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22 A son of eight years [is] Josiah in his reigning, and thirty and one years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Boskath,

and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walketh in all the way of David his father, and hath not turned aside -- right or left.

And it cometh to pass, in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, the king hath sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying,

`Go up unto Hilkiah the high priest, and he doth complete the silver that is brought into the house of Jehovah, that the keepers of the threshold have gathered from the people,

and they give it into the hand of the doers of the work, the overseers, in the house of Jehovah, and they give it to the doers of the work that [is] in the house of Jehovah, to strengthen the breach of the house,

to artificers, and to builders, and [to repairers of] the wall, and to buy wood and hewn stones to strengthen the house;

only, the silver that is given into their hand is not reckoned with them, for in faithfulness they are dealing.

And Hilkiah the high priest 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, and he readeth it.

And Shaphan the scribe cometh in unto the king, and bringeth the king back word, and saith, `Thy servants have poured out the silver that hath been found in the house, and give it into the hand of the doers of the work, the inspectors, in the house of Jehovah.'

10 And Shaphan the scribe declareth to the king, saying, `A book hath Hilkiah the priest given to me;' and Shaphan readeth it before the king.

11 And it cometh to pass, at the king's hearing the words of the book of the law, that he rendeth his garments,

12 and the king commandeth Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Achbor son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah servant of the king, saying,

13 `Go, seek Jehovah for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found, for great [is] the fury of Jehovah that is kindled against us, because that our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according to all that is written for us.'

14 And Hilkiah the priest goeth, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, unto Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum, son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the garments, and she is dwelling in Jerusalem in the second, and they speak unto her.

15 And she saith unto them, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Say to the man who hath sent you unto me:

16 Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am bringing in evil unto this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah hath read,

17 because that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, so as to provoke Me to anger with every work of their hands, and My wrath hath been kindled against this place, and it is not quenched.

18 `And unto the king of Judah, who is sending you to seek Jehovah, thus do ye say unto him, Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, The words that thou hast heard --

19 because thy heart [is] tender, and thou art humbled because of Jehovah, in thy hearing that which I have spoken against this place, and against its inhabitants, to be for a desolation, and for a reviling, and dost rend thy garments, and weep before Me -- I also have heard -- the affirmation of Jehovah --

20 therefore, lo, I am gathering thee unto thy fathers, and thou hast been gathered unto thy grave in peace, and thine eyes do not look on any of the evil that I am bringing in on this place;' and they bring the king back word.

The Book of the Law Found(A)

22 Josiah(B) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.(C) He did what was right(D) in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right(E) or to the left.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan(F) son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: “Go up to Hilkiah(G) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected(H) from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair(I) the temple of the Lord the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.(J) But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”(K)

Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law(L) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.(M)

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,(N) he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam(O) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:(P) 13 “Go and inquire(Q) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger(R) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet(S) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster(T) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book(U) the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken(V) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(W) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled(X) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse[b](Y) and be laid waste(Z)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.(AA) Your eyes(AB) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 22:17 Or by everything they have done
  2. 2 Kings 22:19 That is, their names would be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, others would see that they are cursed.