2 Kings 22:3-9

New English Translation

³ In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders:^{[a] 4} “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down^[b] the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door. ⁵ Have them hand it over to the construction foremen^[c] assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it,^{[d] 6} including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work.^{[e] 7} Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest.”^[f]

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the scroll of the law in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it. ⁹ Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported,^[g] “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple^[h] and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.”