1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king; he was ruling in Jerusalem for thirty-one years.

2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father David, without turning to the right hand or to the left.

3 In the eighth year of his rule, while he was still young, his heart was first turned to the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he undertook the clearing away of all the high places and the pillars and the images of wood and metal from Judah and Jerusalem.

4 He had the altars of the Baals broken down, while he himself was present; and the sun-images which were placed on high over them he had cut down; and the pillars of wood and the metal images he had broken up and crushed to dust, dropping the dust over the resting-places of the dead who had made offerings to them.

5 And he had the bones of the priests burned on their altars, and so he made Judah and Jerusalem clean.

6 And in all the towns of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon as far as Naphtali, he made waste their houses round about.

7 He had the altars and the pillars of wood pulled down and the images crushed to dust, and all the sun-images cut down, through all the land of Israel, and then he went back to Jerusalem.

8 Now in the eighteenth year of his rule, when the land and the house had been made clean, he sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah, the ruler of the town, and Joah, the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to make good what was damaged in the house of the Lord his God.

9 And they came to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and gave him all the money which had been taken into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the door, had got from Manasseh and Ephraim and those of Israel who had not been taken away as prisoners, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the people of Jerusalem.

10 And they gave it to the overseers of the work of the Lord's house, and the overseers gave it to the workmen working in the house, for building it up and making good what was damaged;

11 Even to the woodworkers and builders to get cut stone and wood for joining the structure together and for making boards for the houses which the kings of Judah had given up to destruction.

12 And the men did the work well; and those who had authority over them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, who were to be responsible for seeing that the work was done; and others of the Levites, who were expert with instruments of music,

13 Had authority over the transport workers, giving directions to all who were doing any sort of work; and among the Levites there were scribes and overseers and door-keepers.

14 Now when they were taking out the money which had come into the Lord's house, Hilkiah the priest came across the book of the law of the Lord, which he had given by the mouth of Moses.

15 Then Hilkiah said to Shaphan the scribe, I have made discovery of the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

16 And Shaphan took the book to the king; and he gave him an account of what had been done, saying, Your servants are doing all they have been given to do;

17 They have taken out all the money which was in the Lord's house and have given it to the overseers and to the workmen.

18 Then Shaphan the scribe said to the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book; and he made a start at reading some of it to the king.

19 And the king, hearing the words of the law, took his robe in his hands, violently parting it as a sign of his grief.

20 And he gave orders to Hilkiah and to Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Abdon, the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah, the king's servant, saying,

21 Go and get directions from the Lord for me and for those who are still in Israel and for Judah, about the words of this book which has come to light; for great is the wrath of the Lord which has been let loose on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord or done what is recorded in this book.

22 So Hilkiah, and those whom the king sent, went to Huldah the woman prophet, the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the robes (now she was living in Jerusalem, in the second part of the town); and they had talk with her about this thing.

23 And she said to them, The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, Say to the man who sent you to me,

24 These are the words of the Lord: See, I will send evil on this place and on its people, even all the curses in the book which they have been reading before the king of Judah;

25 Because they have given me up, burning offerings to other gods and moving me to wrath by all the works of their hands; so my wrath is let loose on this place and will not be put out.

26 But to the king of Judah who sent you to get directions from the Lord, say, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said: Because you have given ear to my words,

27 And your heart was soft, and you made yourself low before God, on hearing his words about this place and its people, and with weeping and signs of grief have made yourself low before me, I have given ear to you, says the Lord God.

28 See, I will let you go to your fathers, and be put in your last resting-place in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will send on this place and on its people. So they took this news back to the king.

29 Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites and all the people, small and great; and they were present at his reading of the book of the law which had come to light in the house of the Lord.

31 Then the king, taking his place by the pillar, made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and to keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and with all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in this book.

32 And he made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin give their word to keep it. And the people of Jerusalem kept the agreement of God, the God of their fathers.

33 Josiah took away all the disgusting things out of all the lands of the children of Israel, and made all who were in Israel servants of the Lord their God. And as long as he was living they were true to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

1 Josias tinha apenas oito anos quando ocupou o trono. Reinou trinta e dois anos em Jerusalém.

2 Foi um bom rei; seguiu cuidadosamente o bom exemplo deixado por David, seu antecessor.

3 Quando tinha dezasseis anos -era o oitavo ano em que reinava- começou a buscar o Deus de David, seu antepassado, seguindo nos seus caminhos, sem se desviar deles nem para a direita nem para a esquerda. Quatro anos mais tarde iniciou o processo de limpeza de Judá e de Jerusalém, destruindo os altares dos ídolos, dos bosques e os altares dos altos. Deu-se ao cuidado de pessoalmente ir verificar nos próprios locais se tudo tinha sido bem destruído - os altares a Baal, os obeliscos, os altares dos bosques, as imagens, tudo teve a preocupação de reduzir a pó, e até de mandar lançar esse entulho sobre os túmulos mesmo daqueles que tinham praticado o culto da idolatria e que entretanto tinham morrido. Os ossos dos que tinham sido sacerdotes dos deuses, mandou queimar sobre os próprios altares dos ídolos, num acto público de reforma e de purificação do pecado da idolatria.

6 Depois dirigiu-se às povoações de Manassés, de Efraim, de Simeão e até da distante Naftali, e fez o mesmo. Destruiu os altares pagãos de idolatria, fez em pó as imagens dos bosques, derrubou os obeliscos em honra dos deuses. Por toda a parte da terra de Israel fez o mesmo. Por fim regressou a Jerusalém.

