2 Crônicas 34

¹ Iosiah was eight yeere olde when hee began to reigne, and he reigned in Ierusalem one and thirtie yeere.

² And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways ofHe followed David in all points that he followed the Lord.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 yetWhen he was but sixteen years old he showed himself zealous of God's glory, and at twenty years old he abolished idolatry and restored the true religion.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 downWhich shows that he would see the reformation with his own eyes.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 theRead (2Ki_23:16).bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

⁶ And in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, euen vnto Naphtali, with their maules they brake all round about.

⁷ And when he hadThis great zeal of this godly king the Holy Spirit sets forth as an example and pattern to other kings and rulers, to teach them what God requires of them.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 Then in the eightenth yere of his reigne, when hee had purged the lande and the Temple, he sent Shaphan the sonne of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the gouernour of the citie, & Ioah the sonne of Ioahaz the recorder, to repaire the house of the Lord his God.

⁹ And when they came to Hilkiah the hie Priest, they deliuered ye money that was brought into the house of God, which the Leuites that kept the doore, had gathered at the hand of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and of all the residue of Israel, and of all Iudah and Beniamin, and of the inhabitantes of Ierusalem.

¹⁰ Meaning Shaphan, etc.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 theFor there were many portions and pieces annexed to the temple.houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

¹² And the men did the workMeaning that they were in such credit for their fidelity that they made no accounts of that which they received, (2Ki_22:7, 2Ki_22:9).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 And they were ouer the bearers of burdens, and them that set forwarde all the workemen in euery worke: and of the Leuites 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 aRead (2Ki_22:8).book of the law of the LORD [given] by Moses.

¹⁵ Therefore Hilkiah answered and sayde to Shaphan the chaceler, I haue found the booke of the Law in the house of the Lord: & Hilkiah gaue the booke to Shaphan.

¹⁶ And Shaphan carried the book toFor the king was commanded to continually have a copy of this book and to read in it day and night, (Deu_17:18).the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do [it].

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

¹⁸ Also Shaphan ye chanceler declared to the King, saying, Hilkiah the Priest hath giuen mee a booke, and Shaphan read it before the King.

¹⁹ And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that heFor sorrow that the word of God had been so long suppressed and the people kept in ignorance, considering also the curses contained in it against the transgressors.rent his clothes.

²⁰ And the King commanded Hilkiah, & Ahikam the sonne of Shaphan, & Abdon the sonne of Micah, and Shaphan the chanceler, & Asaiah the Kings seruant, saying,

²¹ Go, enquire 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 ourThus the godly not only lament their own sins, but also that their fathers and predecessors have offended God.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 theMeaning, either of the priests apparel or the kings.wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in theRead (2Ki_22:15).college:) and they spake to her to that [effect].

²³ And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell yeThat is, to the king.the man that sent you to me,

²⁴ Thus saith the Lorde, Beholde, I will bring euill vpon this place, and vpon the inhabitantes thereof, euen all the curses, that are written in the booke which they haue read before the King of Iudah:

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 theirThis she speaks in contempt of the idolaters, who contrary to reason and nature call a god that which they have made and framed with their own hands.hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

²⁶ But to the King of Iudah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shal ye say vnto him, Thus saith the Lorde God of Israel, The words which thou hast heard, shal come to passe.

²⁷ Because thine heart wasThis declares the end of God's threatenings, to call his to repentance, and to assure the unrepentant of their destruction.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 thisIt may appear that very few were touched with true repentance, seeing that God spared them for a time only for the king's sake.place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.

²⁹ Then the King sent and gathered all the Elders of Iudah and Ierusalem.

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 andThough neither young nor old could be exempted from the curses contained in it, if they did transgress, he knew it pertained to all and was his duty to see it read to all sorts, that everyone might learn to avoid those punishments by serving God correctly.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 by his pillar, and made a couenant before the Lorde, to walke after the Lord, and to keepe his commandements, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soule, and that he would accomplish the wordes of the couenant written in the same booke.

³² And he caused all that were found in Ierusalem, and Beniamin to stande to it: and the inhabitants of Ierusalem did according to the couenant of God, euen 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 allBecause he had charge over all, and must answer for everyone that perished: he thought it his duty to see that all should make profession to receive the word of God.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.