1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.
2 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the ways of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand nor to the left.
3 And 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 Asherahs, and the graven images, and the molten images.
4 And they broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and the sun-pillars that were on high above them he cut down; and the Asherahs and the graven images and the molten images he broke in pieces, and made dust {of them} and strewed it upon the graves of those that had sacrificed to them;
5 and he burned the bones of the priests upon their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem.
6 And {so did he} in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even to Naphtali, in their ruins round about;
7 and he broke down the altars, and beat the Asherahs and the graven images into powder, and cut down all the sun-pillars throughout the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.
8 And in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he 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 chronicler, to repair the house of Jehovah his God.
9 And they came to Hilkijah the high priest, and they delivered {to them} the money that had been 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 of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 And they gave {it} into the hand of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and they gave it to the workmen who wrought in the house of Jehovah to reinstate and repair the house:
11 they gave {it} to the carpenters and the builders, to buy hewn stone, and timber for the joists, and to floor the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed.
12 And the men did the work faithfully. And over them were appointed Jahath and Obadiah, Levites, of the children of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the children of the Kohathites, for the oversight; and all these Levites were skilled in instruments of music.
13 They were also over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that worked in any manner of service. And of the Levites were the scribes, and officers, and doorkeepers.
14 And when they brought out the money that had been brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkijah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah by Moses.
15 Then Hilkijah spoke and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkijah gave the book to Shaphan.
16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king. And moreover he brought the king word again saying, All that was committed to the hand of thy servants, they do;
17 and they have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Jehovah, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of the workmen.
18 And Shaphan the scribe informed the king saying, Hilkijah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read out of it before the king.
19 And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the law, that he rent his garments.
20 And the king commanded Hilkijah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,
21 Go, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written in this book.