8 Durante o décimo oitavo ano do seu reinado, após ter purificado a terra, e o próprio templo, designou Safã (filho de Azalias) e Maaséias, governador de Jerusalém, assim como Joas (filho de Joacaz), secretário real, para que ficassem com o cargo de repararem o templo.

9 Organizaram então um sistema de recolhas de donativos para a casa de Deus. O dinheiro recolhia-se às entradas do templo; eram recebedores os levitas em funções nessas portas. Os dons eram trazidos por povo que vinha mesmo de Manassés, de Efraim e de outras partes do resto de Israel, e também evidentemente, de Jerusalém.

10 Todo o dinheiro se entregava ao sumo sacerdote Hilquias, que fazia a contabilidade respectiva, e que o distribuía aos superintendentes da casa do Senhor, para pagarem aos carpinteiros, aos pedreiros e para liquidarem as contas de aquisição de material - blocos de pedras lavradas para construção, madeira, em traves e em pranchas; reconstruiu assim o que outros reis antes dele tinham deixado degradar-se.

12 Os operários trabalharam aplicadamente, sob as ordens de Jaate e de Obadias, levitas do sub-clã de Merari. Zacarias e Mesulão, do sub-clã de Coate, eram os superintendentes gerais de toda a obra. Acontecia até que os levitas que eram músicos hábeis tocavam música enquanto a obra se fazia. Outro grupo de levitas dirigia o trabalho dos operários não qualificados, que apenas transportavam material, por exemplo. Outros ainda eram contabilistas, contra-mestres e fiscais.

14 Um dia quando Hilquias, o sacerdote supremo, andava pelo templo, aonde se dirigia regularmente para registar o dinheiro dos donativos recolhidos às entradas, achou um velho rolo escrito, e verificou serem precisamente as leis de Deus dadas a Moisés!

15 Safã!, exclamou Hilquias dirigindo-se ao secretário do rei. Olha o que eu encontrei aqui no templo! As leis mesmo de Deus! E passou-lhe o rolo para as mãos. Safã pegou nele e levou-o ao rei, com quem aliás tinha audiência para dar conta dos avanços que a obra ia registando.

17 Foram abertas as caixas dos donativos e o dinheiro; depois de contado e registado, foi entregue aos supervisores para pagarem aos operários, disse ao rei.

18 Seguidamente referiu a questão do rolo da lei, contando como Hilquias o achara. E leu-o ao rei.

19 Este, ouvindo as palavras da lei de Deus, rasgou a roupa que trazia, em sinal de desespero. Mandou convocar Hilquias, Aicão (o filho de Safã), Abdom (filho de Mica), Safã o secretário real e Asaías, conselheiro pessoal do rei.

21 Vão ao templo e roguem ao Senhor por mim!, disse-lhes. Orem por todos estes que restam do povo de Israel e de Judá! Porque as palavras deste rolo são bem explícitas quanto às razões por que a grande ira do Senhor caiu sobre nós - é porque os nossos antepassados não obedeceram aos mandamentos escritos nestas palavras de Deus.

22 Aqueles homens foram ter com Hulda, a profetisa, mulher de Salum (filho de Tocate e neto de Hasra). Salum era o responsável pelo guarda-roupa real e morava no segundo bairro de Jerusalém.

23 Quando lhe disseram a causa da perturbação do rei, respondeu: Assim diz o Senhor Deus de Israel: Digam ao homem que vos enviou:

24 'Sim, o Senhor destruirá esta cidade e este povo. Todas as maldições escritas no rolo se concretizarão. Porque o meu povo me abandonou e se pôs a prestar culto a deuses pagãos. Estou extremamente indignado com os pecados deles. Por isso, o meu furor se derramará inevitavelmente sobre este lugar.'

26 Mas o Senhor diz também o seguinte ao rei de Judá, que vos mandou consultar-me: Digam-lhe então o que lhe é transmitido pelo Senhor Deus de Israel: 'Visto que te entristeceste e te humilhaste diante de Deus quando ouviste as minhas palavras contra esta cidade e o seu povo, rasgando a tua túnica em desespero, e chorando perante mim - por isso te ouvi, diz o Senhor, e só mandarei o mal que prometi sobre esta cidade e o seu povo após a tua morte.' Foi então esta a mensagem do Senhor que eles trouxeram de volta ao rei. Este reuniu todos os anciãos de Judá e de Jerusalém, assim como os sacerdotes e levitas, juntamente com todo o povo, tanto grandes como pequenos, e fez-se acompanhar por todos eles até ao templo. Aí, o rei leu-lhes as palavras do rolo, as palavras da aliança que Deus estabelecera com o seu povo, e que fora achado no templo. Ali, de pé, na frente de toda a gente, o monarca prometeu ao Senhor seguir os seus mandamentos, com todo o coração e todas as suas capacidades, fazendo o que estava escrito naquele rolo. Fez também um veemente apelo a toda a população de Jerusalém e de Benjamim para que se comprometessem no mesmo propósito de obediência a Deus. E todos o fizeram.

33 Josias retirou totalmente os ídolos das áreas habitadas por judeus, e requereu que todos adorassem Jeová, o seu Deus. Durante o resto da vida de Josias, o povo continuou servindo o Senhor, o Deus dos seus pais.