1 JOSIAH was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.
9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and amend the house:
11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses.
15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.
17 And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
19 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.
20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king’s, saying,
21 Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book.
22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.
23 And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
24 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:
25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;
27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.
28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.
29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord.
31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.
32 And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

1Iosiah was eight yeeres old when hee beganne to reigne, and he reigned in Ierusalem one and thirty yeeres.

2And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the wayes of Dauid his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left.

3 For in the eight yeare of his reigne, while he was yet young, hee beganne to seeke after the God of Dauid his father: and in the twelfth yeere hee beganne to purge Iudah and Ierusalem from the high places and the groues, and the carued images, and the molten images.

4And they brake downe the altars of Baalim in his presence, and the images that were on high aboue them, he cut downe, and the groues, and the carued images, and the molten images he brake in peeces, and made dust of them, and strowed it vpon the graues of them, that had sacrificed vnto them.

5And hee burnt the bones of the priests vpon their altars, and cleansed Iudah and Ierusalem.

6And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, euen vnto Naphtali, with their mattockes, round about.

7And when he had broken downe the altars and the groues, and had beaten the grauen images into pouder, and cut downe all the idoles throughout all the land of Israel, hee returned to Ierusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth yeere of his reigne, when hee had purged the land, and the house; he sent Shaphan the sonne of Azaliah, and Maasiah the gouernour of the citie, and Ioah the sonne of Ioahaz the recorder, to repaire the house of the Lord his God.

9And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they deliuered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Leuites that kept the doores, had gathered of the hand of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Iudah, and Beniamin, and they returned to Ierusalem.

10And they put it in the hand of the workemen that had the ouersight of the house of the Lord, and they gaue it to the workemen that wrought in the house of the Lord, to repaire and mend the house.

11Euen to the artificers and builders gaue they it, to buy hewen stone, and timber for couplings, and to floore the houses, which the kings of Iudah had destroyed.

12And the men did the worke faithfully, and the ouerseers of them were Iahath, and Obadiah, the Leuites, of the sonnes of Merari, and Sechariah, and Meshullam, of the sonnes of the Kohathites, to set it forward: and other of the Leuites, all that could skill of instruments of musicke.

13Also they were ouer the bearers of burdens, and were ouerseers of all that wrought the worke in any manner of seruice: and of the Leuites there were Scribes, and officers, and porters.

14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a booke of the lawe of the Lord, giuen by Moses.

15And Hilkiah answered and saide to Shaphan the scribe: I haue found the booke of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah deliuered the booke to Shaphan:

16And Shaphan caried the booke to the king, and brought the king word backe againe, saying, All that was committed to thy seruants, they doe it.

17And they haue gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and haue deliuered it into the hand of the ouerseers, and to the hand of the workemen.

18Then Shaphan the scribe tolde the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath giuen me a booke. And Shaphan read it before the king.

19And it came to passe when the king had heard the words of the lawe, that he rent his clothes.

20And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the sonne of Shaphan, and Abdon the sonne of Mirah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a seruant of the kings, saying,

21Goe, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Iudah, concerning the wordes of the booke that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is powred out vpon vs, because our fathers haue not kept the word of the Lord, to doe after all that is written in this booke.

22And Hilkiah and they that the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetesse, the wife of Shallum the sonne of Tikuath, the sonne of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Ierusalem in the colledge,) and they spake to her to that effect.

23 And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you to me,

24Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring euill vpon this place, and vpon the inhabitants thereof, euen all the curses that are written in the booke which they haue read before the king of Iudah:

25Because they haue forsaken mee, and haue burned incense vnto other gods, that they might prouoke mee to anger with all the workes of their hands, therefore my wrath shall bee powred out vpon this place, and shall not be quenched.

26And as for the king of Iudah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shal ye say vnto him: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, concerning the words which thou hast heard:

27Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thy selfe before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thy selfe before me, and diddest rend thy clothes, and weepe before me, I haue euen heard thee also, saith the Lord.

28Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt bee gathered to thy graue in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the euill that I will bring vpon this place, and vpon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word againe.

29 Then the king sent, and gathered together all the Elders of Iudah and Ierusalem.

30And the king went vp into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and the priests and the Leuites, and all the people great and small: and he read in their eares all the words of the booke of the couenant, that was found in the house of the Lord.

31And the King stood in his place, & made a Couenant before the Lord, to walke after the Lord, and to keep his Commandements, and his Testimonies, and his Statutes, with all his heart, & with all his soule, to performe the words of the Couenant which are written in this booke.

