Josiah Reads The Book of God's Law
(2 Chronicles 34.29-33)1 King Josiah called together the older leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Then he went to the Lord's temple, together with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law that had been found in the temple.
3 After Josiah had finished reading, he stood by one of the columns. He asked the people to promise in the Lord's name to faithfully obey the Lord and to follow his commands. The people agreed to do everything written in the book.
Josiah Follows the Teachings of God's Law
(2 Chronicles 34.3-7)4 Josiah told Hilkiah the priest, the assistant priests, and the guards at the temple door to go into the temple and bring out the things used to worship Baal, Asherah, and the stars. Josiah had these things burned in Kidron Valley just outside Jerusalem, and he had the ashes carried away to the town of Bethel.
5 Josiah also got rid of the pagan priests at the local shrines in Judah and around Jerusalem. These were the men that the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices to Baal and to the sun, moon, and stars. 6 Josiah had the sacred pole for Asherah brought out of the temple and taken to Kidron Valley, where it was burned. He then had its ashes ground into dust and scattered over the public cemetery there. 7 He had the buildings torn down where the male prostitutes lived next to the temple, and where the women wove sacred robes for the idol of Asherah.
8 In almost every town in Judah, priests had been offering sacrifices to the Lord at local shrines. Josiah brought these priests to Jerusalem and had their shrines made unfit for worship—every shrine from Geba just north of Jerusalem to Beersheba in the south. He even tore down the shrine at Beersheba that was just to the left of Joshua Gate, which was named after the highest official of the city. 9 Those local priests could not serve at the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat sacred bread, just like the priests from Jerusalem.
10 Josiah sent some men to Hinnom Valley just outside Jerusalem with orders to make the altar there unfit for worship. That way, people could no longer use it for sacrificing their children to the god Molech. 11 He also got rid of the horses that the kings of Judah used in their ceremonies to worship the sun, and he destroyed the chariots along with them. The horses had been kept near the entrance to the Lord's temple, in a courtyard close to where an official named Nathan-Melech lived.
12 Some of the kings of Judah, especially Manasseh, had built altars in the two courts of the temple and in the room that Ahaz had built on the palace roof. Josiah had these altars torn down and smashed to pieces, and he had the pieces thrown into Kidron Valley, just outside Jerusalem. 13 After that, he closed down the shrines that Solomon had built east of Jerusalem and south of Spoil Hill to honor Astarte the disgusting goddess of Sidon, Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Milcom the disgusting god of Ammon. 14 He tore down the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole used in the worship of Asherah. Then he had the whole area covered with human bones.
15 But Josiah was not finished yet. At Bethel he destroyed the shrine and the altar that Jeroboam son of Nebat had built and that had caused the Israelites to sin. Josiah had the shrine and the Asherah pole burned and ground into dust. 16 As he looked around, he saw graves on the hillside. He had the bones in them dug up and burned on the altar, so that it could no longer be used. This happened just as God's prophet had said when Jeroboam was standing at the altar, celebrating a festival.
Then Josiah saw the grave of the prophet who had said this would happen 17 and he asked, “Whose grave is that?”
Some people who lived nearby answered, “It belongs to the prophet from Judah who told what would happen to this altar.”
18 Josiah replied, “Then leave it alone. Don't dig up his bones.” So they did not disturb his bones or the bones of the old prophet from Israel who had also been buried there.
19 Some of the Israelite kings had made the Lord angry by building pagan shrines all over Israel. So Josiah sent troops to destroy these shrines just as he had done to the one in Bethel. 20 He killed the priests who served at them and burned their bones on the altars.
After all that, Josiah went back to Jerusalem.
Josiah and the People of Judah Celebrate Passover
(2 Chronicles 35.1-19)21 Josiah told the people of Judah, “Celebrate Passover in honor of the Lord your God, just as it says in The Book of God's Law.”
22 This festival had not been celebrated in this way since the time that tribal leaders ruled Israel or the kings ruled Israel and Judah. 23 But in Josiah's eighteenth year as king of Judah, everyone came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.
