2 *Kings 22

₁Josiah was 8 years old when he became king and he was king in Jerusalem for 31 years. His mother's name was Jedidah. She was the daughter of Adaiah from the town of Bozkath. ₂Josiah did what the Lord wanted, and he lived like his forefather, King David, had lived.

₃In the 18th year after Josiah became king, he sent his secretary, Shaphan, son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the temple and he said to Shaphan: ₄‘Go to the high-priest Hilkiah and tell him to count the money that the people gave to the guards at the door of the temple. ₅Then he must give the money to the managers who must repair the temple and they must pay the men who must do the work. ₆There are artisans, builders and stone cutters. They must also buy stones that are cut, to repair the temple. ₇Hilkiah knows that the managers are honest, so he does not have to ask them what they have done with the money.’

₈Hilkiah the high-priest told Shaphan that he had found a book in the temple of the Lord. It was the book of the laws. The high-priest gave the book to Shaphan, and Shaphan read it. ₉Shaphan went back to the king and he told him what had happened and he said to the king: ‘The priests went to the temple to get the money and they gave it to the managers and the men who must do the work at the temple. ₁₀And then the high-priest Hilkiah gave me this book.’ Shaphan opened the book and he read it to the king.

₁₁When they told the king what was written in the book, he tore his clothes ₁₂and he talked to the high-priest Hilkiah, to Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Akbor, son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and to Asaiah, the chief_official of the king. He told them: ₁₃‘Go and ask the Lord what we must do. Tell him I want to know and all the people in Judah want to know. Ask the Lord about the things that are written in this book that they have found in the temple. I think the Lord is very angry with us because our forefathers did not obey everything that was written down in this book.’

₁₄The priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah. She was married to Shallum, son of Tikvah, son of Harhas. Huldah's husband was the guard who had to look after the clothes in the store room at the palace and they lived in the new part of Jerusalem. Hilkiah and the other men went to talk to her ₁₅and she told them: ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says: “You must go and tell the man who has sent you: ₁₆The Lord says: I will punish this place and the people who live here. Everything will happen as it is written in the book that the king has read. ₁₇I will do it because they have turned away from Me and because they burnt incense-offerings to other gods. I am angry because of all the things they did. I will punish this place and I will not stop. _18-19The king_of_Judah sent you to ask what the Lord says. You must go and tell the king: I, the Lord, saw that you are sorry and sad and that you humiliated yourselves when you heard what I said about this place. I have said that I will destroy this place and no one will live here anymore. But I saw that you tore your clothes and I listened when you cried. ₂₀That is why I will help you and you will have peace until the day that you die and are buried. You will not be here when I punish this place.” ’

Hilkiah and the other men went to the king and they told him what the prophetess had said.