32And he caused all that were present in Ierusalem and Beniamin, to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Ierusalem did according to the couenant of God, the God of their fathers.

33And Iosiah tooke away all the abominations out of all the countreys that perteined to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serue, euen to serue the Lord their God. And all his dayes they departed not from folowing the Lord the God of their fathers.

I == 2nd Kings 22:1

 

 

III == 1st Kings 13:2 ; 2nd Chr 15:2 ; 33:17 , 22

 

 

 

 

 

IV == Lev 26:30 ; 2nd Kings 23:4 , 6

 

 

 

 

V == 1st Kings 13:2

 

 

 

VII == Deut 9:21

 

 

 

 

VIII == 2nd Kings 22:3

 

 

 

IX == 2nd Kings 12:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIII == 1st Chr 23:4-5

 

 

 

XIV == 2nd Kings 22:8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == 2nd Kings 22:12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXII == 2nd Kings 22:14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXIX == 2nd Kings 23:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXI == 2nd Kings 11:14 ; 23:3 ; 2nd Chr 6:13

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXIII == 1st Kings 11:5 ; Jer 3:10

 

 

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.

2 He pleased the LORD, following the path of his ancestor David.

3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, he began to seek after the God of his forefather David, and in his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred poles and the carved and molten images.

4 In his presence, the altars of the Baals were destroyed; the incense stands erected above them were torn down; the sacred poles and the carved and molten images were shattered and beaten into dust, which was strewn over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them;

5 and the bones of the priests he burned upon their altars. Thus he purged Judah and Jerusalem.

6 He did likewise in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and in the ruined villages of the surrounding country as far as Naphtali;

7 he destroyed the altars, broke up the sacred poles and carved images and beat them into dust, and tore down the incense stands throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the temple as well as the land, he sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the ruler of the city, and Joah, son of Joahaz, the chamberlain, to restore the house of the LORD, his God.

9 They came to Hilkiah the high priest and turned over the money brought to the house of God which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

10 They turned it over to the master workmen in the house of the LORD, and these in turn used it to pay the workmen in the LORD'S house who were restoring and repairing the temple.

11 They also gave it to the carpenters and the masons to buy hewn stone and timber for the tie beams and rafters of the buildings which the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.

12 The men worked faithfully at their task; their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the line of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the Kohathites, who directed them. All those Levites who were skillful with musical instruments

13 were in charge of the men who carried the burdens, and they directed all the workers in every kind of labor. Some of the other Levites were scribes, officials and gatekeepers.

14 When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD given through Moses.

15 He reported this to Shaphan the scribe, saying, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan,

16 who brought it to the king at the same time that he was making his report to him. He said, "Your servants are doing everything that has been entrusted to them;

17 they have turned into bullion the metals deposited in the LORD'S house and have handed it over to the overseers and the workmen."

18 Then Shaphan the scribe announced to the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it before the king.

19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his garments

20 and issued this command to Hilkiah, to Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to Abdon, son of Michah, to Shaphan the scribe, and to Asaiah, the king's servant:

21 "On behalf of myself and those who are left in Israel and Judah, go, consult the LORD concerning the words of the book that has been found. For the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us, since our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD and have not done all that is written in this book."

22 Then Hilkiah and the other men from the king went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, the guardian of the wardrobe; she dwelt in Jerusalem, in the new quarter. They spoke to her as they had been instructed,

23 and she said to them: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Tell the one who sent you to me,

24 The LORD says: I am prepared to bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses written in the book that has been read before the king of Judah.

25 Because they have abandoned me and have offered incense to other gods, provoking me by every deed that they have performed, my anger is ablaze against this place and cannot be extinguished.'

26 "But to the king of Judah who sent you to consult the LORD, give this response: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the threats you have heard:

27 Because you were heartsick and have humbled yourself before God on hearing his words spoken against this place and its inhabitants; because you have humbled yourself before me, have torn your garments, and have wept before me, I in turn have listened - so declares the LORD.

28 I will gather you to your ancestors and you shall be taken to your grave in peace. Your eyes shall not see all the evil I will bring upon this place and upon its inhabitants.'" They brought back this message to the king.

29 The king now convened all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

30 He went up to the house of the LORD with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, great and small; and he had read aloud to them the entire text of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.

31 Standing at his post, the king made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep his commandments, decrees, and statutes with his whole heart and soul, thus observing the terms of the covenant written in this book.