The Lord Is Still Angry with the People of Judah
24 Josiah got rid of every disgusting person and thing in Judah and Jerusalem—including magicians, fortunetellers, and idols. He did his best to obey every law written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord's temple. 25 No other king before or after Josiah tried as hard as he did to obey the Law of Moses.
26 But the Lord was still furious with the people of Judah because Manasseh had done so many things to make him angry. 27 The Lord said, “I will desert the people of Judah, just as I deserted the people of Israel. I will reject Jerusalem, even though I chose it to be mine. And I will abandon this temple built to honor me.”
Josiah Dies in Battle
(2 Chronicles 35.20—36.1)28 Everything else Josiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 29 During Josiah's rule, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. Josiah led his troops north to fight Neco, but when they met in battle at Megiddo, Josiah was killed. 30 A few of Josiah's servants put his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where they buried it in his own tomb. Then the people of Judah found his son Jehoahaz and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king.
King Jehoahaz of Judah
(2 Chronicles 36.2-4)31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem only 3 months. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32 Jehoahaz disobeyed the Lord, just as some of his ancestors had done.
33 King Neco of Egypt had Jehoahaz arrested and put in prison at Riblah near Hamath. Then he forced the people of Judah to pay him 3.4 tons of silver and 34 kilograms of gold as taxes. 34 Neco appointed Josiah's son Eliakim king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz as a prisoner to Egypt, where he died.
35 Jehoiakim forced the people of Judah to pay higher taxes, so he could give Neco the silver and gold he demanded.
King Jehoiakim of Judah
(2 Chronicles 36.5-8)36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he was appointed king, and he ruled 11 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zebidah was the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. 37 Jehoiakim disobeyed the Lord by following the example of his ancestors.
Josiab ge ǁgôa-eloga ǀgoreǀîsa ra ǀam kai
(2 Kroniks 34:3-7, 2 29-33)1 Gao-aob Josiab ge hoaraga ǂgaeǂgui-aogu Judab tsî Jerusalems tsîra diga ǂgaiǀhao, 2 tsî ǁîgu hoagu tsî pristergu tsî kēbo-aogu tsî nau khoen, ǃkhū hân tsî ǀgâsan tsîn hoan ǀkha Tempela ǃoa ge ǃgû. Tsîb ge gao-aoba ǁîn hoana, ǃgaeǀhaos ǂkhanis Tempeli ǃnâ ge hōhes hoaragasa ge khomaiba. 3 ǁÎb ge ǂkhâǃnâhaib tawa mâse ǃgaeǀhao-e ǃKhūb ǀkha dī, tsî ge mîmâi ǃKhūba ǁnâuǀnam, ǁîb ǂhanugu tsî mîmādi tsîna hoaraga ǂgaob tsî ǀoms ǀkha ǃkhōǀgaipe, tsîb ǃgaeǀhaos ǂkhanis ǃnâ a xoasa xūna ǂkhanis ǃnân a xoamâisa khami nî dīsa. Tsîn ge hoaraga khoena nē ǃgaeǀhaosan nî ǃkhōǀgaipe ǃkhaisa ge mîmâi.
