Diḇre haYamim Bĕt (2 Chronicles) 34
34
1Yoshiyahu was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Yerushalayim.
2And he did what was right in the eyes of יהוה, and walked in the ways of his father Dawiḏ, and did not turn aside, right or left.
3And in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the Elohim of his father Dawiḏ. And in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim from the high places, and the Ashĕrim, and the carved images, and the moulded images.
4And they broke down the slaughter-places of the Ba‛als in his presence, and the sun-pillars which were above them he cut down. And the Ashĕrim, and the carved images, and the moulded images he smashed, and ground them up and strewed it on the surface of the burial-sites of those who had slaughtered to them.
5And he burned the bones of the priests on their slaughter-places, and cleansed Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim,
6and in the cities of Menashsheh, and Ephrayim, and Shim‛on, as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around.
7And he broke down the slaughter-places and the Ashĕrim, and ground the carved images into dust, and cut down all the sun-pillars throughout all the land of Yisra’ĕl, and returned to Yerushalayim.
8And in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the House, he sent Shaphan son of Atsalyahu, and Ma‛asĕyahu the head of the city, and Yo’aḥ son of Yo’aḥaz the recorder, to repair the House of יהוה his Elohim.
9And they went to Ḥilqiyahu the high priest, and they gave the silver that was brought into the House of Elohim, which the Lĕwites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Menashsheh and Ephrayim, and from all the remnant of Yisra’ĕl, and from all Yehuḏah and Binyamin, and which they had brought back to Yerushalayim,
10and they gave it in the hand of the workmen, those appointed over the House of יהוה. And they gave it to the workmen who worked in the House of יהוה, to repair and strengthen the house.
11And they gave it to the craftsmen and to the builders, to buy hewn stone and timber for couplings and for beams for the houses which the sovereigns of Yehuḏah had destroyed.
12And the men did the work trustworthily. And over them were appointed Yaḥath and Oḇaḏyahu the Lĕwites, of the sons of Merari, and Zeḵaryah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Qehathites, to oversee; and of the Lĕwites, all of whom were skilled in instruments of song,
13and over the burden bearers, and overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And of the Lĕwites were scribes, and officers, and gatekeepers.
14And when they brought out the silver that was brought into the House of יהוה, Ḥilqiyahu the priest found the Book of the Torah of יהוה given by Mosheh.
15Then Ḥilqiyahu responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Torah in the House of יהוה.” And Ḥilqiyahu gave the book to Shaphan.
16And Shaphan brought the book to the sovereign, and brought the sovereign word, saying, “All that has been given into the hand of your servants, they are doing.
17“And they have poured out the silver that was found in the House of יהוה, and have given it into the hand of those appointed and the workmen.”
18And Shaphan the scribe informed the sovereign, saying, “Ḥilqiyahu the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the sovereign.
19And it came to be, when the sovereign heard the words of the Torah, that he tore his garments.
20And the sovereign commanded Ḥilqiyahu, Aḥiqam son of Shaphan, and Aḇdon son of Miḵah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asayah a servant of the sovereign, saying,
21“Go, inquire of יהוה for me, and for him who is left in Yisra’ĕl and in Yehuḏah, concerning the words of the book that is found. For great is the wrath of יהוה that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not guarded the Word of יהוה, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
22Then Ḥilqiyahu and those of the sovereign went to Ḥuldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Toqhath, son of Ḥasrah, keeper of the wardrobe, who was dwelling in Yerushalayim in the Second Quarter. And they spoke to her about this.
23And she said to them, “Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Say to the man who sent you to Me,
24“Thus said יהוה, ‘See, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the sovereign of Yehuḏah,
25because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other mighty ones, to provoke Me with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath is poured out on this place, and is not quenched.’” ’
26“And to the sovereign of Yehuḏah, who sent you to inquire of יהוה, say this to him, ‘Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, whose words you have heard,
27“Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before Elohim when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your garments and wept before Me, I also have heard,” declares יהוה.
28“See, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your burial-site in peace, so that your eyes would not see all the evil that I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the sovereign.
29And the sovereign sent and gathered all the elders of Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim.
30And the sovereign went up to the House of יהוה with all the men of Yehuḏah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and the priests and the Lĕwites, and all the people, both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the House of יהוה.
31And the sovereign stood in his place and made a covenant before יהוה, to follow יהוה and to guard His commands and His witnesses and His laws, with all his heart and all his being, to do the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
32And he made stand all who were present in Yerushalayim and Binyamin. And the inhabitants of Yerushalayim did according to the covenant of Elohim, the Elohim of their fathers.
33And Yoshiyahu removed all the abominations from all the lands that belonged to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and made all who were present in Yisra’ĕl diligently serve יהוה their Elohim. All his days they did not turn away from following יהוה Elohim of their fathers.