32 He thereby committed all who were of Jerusalem and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem conformed themselves to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

33 Josiah removed every abominable thing from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he obliged all who were in Israel to serve the LORD, their God. During his lifetime they did not desert the LORD, the God of their fathers.

V 1-7 Ordinarily if a man is wicked, his son may be more so, but Josiah is in great contrast to his wicked father Amon. Amon had followed the steps of Manasseh in his early days, but after his repentance and turn to the Lord, Manasseh may have been an influence for good on his grandson, Josiah. It is reasonable to assume that he may have held Josiah on his knee as he extolled the virtues of following the Lord, because Josiah was 6 years old when he died at the age of 61-67. A king at age 7, Joash had mechanically followed the leadership of Jehoiada in 2 Ki. 11 and 12, but lacked a personal commitment to God. Josiah, a king at age 8,  may have merely just followed in Manasseh’s later spiritual steps the first eight years of his reign, older men in government running the country much as it had been before. When he was 16 years old, he began to seek the Lord from his own conviction. Then when he was 20, he took full personal command of government  and began to purge Jerusalem and Judah of the high places and all kinds of idolatry, scattering the dust of the images over the graves of those who had worshiped them. He also burned the bones of the pagan priests on their own altars. His authority as king was limited to Judah, but as an envoy of God, he continued the destruction of the idols and altars of Canaanite worship through all the cities of Israel to the very northern limit. Apparently the Assyrian appointed rulers did not interfere in this religious matter. In his twelfth year: c. 628 B.C., the year after Asshurbanipal's death, when Judah could free itself from Assyrian domination. From2 Kings 22:1 to 23:25 alone, one might think that Josiah's reform began only after the discovery of the book of the law in the temple, in the eighteenth year of his reign. But the Chronicler is no doubt right in placing the beginning of the reform at an earlier period. The very repair of the temple, which led to the finding of the book of the law, must have been occasioned by a cultic reform. This is not the later reform where he destroyed Jeroboam’s altars etc. which is discussed in 2 Ki. 23:15-19 and 2 Chr. 34:33.

V 8-13 Includes comments from 2 Chr. 34:8-13 . In Josiah’s 18th year, when he was 26 years old and he had completed purging all of Israel of idolatry, he turned his attention to the repair of the temple. He apparently had Levites collecting money for this purpose from Judah and the remnant  all over Israel while the purge was going on. Josiah commissioned officials, Shaphan a scribe, Maaseiah, governor of Jerusalem, and Joah the recorder, to be responsible for repair of the temple. They delivered the money to Hilkiah the priest to be counted and distributed to overseers to hire workmen and buy materials. The craftsmen were skilled in wood, stone and probably metal. The named overseers were  skilled musicians, sensitive to good artistry. Other Levites, who were scribes, officers and porters, oversaw all labor, from burden bearers to the most skilled. No general accounting was made of the money, because it was given to the workmen regularly and faithfully. Our Pentagon could not be run that way today?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V 18-21 Josiah tore his clothes and wept at the words, possibly because he realized his reforms had not nearly fulfilled the great responsibility that Moses had given kings. All other copies had probably been destroyed by Manasseh, and Hilkiah only knew the rules pertaining to his own office. Josiah feared that the wrath of God would be upon the nation for disobedience so he sent him and four other important men, v 12, to Huldah the prophetess for instruction. Jeremiah, (Jer. 1:2),  Zephaniah, (Zeph 1:1) and possibly Nahum and Habakkuk were in the area, but perhaps they felt more comfortable going to her, an acquaintance, the wife of Shallum, who had charge of the royal or priestly wardrobe. Shallum may also have been Jeremiah’s uncle, Jer. 32:7. Her advice as a woman was just as valued as that of Miriam, Ex. 15:20, and Deborah, Jud. 4:4.

V 22-28 Huldah sent the men back to Josiah with the message that since the people had disobeyed the Lord and worshiped other gods, He would indeed bring evil upon them in wrath which could not be quenched. This  included all the curses which were read in the book from Deut. 28:15-68 and Lev. 26:14-39. Concerning the king, his heart was tender and he had humbled himself before God, weeping and tearing his clothes. Therefore, he would die in peace before this judgment fell. He died 609 B C, four years before Nebuchadnezzar’s first attack on Jerusalem in 605. Death in the battle which he started may not seem like peace, but it was in peace from the terrible things which followed.