2 KingsChapter 22

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¹Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years. His mother's name was Jedidah. She was the daughter of Adaiah, and she came from Bozkath. ²Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. He lived the way his ancestor David had lived. He did not turn away to the right or to the left. ³In the eighteenth year that Josiah was king, he sent the scribe Shaphan to the house of the LORD. Shaphan was the son of Azaliah and the grandson of Meshullam. King Josiah told him, ⁴"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest. Have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD. The doorkeepers have collected it from the people. ⁵Have them give the money to the men in charge of the work on the house of the LORD. Then those men should pay the workers who are fixing the damage to the house of the LORD. ⁶They should pay the carpenters, the builders, and the stoneworkers. They should also buy wood and cut stone to repair the temple. ⁷But they don't need to report how they spend the money given to them, because they are honest workers." ⁸Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!" He gave it to Shaphan, and Shaphan read it. ⁹Then Shaphan the scribe went to the king. He reported, "Your servants have paid out the money that was found in the temple. They have given it to the workers and the men in charge of the house of the LORD." ¹⁰Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it out loud to the king. ¹¹The king heard the words of the Book of the Law. Then he tore his clothes. ¹²He gave an order to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant. ¹³He said, "Go and ask the LORD about the words in this book that was found. Ask for me, for the people, and for all of Judah. The LORD's anger is burning hot against us. It is because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book. They did not do all that it says we must do." ¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to speak to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas. Shallum was in charge of the royal robes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District. ¹⁵Huldah said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Tell the man who sent you ¹⁶that this is what the LORD says: I am going to bring terrible trouble on this place and its people. Everything written in the book the king of Judah has read will happen. ¹⁷This is because they have turned away from me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry with all the idols their hands have made. My anger will burn like a fire against this place, and it will not be put out.' ¹⁸But the king of Judah sent you to ask the LORD. Tell him this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard: ¹⁹'I spoke against this place and its people. I said they would become an empty ruin and a curse. When you heard this, your heart was tender. You made yourself humble before the LORD. You tore your clothes and cried in front of me. So I have heard you, says the LORD. ²⁰So I will let you die and join your ancestors. You will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the trouble I will bring on this place.'" So the men took her answer back to the king.