22 And Hilkijah and they that the king {had appointed} went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokehath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe: now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter {of the town}; and they spoke with her to that effect.
23 And she said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me,
24 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, 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 fury shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
26 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him: Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel touching the words which thou hast heard:
27 Because thy 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 garments and weep before me, I also have heard {thee}, saith Jehovah.
28 Behold, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof. And they brought the king word again.
29 And the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
30 And the king went up into the house of Jehovah, 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 which had been found in the house of Jehovah.
31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, 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 that 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 removed all the abominations out of all the countries that belonged to the children of Israel, and made to serve all that were found in Israel, -to serve Jehovah their God: all his days they did not depart from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
1 约西亚登基的时候是八岁； 他在耶路撒冷作王共三十一年。
2 他行耶和华看为正的事， 效法他先祖大卫所行的， 不偏左， 也不偏右。
3 他在位第八年， 还是年幼的时候， 就开始寻求他先祖大卫的 神。到了第十二年， 他就开始洁净犹大和耶路撒冷， 除掉邱坛、亚舍拉、雕像和铸像。
4 众人在他面前拆毁了巴力的祭坛， 他亲自打碎了坛上高高的香坛， 又把亚舍拉、雕像和铸像砍碎， 撒在向这些偶像献过祭的人的坟上。
5 他把祭司的骨头烧在他们的祭坛上， 这样就洁净了犹大和耶路撒冷。
6 他又在玛拿西、以法莲、西缅， 以至拿弗他利的各城， 以及它们周围荒废的地方， 都这样行。
7 他拆毁了祭坛， 把亚舍拉和雕刻的偶像打碎， 破碎了以色列全地所有的香坛， 就回耶路撒冷去了。
8 约西亚在位第十八年， 洁净犹大地和圣殿以后， 就差派亚萨利雅的儿子沙番、市长玛西雅和约哈斯的儿子史官约亚， 去修筑耶和华他的 神的殿。
9 于是他们来见大祭司希勒家， 把献给 神的殿的银子交给他。这银子都是守门的利未人， 从玛拿西、以法莲和以色列所有的余民， 以及犹大、便雅悯和耶路撒冷的居民那里收集来的。
10 他们又把银子交给在耶和华殿里负责监察的人； 他们又把银子发给在耶和华殿里作工的工人， 去修补圣殿。
11 他们把银子交给木匠和石匠， 去购买凿好的石头和作木架与横梁的木材， 修补犹大列王毁坏了的殿宇。
12 这些人忠心地工作； 管理他们的督工是利未人米拉利的子孙雅哈和俄巴底； 监管他们的是哥辖的子孙撒迦利雅和米书兰； 还有所有精通乐器的利未人，
13 管理扛抬的， 并且监管所有作各种工作的人； 利未人中， 也有作书记、作职员和作守门的。
14 他们把献给耶和华殿的银子拿出来的时候， 希勒家祭司发现了耶和华借摩西所传的律法书。
15 希勒家对书记沙番说： "我在耶和华的殿里发现了律法书。"希勒家就把书交给沙番。
16 沙番把书带到王那里， 同时向王报告： "你交托你仆人的事， 他们都办妥了。
17 他们把在耶和华殿里的银子倒出来， 交给监督和作工的人。"
18 书记沙番又告诉王， 说： "希勒家祭司还交给我一卷书卷。"于是沙番在王面前诵读那书。
19 王一听见律法书上的话， 就撕裂自己的衣服，
20 吩咐希勒家和沙番的儿子亚希甘、米迦的儿子亚比顿、书记沙番， 以及王的臣仆亚撒雅， 说：
21 "你们去， 为我、也为以色列和犹大的余民， 求问耶和华关于我们发现的这书上的话； 因为我们的列祖没有谨守耶和华的话， 也没有照着这书上所记的一切去行， 所以耶和华才向我们大发烈怒。"
22 于是希勒家和王所差派的人去见女先知户勒大。户勒大是掌管礼服的沙龙的妻子； 沙龙是哈斯拉的孙子、特瓦的儿子； 户勒大住在耶路撒冷第二区； 他们对户勒大这样说了。
23 她就回答他们： "耶和华以色列的 神这样说： ‘你们对那差你们来见我的人说：
24 耶和华这样说： 我要按着在犹大王面前诵读的那卷书上所写的一切咒诅， 降灾在这地和这地的居民身上。
25 因为他们离弃了我， 向别的神烧香， 用他们手所做的惹我发怒， 所以我的忿怒必倾倒在这地上， 总不熄灭。
26 至于那派你们来求问耶和华的犹大王， 你们要这样对他说： 耶和华以色列的 神这样说： 论到你听见的话；
27 因为你听了我指着这地方和这里的居民所说的话， 就心里感动， 在 神面前谦卑； 你既然在我的面前谦卑， 又撕裂衣服， 在我的面前哭泣， 所以我就垂听你的祷告； 这是耶和华的宣告。
28 我必使你归到你的列祖那里去， 你必平平安安归入你的坟墓。我所要降在这地方和这地上的居民身上的一切灾祸， 你必不会亲眼看见。’"他们就把这番话回复王去了。
29 于是王派人把犹大和耶路撒冷的众长老都召集了来。
30 王和犹大众人、耶路撒冷的居民、祭司、利未人， 以及所有的人民， 无论大小， 都一同上耶和华的殿去； 王就把在耶和华殿里发现的约书上的一切话， 都诵读给他们听。
31 王站在他的位上， 在耶和华面前立约， 要一心一意跟随耶和华， 谨守他的诫命、法度和律例， 实行这书上所记立约的誓言。
32 他又使所有在耶路撒冷和便雅悯的人， 都顺从这约。于是耶路撒冷的居民， 都遵照他们列祖的 神的约而行。
33 约西亚在以色列人所属的各地， 把一切可憎的物尽都除掉， 使所有在以色列的人都事奉耶和华他们的 神。约西亚在世的日子， 人民都跟随耶和华他们列祖的 神， 总不离开。