2 Chronicles 34:8-33

The Book of the Law Found

8 aNow 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 bgovernor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, cthe recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9They came to dHilkiah 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 eManasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10And 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. 11They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and fbeams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12And 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. gThe Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13were over hthe burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

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

19And when the king heard the words of the Law, jhe tore his clothes. 20And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying, 21Go, 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 kthe 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

22So 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.
23And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 24Thus 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. 25Because they have forsaken me and mhave made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore nmy wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. 26But 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, 27because 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. 28Behold, 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 oThen the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30And 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. 31And the king pstood in his place qand 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. 32Then 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. 33And Josiah took away rall 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 35:1-19

Josiah Keeps the Passover

1 sJosiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb ton the fourteenth day of the first month. 2He appointed the priests to their offices uand encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. 3And he said to the Levites vwho 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. 4Prepare yourselves waccording to your fathershouses by your divisions, xas prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel yand the document of Solomon his son. 5And zstand in the Holy Place aaaccording to the groupings of the fathershouses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathershousehold. 6And slaughter the Passover lamb, and abconsecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the Lord by Moses.”

7Then 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; acthese were from the king’s possessions. 8And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. adHilkiah, 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. 9Conaniah 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.

10When the service had been prepared for, the priests aestood in their place, afand the Levites in their divisions according to the king’s command. 11 agAnd they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests ahthrew the blood that they received from them aiwhile the Levites flayed the sacrifices. 12And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathershouses 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 ajAnd they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they akboiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. 14And 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. 15The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place alaccording to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s amseer; anand the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

16So 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. 17And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, aoand the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18 apNo 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. 19In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

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