Open English Translation 2 CHR Chapter 34

34 Yoshiyah was eight when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for thirty-one years.[ref] 2 He did what Yahweh had said was right, and made similar decisions to his ancestor David—not deviating to the right or the left.

3 In the eighth year of his reign while he was still a teenager, he began to learn more about the god of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year, he began to remove the hilltop shrines from Yerushalem and across Yehudah, as well as the Asherah poles, and the idols and metal images. 4 He watched while they tore down the altars for the Baals and cut down the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles and the idols and metal images, then crushed them to powder which he scattered over the graves of those who’d sacrificed to them.[ref] 5 He burnt the bones of those priests on their altars, and so he purified Yerushalem and all Yehudah,[ref] 6 as well as in the cities in the tribes of Menashsheh, Efrayim, Shimeon, and as far north as Naftali, including in the ruins around them. 7 He tore down the altars and the Asherah poles, ground the idols into pieces, and cut down the incense altars in all Yisrael before returning to Yerushalem.

8 In his eighteenth year as king, in order to purify the land and the temple, he sent Atsalyah’s son Shafan, Maaseyah the city official, and Yoahaz’s son Yoah the secretary, to repair the residence of his god Yahweh. 9 They went to Hilkiyah the high priest and handed over the funds that had been donated for God’s house, which had been collected by the Levites as doorkeepers—the money was from the tribes of Menashsheh, Efrayim, and other places in the northern kingdom of Yisrael, as well as from Yerushalem’s inhabitants and across all of Yehudah and Benyamin. 10 The priests then paid the workers who’d been assigned to work in Yahweh’s temple to repair and strengthen it. 11 They also paid the carpenters and builders to buy cut stone and timber for the beams and braces which Yehudah’s kings had allowed to deteriorate, 12 and the workers did their work faithfully. Their supervisors were Yahat and Ovadyah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zekaryah and Meshullam (descendants of Levi’s son Kohat), and all the Levites who were good on their musical instruments. 13 They also supervised the porters and those working on various other tasks. Some of the Levites were secretaries, officials, and guards.

14 When they were bringing the money out of the temple, Hilkiyah the high priest found a scroll containing Yahweh’s instructions that had been given via Mosheh (Moses). 15 Hilkiyah informed the scribe Shafan that he had found a Torah scroll in the temple, and he gave him the scroll. 16 Shafan took the scroll with him to the king and reported to him, “Your servants are doing everything they were assigned to do. 17 They’ve taken the cash that was in Yahweh’s residence, and passed it on to the supervisors of the workers.” 18 Then Shafan told the king, “I’ve brought a scroll that the priest Hilkiyah gave me,” and then he started reading it out to the king.

19 When the king heard the words with God’s instructions, he tore his clothes in grief. 20 Then he commanded Hilkiyah, Shafan’s son Ahikam, Mikah’s son Avdon, Shafan himself, and the king’s special advisor Asayah, 21 “Go and ask Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of those in Yisrael and Yehudah, what he wants us to do with respect to the instructions on the scroll that has just been found, because it seems that Yahweh will be very angry at us because our ancestors haven’t followed all of Yahweh’s instructions as they’re written on that scroll.”

22 So Hilkiyah and the others went to Yerushalem’s Second District to the prophetess Huldah (wife of Shallum, son of Tokahat, son of Hasrah who took care of the temple robes). They passed on the king’s question 23 and she replied, “Yisrael’s god Yahweh says to tell the king: 24 Yahweh says, ‘Listen, I’m going to bring disaster on this place and its inhabitants as per all the curses written on that scroll that was read to Yehudah’s king 25 because they’ve abandoned me and offered incense to other gods. That’s made me angry and so my rage will be poured out on this place, and it can’t be prevented.’ 26 However, Yehudah’s king sent you all to ask for Yahweh’s direction, so tell him, ‘Yisrael’s god Yahweh says that after hearing the words of the scroll, 27 because you were sincere and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words about this place and its inhabitants. Yes, Yahweh declares that you’ve humbled yourself before me and torn your clothes, and wept in front of me, and I’ve personally heard you. 28 So listen, I will allow you to die and be buried in peace and so your eyes won’t see the disaster that I’ll send to this place and its inhabitants.’ ”

So they took that response back to the king.

29 Then the king summoned all the elders from Yerushalem and from across Yehudah 30 and they all walked up to the temple with the inhabitants of Yerushalem and all Yehudah, and the priests and the Levites, and all the people irrespective of their standing in the community. Then the king read everything out to them that was on the Torah scroll that had been found in the temple. 31 Then the king stood at his normal place and made an agreement with Yahweh: to obey Yahweh and follow his instructions and his regulations and statutes, sincerely and with all his energy—doing what was in the joint understanding that had been written on the scroll. 32 Then he had everyone from Yerushalem and Benyamin take a stand in agreement to it, and so Yerushalem’s inhabitants renewed their agreement with the god of their ancestors. 33 So King Yoshiyah removed all the disgusting idols from all the Yisraeli regions, and he made everyone in Yisrael serve their god Yahweh—during his lifetime they never turned away from Yahweh, the god of their ancestors.