Josiah Repairs the Temple

³ In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple,^(A) saying, ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest so that he may total up the money brought into the Lord’s temple—the money the doorkeepers have collected from the people.^{(B) 5} It is to be put into the hands of those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple. They in turn are to give it to the workmen in the Lord’s temple to repair the damage.^{(C) 6} They are to give it to the carpenters, builders, and masons to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the temple.^{(D) 7} But no accounting is to be required from them for the money put into their hands since they work with integrity.”^(E)

The Book of the Law Found

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the book of the law^(F) in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Then Shaphan the court secretary went to the king and reported,^[a] “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hand of those doing the work—those who oversee the Lord’s temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.^(G)

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.^{(H) 12} Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(I) son of Shaphan, Achbor^(J) son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah: ¹³ “Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”^(K)

Huldah’s Prophecy of Judgment

¹⁴ So^(L) Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophetess^(M) Huldah, wife of Shallum son of Tikvah,^(N) son of Harhas,^[b] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.^(O) They spoke with her.

Josiah’s Repair of the Temple

⁸ In the eighteenth year of his reign,^(A) in order to cleanse the land and the temple, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, along with Maaseiah the governor^(B) of the city and the court historian Joah son of Joahaz, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

⁹ So they went to Hilkiah^(C) the high priest, and gave him the money brought into God’s temple. The Levites and the doorkeepers had collected money from Manasseh, Ephraim,^(D) and from the entire remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They put it into the hands of those doing the work—those who oversaw the Lord’s temple. They gave it to the workmen who were working in the Lord’s temple, to repair and restore the temple; ¹¹ they gave it to the carpenters and builders and also used it to buy quarried stone and timbers—for joining and making beams—for the buildings that Judah’s kings had destroyed.

¹² The men were doing the work with integrity. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites as supervisors. The Levites were all skilled with musical instruments.^{(E) 13} They were also over the porters and were supervising all those doing the work task by task. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officers, and gatekeepers.

The Recovery of the Book of the Law

¹⁴ When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the Lord’s temple, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord written by the hand of Moses.^{(F) 15} Consequently,^(G) Hilkiah told Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Shaphan took the book to the king, and also reported, “Your servants are doing all that was placed in their hands. ¹⁷ They have emptied out the money that was found in the Lord’s temple and have put it into the hand of the overseers and the hand of those doing the work.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book,” and Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.^(H)

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes.^{(I) 20} Then he commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah,

³ The letter was sent by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah^(A) whom Zedekiah king of Judah had sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter stated: