to the builders and those who worked with wood. The workers used it to buy lumber and blocks of stone. The lumber was used for the supports and beams for the buildings. The kings of Judah had let the buildings fall down.

¹²The men were faithful in doing the work. Jahath and Obadiah directed them. They were Levites from the family line of Merari. Zechariah and Meshullam also directed them. They were from the family line of Kohath. The Levites were skilled in playing musical instruments. ¹³They were in charge of the laborers. They directed all of the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries and writers. Others guarded the doors.

Hilkiah Finds the Scroll of the Law

¹⁴The money that had been taken into the Lord’s temple was being brought out. At that time the priest Hilkiah found the Scroll of the Law of the Lord. It had been given through Moses. ¹⁵Hilkiah spoke to the secretary Shaphan. He said, “I’ve found the Scroll of the Law in the Lord’s temple.” He gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁶Then Shaphan took the scroll to King Josiah. He told him, “Your officials are doing everything they’ve been asked to do. ¹⁷They have paid out the money that was in the Lord’s temple. They’ve put it in the care of the directors and workers.” ¹⁸Shaphan continued, “The priest Hilkiah has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read some of it to the king.

¹⁹The king heard the words of the Law. When he did, he tore his royal robes. ²⁰He gave orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam, Abdon, the secretary Shaphan and Asaiah. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. Abdon was the son of Micah. And Asaiah was the king’s attendant. Josiah commanded them, ²¹“Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this scroll that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for those who remain in Israel and Judah. The Lord has poured out his burning anger on us. That’s because our people before us didn’t obey what the Lord had said. They didn’t do everything that is written in this scroll.”

²²Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak to the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Tokhath. Tokhath was the son of Hasrah. Shallum took care of the sacred robes. Huldah lived in the New Quarter of Jerusalem.

²³She said to them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴“The Lord says, ‘I am going to bring horrible trouble on this place and its people. All of the curses that are written down in the scroll that has been read to the king of Judah will take place. ²⁵That is because the people have deserted me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me very angry because of everything their hands have made. So I will pour out my burning anger on this place. The fire of my anger will not be put out.’ ” ’

²⁶“The king of Judah sent you to ask for advice. Tell him, ‘The Lord is the God of Israel. He has a message for you about the things you heard. ²⁷He says, “Your heart was tender. You made yourself low in my sight. You heard what I spoke against this place and its people. So you made yourself low. You tore your royal robes and sobbed. And I have heard you,” announces the Lord.

²⁸“ ‘ “You will join the members of your family who have already died. Your body will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all of the trouble I am going to bring on this place and those who live here.” ’ ”

Huldah’s answer was taken back to the king.

²⁹Then the king called together all of the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰He went up to the Lord’s temple. The people of Judah and Jerusalem went with him. So did the priests and Levites. All of them went, from the least important of them to the most important. The king had all of the words of the Scroll of the Covenant read to them. The scroll had been found in the Lord’s temple.

³¹The king stood next to his pillar. He agreed to the terms of the covenant in front of the Lord. He promised to follow him and obey his commands, directions and rules. He promised to obey them with all his heart and with all his soul. So he promised to obey the terms of the covenant that were written down in that scroll.

³²Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and in Benjamin commit themselves to the covenant. The people of Jerusalem did it in keeping with the covenant of the God of Israel.

³³Josiah removed all of the statues of gods from the whole territory that belonged to the people of Israel. The Lord hated those statues. Josiah had everyone in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they didn’t fail to follow the Lord, the God of their people.

Josiah Celebrates the Passover Feast

35Josiah celebrated the Passover Feast in Jerusalem in honor of the Lord. The Passover lamb was killed on the 14th day of the first month. ²Josiah appointed the priests to their duties. He cheered them up as they served the Lord at his temple.

³The Levites taught all of the people of Israel. The Levites had been set apart to the Lord. Josiah said to them, “Put the sacred ark of the covenant in the temple Solomon built. He was the son of David and king of Israel. The ark must not be carried around on your shoulders. Serve the Lord your God. Serve his people Israel. ⁴Prepare yourselves by families in your groups. Do it based on the directions that were written by David, the king of Israel, and by his son Solomon.

⁵“Stand at the temple. Stand there with a group of Levites for each group of families among your people. ⁶Kill the Passover lambs. Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Prepare the lambs for your people. Do what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

⁷Josiah provided animals for the Passover offerings. He gave them for all of the people who were there. He gave a total of 30,000 sheep and goats and 3,000 head of cattle. He gave all of them from his own possessions.

⁸His officials also gave freely. They gave to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel were in charge of God’s temple. They gave the priests 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 head of cattle. ⁹Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel also gave offerings. So did Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad. All of them were the leaders of the Levites. They gave 5,000 Passover lambs and 500 head of cattle for the Levites.

¹⁰The Passover service was arranged. The priests stood in their places. The Levites were in their groups. That’s what the king had ordered.

¹¹The Passover lambs were killed. The priests sprinkled the blood that had been handed to them. The Levites skinned the animals.

¹²They set the burnt offerings to one side. Those offerings were for the smaller family groups of the people to offer to the Lord. That’s what was written in the Scroll of Moses. The Levites did the same thing with the cattle.

¹³They cooked the Passover animals over the fire, just as the law required. They boiled the holy offerings in pots, large kettles and pans. They served the offerings quickly to all of the people.

¹⁴After that, they got things ready for themselves and the priests. That’s because the priests, who were from the family line of Aaron, were busy until dark. They were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat parts. The Levites got things ready for themselves and for the priests, who belonged to Aaron’s family line.

¹⁵Those who played music were from the family line of Asaph. They were in the places that had been set up by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun. Jeduthun had been the king’s prophet. The guards at each gate didn’t have to leave their places. That’s because their brother Levites got things ready for them.

¹⁶So at that time the entire service in honor of the Lord was carried out. The Passover Feast was celebrated. The burnt offerings…