2Ch 15:8-15, 17:3-9, 19:4-10, 31:20-21, 33:15-16, 2Ch 34-35 | ESV | STEP | As soon as Asa heard these words , the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded , he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim , and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord .

8 As soon as Asa heard these words, ^athe prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^bthe cities that he had taken in ^cthe hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord ^dthat was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord. ^{▼▼Hebrew the vestibule of the Lord} 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, ^fand those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord on that day ^gfrom the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. 12 ^hAnd they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, 13 but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, ⁱshould be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14 They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, ^jand the Lord gave them rest all around.

2 Chronicles 17:3-9

3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, ^kand not according to the practices of Israel. 5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah ^lbrought tribute to Jehoshaphat, ^mand he had great riches and honor. 6 His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, ⁿhe took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, ^oto teach in the cities of Judah; 8 ^pand with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 And ^qthey taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

2 Chronicles 19:4-10

4 Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to ^rthe hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 5 He appointed ^sjudges in the land in all ^tthe fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, ^ufor you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. 7 Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for ^vthere is no injustice with the Lord our God, ^wor partiality or taking bribes.”

8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat ^xappointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, ^yto give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them: ^z“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, ^aaand with your whole heart: 10 ^abwhenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and ^acwrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21

20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, ^adand he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 21 And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

2 Chronicles 33:15-16

15 And ^aehe took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside of the city. 16 He also restored the altar of the Lord and offered on it sacrifices of peace offerings and of thanksgiving, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.

2 Chronicles 34

Josiah Reigns in Judah

1 ^afJosiah 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 eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ^agAsherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the ^ahincense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the ^aiAsherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and ^ajscattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 ^akHe also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the ^alcities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain} all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the ^anAsherim and the images ^aointo powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Found

8 ^apNow in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the ^aqgovernor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, ^arthe recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 They came to ^asHilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from ^atManasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and ^aubeams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. ^avThe Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over ^awthe burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, ^axHilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, ^ayhe tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is ^azthe wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Huldah Prophesies Disaster

22 So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent ^{▼▼Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks had sent} went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. 23 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and ^bbhave made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore ^bcmy wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. 26 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 27 because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

29 ^bdThen the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 And the king ^bestood in his place ^bfand made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 And Josiah took away ^bgall the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

2 Chronicles 35

Josiah Keeps the Passover

1 ^bhJosiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb ^bion the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their offices ^bjand encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. 3 And he said to the Levites ^bkwho taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves ^blaccording to your fathers’ houses by your divisions, ^bmas prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel ^bnand the document of Solomon his son. 5 And ^bostand in the Holy Place ^bpaccording to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers’ household. 6 And slaughter the Passover lamb, and ^bqconsecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by Moses.”

7 Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; ^brthese were from the king’s possessions. 8 And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. ^bsHilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. 9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls.

10 When the service had been prepared for, the priests ^btstood in their place, ^buand the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command. 11 ^bvAnd they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests ^bwthrew the blood that they received from them ^bxwhile the Levites flayed the sacrifices. 12 And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. 13 ^byAnd they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they ^bzboiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. 14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place ^caaccording to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s ^cbseer; ^ccand the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, ^cdand the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18 ^ceNo Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Josiah Killed in Battle

20 ^cfAfter all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at ^cgCarchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 21 But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but ^chdisguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of ^ciMegiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, ^cj“Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. ^ckAll Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 ^clJeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all ^cmthe singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.