Josiah King of Judah

22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah. Adaiah was from Bozkath. ² Josiah did what the Lord said was right. He did good things as his ancestor David had done. Josiah did not stop doing what was right.

³ In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king, he sent Shaphan to the Temple of the Lord. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah, who was the son of Meshullam. Shaphan was the royal assistant. Josiah said, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Have him empty out the money the gatekeepers have gathered from the people. This is the money they have brought into the Temple of the Lord. ⁵ Have him give the money to the supervisors of the work on the Temple. They must pay the men who work to repair the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ The workers are carpenters, builders and stoneworkers. Also use the money to buy timber and cut stone to repair the Temple. ⁷ They do not need to report how they use the money given to them. They are working honestly.”

The Book of the Law Is Found

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the royal assistant, “I’ve found the Book of the Teachings. It was in the Temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Then Shaphan the royal assistant went to the king and reported to Josiah, “Your officers have paid out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. They have given it to the workers and supervisors at the Temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the royal assistant told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from the book to the king.

¹¹ The king heard the words of the Book of the Teachings. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. ¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam son of Shaphan. He also gave them to Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan and Asaiah. Shaphan was the royal assistant. And Asaiah was the king’s servant. These were the orders: ¹³ “Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book that has been found. Ask for me and for all the people and for all Judah. The Lord’s anger is burning against us because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book. They did not do all the things written for us to do!”

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah left. They went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas. Harhas took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.

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 will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. It is in the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ The people of Judah have left me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the idols they have made. My anger burns against this place like a fire. It will not be put out.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard: ¹⁹ You heard my words against this place and its people. You became sorry in the Lord’s presence for what you had done. I said they would become cursed and would be destroyed. Then you tore your clothes to show how upset you were. And you cried in my presence. This is why I have heard you, says the Lord. ²⁰ So I will cause you to die. You will be buried in peace. You won’t see all the trouble I will bring to this place.’”

So they took her message back to the king.