2 Kings 22

22 ¹ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah, from Bozkath. ² He did what was right in the eyes of our Father and walked in all the ways of David his father, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

Restoring the Father's House

³ In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of our Father with these words: ⁴ Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him total the money that has been brought into the house of our Father, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ⁵ Let it be entrusted to those appointed to supervise the work on the house of our Father, and let them pay the workers in the house of our Father who are repairing its damage— ⁶ the carpenters, the builders, and the masons—and let them buy timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. ⁷ But they need not give an account of the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully.

The Book of the Law Is Found

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of our Father." He gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him, "Your servants have paid out the money that was found in the temple and entrusted it to the workers and their supervisors at the house of our Father." ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book," and he read it aloud before the king.

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. ¹² Then the king gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Achbor son of Micaiah, to Shaphan the secretary, and to Asaiah the king's servant: ¹³ "Go and inquire of our Father for me, for the people, and for all Judah about the words of this book that has been found. Great is the anger of our Father that burns against us, because our ancestors did not obey the words of this book by doing all that is written about us."

Huldah Speaks the Father's Word

¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District, and they spoke with her.

¹⁵ She said to them, "This is what our Father, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ this is what our Father says: I am about to bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger by all the work of their hands, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched. ¹⁸ But tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Father, this is what our Father, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you have heard: ¹⁹ Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Father when you heard what I spoke against this place and its inhabitants—that they would become a desolation and a curse—and because you tore your clothes and wept before me, I myself have heard you, declares the Father. ²⁰ Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be laid in your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place." So they brought back her answer to the king.