4 ǁNās khaoǃgâb ge Josiaba ǀgapipristeri Hilkiab tsî ǁîba ra mâxōǀkhā pristergu tsî Tempeli dao-ams ǃûi-aogu tsîna ge mîmā, î gu Baali, ǁgôa-elos Aseras tsî ǀgamirodi tsîna ǀgoreǀîs ǃaroma ge dīhe hâ i xūn hoana Tempela xu ūǂui. Gao-aob ge nē xūn hoana ǃās ǃauga, Kidronǃgoaǃnāb ǀgūse ǂhubiǂui tsî tsaoba Betels ǃoa ge ǃgû-ū kai. 5 Josiab ge Judab gao-aogu ge Judab ǃādi tsî Jerusalems ǀgūse hâ ǃkhaidi ai gu ǀūben di altardi ai, ǁguibade nî ǁguibase mâi hâ i pristergu hoaga ge ūǁnâ. Hoaraga pristergu Baali tsî sores, ǁkhâb tsî ǀgamirodi tsîna ǁguibade gere hā-ūbagu hoagu ge ge ūǁnâhe. 6 ǁÎb ge ǁgôa-elos Aseras ība Tempela xu ūǂui, ǃāsa xu Kidronǃgoaǃnāb kōse ǂoa-ū, ǁîba khauǃkhū, xontsautsau tsî khoen di ǀhobadi ai ge tsoroxū. 7 ǁKhātib ge Tempeli ǃnâ ge hâ i ǃnā-omdi ǀai-aon ge ǁanǃnâ hâ ide ge khôaǁnâ. (ǁNāpas ge khoedi ge Aserasa ǀgoreǀîs tawa gere sîsenūhe sarana gere ǂomsa.) 8 ǃAruǀîb ge Judab ǃādi ǃnâ ge hâ i pristergu hoaga Jerusalems ǁga ge hā-ū, tsî hoaraga ǃhūb ǃnâ ǁîgu gere ǁguiba-ai altarde ge ǃanuoǃnâ kai. ǁÎb ge ǁkhāti ǁgôa-elogu ge ǃās di dao-ams tawa, ǃās ǂgaeǂgui-aob Josuab xa ǂnubibahe hâ i altardi, dao-ams ǃnâts ra ǂgâ, o ge ǁareǀkhāb ai mâ ide ge khôaǁnâ. 9 ǁNā pristergu ge Tempeli ǃnâ ǃoabasa ge mā-amhe tama hâ i, xawe gu ge khūkhū-e ūhâ tama pere-i, ǁîgu horesa pristergu gere māhe-i xa ge ǂû ǁkhā i.
10 Gao-aob Josiab ge ǁkhāti Tofets, ǀūben di ǀgoreǀîǃkhais Hinomǃgoaǃnāb ǃnâ ge hâ isa ge ǃanuoǃnâ kai, î-i khoe-i xare-e tā ǁî-i ǀgôab tamas ka io ǀgôasa khauǁguibase ǁgôa-elob Moleka ǁguiba. 11 ǁÎb ge ǁkhāti Judab gao-aogu gere soresa ǀgoreǀîs tawa sîsenū hāna ūbē tsî ǁnā ǃoabas di kunide ge ǂhubiǂui. ǁNā hān ge Tempeli dao-ams ǀgūse, ǂamkhoeb Natan-Meleki ge ǁan hâ i ǃkhaib di omǂnamib ǃnâ ge ūǀgarahe hâ i. 12 Josiab ge Judab di gao-aogu ge gao-ommi ǂamǃnâ, gao-aob Axasi ǃnā-oms ǀgapika kuru hâ i altardi tsî gao-aob Manaseb ge Tempel di ǀgam omǂnamikha ǃnâ kuru hâ idi hoade ge khôaǁnâ. ǁÎb ge altarde khôaǂkhū tsî Kidronǃgoaǃnāb ǃnâ ge aoxū. 13 Gao-aob Salomob ge Jerusalems aiǂoas ǃnâ, ǀKheraǃhommi ǃkhawagas ǃnâ ui-uisa ǁgôa-elon, Sidonnni ǁgôa-elos Astartes, Moab ǁgôa-elob Kemosi tsî Amonni ǁgôa-elob Moleki tsîna ǂnubiba hâ i altardi tsînab ge Josiaba ge ǃanuoǃnâ kai. 14 Gao-aob Josiab ge ǀuiǂkhâǃnâga ǂnaukhôa, ǁgôa-elos Aseras īga ǁhāǁnâ tsî ǁîgu ge mâ i ǃkhaib ai khoeǂkhōna ge tsoroǁgui.