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Diḇre haYamim Bĕt (2 Chronicles) 34: TS2009
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2 Chronicles 34
34
Josiah Makes Judah a Better Nation
1Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years. 2He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t turn away from it to the right or the left.
3While he was still young, he began to worship the God of King David. It was the eighth year of Josiah’s rule. In his 12th year Josiah began to get rid of the high places in Judah and Jerusalem. He removed the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. He also removed the statues of other false gods. 4He ordered the altars of the gods that were named Baal to be torn down. Josiah cut to pieces the altars above them that were used for burning incense. He smashed the Asherah poles. He also smashed the statues of other false gods. Josiah broke all of them to pieces. He scattered the pieces over the graves of those who had offered sacrifices to those gods. 5He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. That’s the way he made Judah and Jerusalem pure and “clean.” 6Josiah went to the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He went all the way to Naphtali. He also went to the destroyed places around all those towns. 7Everywhere Josiah went he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles. He crushed the statues of gods to powder. He cut to pieces all the altars for burning incense. He destroyed all those things everywhere in Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
8In the 18th year of Josiah’s rule, he decided to make the land and temple pure and “clean.” So he sent Shaphan, Maaseiah and Joah to repair the temple of the Lord his God. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah. Maaseiah was ruler of the city. And Joah, the son of Joahaz, kept the records.
9These men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money that had been brought into God’s temple. The Levites who guarded the gates had collected it. They had received some of the money from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim. They had also received some from the other people who remained in Israel. The rest of the money came from other people. It came from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the people living in Jerusalem. 10Men were appointed to direct the work on the Lord’s temple. All the money collected was given to them. These men paid the workers who repaired the temple. They made it look like new again. 11They also gave money to the builders and those who worked with wood. The workers used it to buy lumber and blocks of stone. The lumber was used for the supports and beams for the buildings. The kings of Judah had let the buildings fall down.
12The workers were faithful in doing the work. Jahath and Obadiah directed them. They were Levites from the family line of Merari. Zechariah and Meshullam also directed them. They were from the family line of Kohath. The Levites were skilled in playing musical instruments. 13They were in charge of the laborers. They directed all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries and writers. Other Levites guarded the gates.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
14The money that had been taken into the Lord’s temple was being brought out. At that time Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord. It had been given through Moses. 15Hilkiah spoke to Shaphan the secretary. Hilkiah said, “I’ve found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.
16Then Shaphan took the book to King Josiah. He told him, “Your officials are doing everything they’ve been asked to do. 17They have paid out the money that was in the Lord’s temple. They’ve put it in the care of the directors and workers.” 18Shaphan continued, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” Shaphan read some of it to the king.
19The king heard the words of the Law. When he did, he tore his royal robes. 20He gave orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam, Abdon, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. Abdon was the son of Micah. And Asaiah was the king’s attendant. Josiah commanded them, 21“Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this book that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for the people who remain in Israel and Judah. The Lord has been very angry with us. That’s because our people before us didn’t obey what the Lord had said. They didn’t do everything written in this book.”
22Hilkiah and the people the king had sent with him went to speak to Huldah the prophet. She was the wife of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Tokhath. Tokhath was the son of Hasrah. Shallum took care of the sacred robes. Huldah lived in the New Quarter of Jerusalem.
23Huldah said to them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Here is what you should tell the man who sent you to me. 24“The Lord says, ‘I am going to bring horrible trouble on this place and its people. There are curses written down in the book that has been read to the king of Judah. All those curses will take place. 25That’s because the people have deserted me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me very angry because of everything their hands have made. So my anger will burn like a fire against this place. And the fire of my anger will not be put out.’ ” ’ 26The king of Judah sent you to ask for advice. Tell him, ‘The Lord is the God of Israel. He has a message for you about the things you heard. 27The Lord says, “Your heart was tender. You made yourself humble in my sight. You heard what I spoke against this place and its people. So you made yourself humble. You tore your royal robes and wept. And I have heard you,” announces the Lord. 28You will join the members of your family who have already died. You will be buried in peace. You will not see all the trouble I am going to bring. I am going to bring trouble on this place and the people who live here.’ ”
Huldah’s answer was taken back to the king.
29Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30He went up to the Lord’s temple. The people of Judah and Jerusalem went with him. So did the priests and Levites. All of them went, from the least important of them to the most important. The king had all the words of the Book of the Covenant read to them. The book had been found in the Lord’s temple. 31The king stood next to his pillar. He agreed to the terms of the covenant in front of the Lord. The king promised to serve the Lord and obey his commands, directions and rules. He promised to obey them with all his heart and with all his soul. So the king promised to obey the terms of the covenant that were written in that book.
32Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and in Benjamin commit themselves to the covenant. The people of Jerusalem did it in keeping with the covenant of the God of Israel.
33Josiah removed all the statues of false gods from the whole territory that belonged to the Israelites. The Lord hated those statues. Josiah had everyone in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they didn’t fail to follow the Lord, the God of their people.
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