2 Chronicles 34–36

¹A son of eight years is Josiah in his reigning, and thirty and one years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, ²and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walketh in the ways of David his father, and hath not turned aside—right or left. ³And in the eighth year of his reign (and he yet a youth), he hath begun to seek to the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he hath begun to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images. ⁴And they break down before him the altars of the Baalim, and the images that are on high above them he hath cut down, and the shrines, and the graven images, and the molten images, he hath broken and beaten small, and streweth on the surface of the graves of those sacrificing to them, ⁵and the bones of the priests he hath burnt on their altars, and cleanseth Judah and Jerusalem, ⁶and in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their tools, round about. ⁷And he breaketh down the altars and the shrines, and the graven images he hath beaten down very small, and all the images he hath cut down in all the land of Israel, and turneth back to Jerusalem.

⁸And in the eighteenth year of his reign, to purify the land and the house he hath sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah head of the city, and Joah son of Johaz the remembrancer, to strengthen the house of Jehovah his God. ⁹And they come in unto Hilkiah the high priest, and they give the money that is brought in to the house of God, that the Levites, keeping the threshold, have gathered from the hand of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ¹⁰and they give it into the hand of the workmen, those appointed over the house of Jehovah, and they give it to the workmen who are working in the house of Jehovah, to repair and to strengthen the house; ¹¹and they give it to artificers, and to builders, to buy hewn stones, and wood for couplings and for beams to the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed. ¹²And the men are working faithfully in the business, and over them are appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathite, to overlook; and of the Levites, every one understanding about instruments of song, ¹³and over the burden-bearers, and overseers of every one doing work for service and service; and of the Levites are scribes, and officers, and gatekeepers.

¹⁴And in their bringing out the money that is brought in to the house of Jehovah, hath Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses, ¹⁵and Hilkiah answereth and saith unto Shaphan the scribe, ‘A book of the law I have found in the house of Jehovah;’ and Hilkiah giveth the book unto Shaphan, ¹⁶and Shaphan bringeth in the book unto the king, and bringeth the king back word again, saying, ‘All that hath been given into the hand of thy servants they are doing, ¹⁷and they pour out the money that is found in the house of Jehovah, and give it into the hand of those appointed, and into the hands of those doing the work.’ ¹⁸And Shaphan the scribe declareth to the king, saying, ‘A book hath Hilkiah the priest given to me;’ and Shaphan readeth in it before the king. ¹⁹And it cometh to pass, at the king’s hearing the words of the law, that he rendeth his garments, ²⁰and the king commandeth Hilkiah, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Abdon son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, servant of the king, saying, ²¹‘Go, seek Jehovah for me, and for him who is left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found, for great is the fury of Jehovah that is poured on us, because that our fathers kept not the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written on this book.’ ²²And Hilkiah goeth, and they of the king, unto Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments, and she is dwelling in Jerusalem in the Second, and they speak unto her thus. ²³And she saith to them, ‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Say to the man who hath sent you unto me, ²⁴Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am bringing in evil on this place, and on its inhabitants, all the execrations that are written on the book that they read before the king of Judah; ²⁵because that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, so as to provoke Me with all the works of their hands, and poured out is My fury upon this place, and it is not quenched.

²⁶‘And unto the king of Judah, who is sending you to inquire of Jehovah, thus do ye say unto him: Thus said Jehovah God of Israel, whose words thou hast heard: ²⁷Because thy heart is tender, and thou art humbled before God in thy hearing His words concerning this place, and concerning its inhabitants, and art humbled before Me, and dost rend thy garments, and weep before Me: even I also have heard—the affirmation of Jehovah. ²⁸Lo, I am gathering thee unto thy fathers, and thou hast been gathered unto thy graves in peace, and thine eyes do not look on all the evil that I am bringing upon this place, and upon its inhabitants;’ and they bring the king back word.

²⁹And the king sendeth and gathereth all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, ³⁰and the king goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, even all the people, from great even unto small, and he readeth in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that is found in the house of Jehovah. ³¹And the king standeth on his station, and maketh the covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commands, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that are written on this book. ³²And he presenteth every one who is found in Jerusalem and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem do according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³And Josiah turneth aside all the abominations out of all the lands that the sons of Israel have, and causeth every one who is found in Israel to serve, to serve Jehovah their God; all his days they turned not aside from after Jehovah, God of their fathers.

Chapter 35

¹And Josiah maketh in Jerusalem a passover to Jehovah, and they slaughter the passover-offering on the fourteenth of the first month, ²and he stationeth the priests over their charges, and strengtheneth them for the service of the house of Jehovah, ³and saith to the Levites—who are teaching all Israel—who are sanctified to Jehovah, ‘Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David king of Israel built; it is not to you a burden on the shoulder. ‘Now, serve Jehovah your God, and His people Israel, ⁴and prepare, by the house of your fathers, according to your courses, by the writing of David king of Israel, and by the writing of Solomon his son, ⁵and stand in the sanctuary, by the divisions of the house of the fathers of your brethren, sons of the people, and the portion of the house of a father of the Levites, ⁶and slaughter the passover-offering and sanctify yourselves, and prepare for your brethren, to do according to the word of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.’ ⁷And Josiah lifteth up to the sons of the people a flock of lambs and young goats, the whole for passover-offerings, for every one who is found, to the number of thirty thousand, and oxen three thousand: these are from the substance of the king. ⁸And his heads, for a willing-offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites, have lifted up; Hilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, leaders in the house of God, to the priests have given for passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred, and oxen three hundred; ⁹and Conaniah, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of the Levites, have lifted up to the Levites, for passover-offerings, five thousand, and oxen five hundred. ¹⁰And the service is prepared, and the priests stand on their station, and the Levites on their courses, according to the command of the king, ¹¹and they slaughter the passover-offering, and the priests sprinkle out of their hand, and the Levites are striping; ¹²and they turn aside the burnt-offering, to put them by the divisions of the house of the fathers of the sons of the people, to bring near to Jehovah, as it is written in the book of Moses—and so to the oxen. ¹³And they cook the passover with fire, according to the ordinance, and the sanctified things they have cooked in pots, and in kettles, and in pans—for all the sons of the people. ¹⁴And afterward they have prepared for themselves, and for the priests: for the priests, sons of Aaron, are in the offering up of the burnt-offering and of the fat till night; and the Levites have prepared for themselves, and for the priests, sons of Aaron. ¹⁵And the singers, sons of Asaph, are on their station, according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun seer of the king, and the gate keepers are at gate and gate; it is not for them to turn aside from off their service, for their brethren the Levites have prepared for them. ¹⁶And all the service of Jehovah is prepared on that day, to keep the passover, and to cause to ascend burnt-offering upon the altar of Jehovah, according to the command of king Josiah. ¹⁷And the sons of Israel who are found make the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened things, seven days. ¹⁸And there hath not been made a passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, and none of the kings of Israel made such a passover as Josiah hath made, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who are found, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah hath this passover been made.

²⁰After all this, when Josiah hath prepared the house, come up hath Necho king of Egypt, to fight…