2 Chronicles 34:14-33
New American Standard Bible
Hilkiah Discovers the Lost Book of the Law
14 When they were bringing out the money which had been brought into the house of the Lord, (A)Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. 15 Hilkiah responded and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Then Shaphan brought the book to the king and [a]reported further word to the king, saying, “Everything that was [b]entrusted to your servants, they are doing. 17 They have also emptied out the money which was found in the house of the Lord, and have handed it over to the supervisors and the workmen.” 18 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
19 When the king heard (B)the words of the Law, (C)he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, [c]Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for (D)the wrath of the Lord which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”
Huldah, the Prophetess, Speaks
22 So Hilkiah and those [d]whom the king had told went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of [e]Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe (she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her regarding this. 23 Then she said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 this is what the Lord says: “Behold, (E)I am bringing [f]evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all (F)the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 (G)Since they have abandoned Me and have burned incense to other gods, so that they may provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands, My wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched.”’ 26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the Lord, this is what you shall say to him: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: In regard to the words which you have heard, 27 “(H)Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have indeed heard you,” declares the Lord. 28 “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I am bringing on this place and its inhabitants.”’” And they brought back word to the king.
29 (I)Then the king sent word and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the Lord [g]with (J)all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read in their [h]presence all the words of the Book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
Josiah’s Good Reign
31 Then the king (K)stood [i]in his place and (L)made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book. 32 Furthermore, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem acted in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Josiah (M)removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. Throughout his [j]lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 34:16 Lit returned
- 2 Chronicles 34:16 Lit given into the hand of
- 2 Chronicles 34:20 In 2 Kin 22:12, Achbor, son of Micaiah
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 As in LXX; MT who were the king’s men
- 2 Chronicles 34:22 In 2 Kin 22:14, Tikvah, son of Harhas
- 2 Chronicles 34:24 Or disaster
- 2 Chronicles 34:30 Lit and
- 2 Chronicles 34:30 Lit ears
- 2 Chronicles 34:31 LXX by a pillar
- 2 Chronicles 34:33 Lit days
2 Chronicles 34:14-33
Living Bible
14 One day when Hilkiah the High Priest was at the Temple recording the money collected at the gates, he found an old scroll that turned out to be the laws of God as given to Moses!
15-16 “Look!” Hilkiah exclaimed to Shaphan, the king’s secretary. “See what I have found in the Temple! These are the laws of God!” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and Shaphan took it to the king, along with his report that there was good progress being made in the reconstruction of the Temple.
17 “The money chests have been opened and counted, and the money has been put into the hand of the overseers and workmen,” he said to the king.
18 Then he mentioned the scroll and how Hilkiah had discovered it. So he read it to the king. 19 When the king heard what these laws required of God’s people, he ripped his clothing in despair 20 and summoned Hilkiah, Ahikam (son of Shaphan), Abdon (son of Micah), Shaphan the treasurer, and Asaiah, the king’s personal aide.
21 “Go to the Temple and plead with the Lord for me!” the king told them. “Pray for all the remnant of Israel and Judah! For this scroll says that the reason the Lord’s great anger has been poured out upon us is that our ancestors have not obeyed these laws that are written here.”
22 So the men went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum (son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah). (Shallum was the king’s tailor, living in the second ward.) When they told her of the king’s trouble, 23 she replied, “The Lord God of Israel says, Tell the man who sent you,
24 “‘Yes, the Lord will destroy this city and its people. All the curses written in the scroll will come true. 25 For my people have forsaken me and have worshiped heathen gods, and I am very angry with them for their deeds. Therefore, my unquenchable wrath is poured out upon this place.’
26 “But the Lord also says this to the king of Judah who sent you to ask me about this: Tell him, the Lord God of Israel says, 27 ‘Because you are sorry and have humbled yourself before God when you heard my words against this city and its people, and have ripped your clothing in despair and wept before me—I have heard you, says the Lord, 28 and I will not send the promised evil upon this city and its people until after your death.’” So they brought back to the king this word from the Lord. 29 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, 30 and the priests and Levites and all the people great and small, to accompany him to the Temple. There the king read the scroll to them—the covenant of God that was found in the Temple. 31 As the king stood before them, he made a pledge to the Lord to follow his commandments with all his heart and soul and to do what was written in the scroll. 32 And he required everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin to subscribe to this pact with God, and all of them did.
33 So Josiah removed all idols from the areas occupied by the Jews and required all of them to worship Jehovah their God. And throughout the remainder of his lifetime they continued serving Jehovah, the God of their ancestors.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.