15 Josiab ge ǁkhāti Nebati ôab, gao-aob Jerobeammi, Israela ge ǁoreb ǃnâ ǂgaeǂguiǂgāb ge Betels ǃnâ kuru hâ i ǀgoreǀîǃkhais tsî altars tsîra ge khôaǁnâ. ǁÎb ge ǁîra ǂnauǃā, xontsautsau tsî Aseras ība ge khauǃkhū. 16 ǁNās khaoǃgâb ge Josiaba kōmab ra hîa ǀhobade ǃhommi ai ge mû, ob ge ǂkhōna ǁîde xu ūǂui kai tsî ǁîna altars ai ge ǂhubiǂui kai. ǁNātib ge altarsa ge ǃanuoǃnâ kai, ǀnaib ge kēbo-aoba ǁâudīb ǁaeb ai, gao-aob Jerobeammi altars tawa mâ hîa mî hâ i khami. Gao-aob Josiab ge kō tsî nē xūna ge mî hâ i kēbo-aob di ǀhobasab ge mûo, 17 “Tari-i ǀhobasa ǁnāsa?” ti ge dî.
On ge Betels khoena ge ǃeream: “ǁNās ge Judaba xu ǀkhī tsî ge nē xūn, sats go nē altars ǀkha dīna ǀnai mî hâ i kēbo-aob di ǀhobasa.”
18 Ob ge Josiaba “ǁÎsa ǁnāti ǁnāxū. Tā ǁîb ǂkhōna ūǂui” ti ge mîmā.
ǁNātin ge ǁîb ǂkhōna ge ǁnāxūhe, tsî ǁkhāti nau kēbo-aob Samariaba xu ge ǀkhīb di ǂkhōn tsîna.
19 Gao-aob Josiab ge mâ ǃās Israeli dis hoas ǃnâ ǀūben ǀgoreǀîǃkhaidi, Israeli gao-aogu ge ǂnubi tsî ǁnās ǀkha ǃKhūba ǁaiǁaidi hoade ge khôaǁnâ. ǁÎdi hoadi ǀkhab ge Betels ǃnâb ge dī khami ge dī. 20 Hoaraga ǀūbepristerga ǁîgu gere ǃoaba-ai-altardi ai ǃgam tsîb ge khoeǂkhōna altardi ai ge ǂhubiǂui. ǁNās khaoǃgâb ge Jerusalems ǁga ge oa.
Josiab ge Pasxaba ra tsēdī
(2 Kroniks 35:1-19)21 Gao-aob Josiab ge khoena ge mîmā, în Pasxaba ǃKhūb ǁîn Elob di ǃgôasib ǃoa ǃgaeǀhaos ǂkhanis ǃnâ i xoahe hâ khami tsēdī. 22 Nēti ī Pasxaǁâudī-i ge ǂhanuǂhanu-aogu ge ǁaesa gere ǂgaeǂgui ǁaeba xu tsoatsoa tsî Israeli tsî Judab di gao-aogu ǁaeb kōse ge tsēdīhe tama hâ i. 23 Disiǁkhaisaǀaǁî kurib Josiab ǂgaeǂguis dib ǃnâ ǀguib ge Pasxaǁâudība Jerusalems ǃnâ ge tsēdīhe.
Nau ǀkharaǀkharadi Josiab ge dīdi
24 ǀGapipristeri Hilkiab ge Tempeli ǃnâ hō ǂkhanis ǃnâ a xoamâisa ǂhanuga dīǀoaǀoas ǃaromab ge gao-aob Josiaba ǁō hân tawa ra ǀape-ôan, aimûǀgaru-aon, omelon, ǁgôa-elon tsî nau ǀūbeǃoaba-ūxūn hoana Jerusalems tsî Judab tsîna xu ge dībē. 25 ǁÎb khami ī gao-aob ge ǁîb aiǃâ ge hâ tama hâ i, ǁîb di hoaraga ǂgaob, ǂâis tsî ǀgaib ǀkha ǃKhūba ǃoaba tsî ge Moseb ǂhanub hoaba ǁnâuǀnam hâ iba; ǁîb khaoǃgâb ge ǁkhāti ǁnāti ī gao-aoba ge hâ tama hâ i.
26 Xawe ǃKhūb ge gao-aob Manaseb di tsūdīgu ǃaroma kaise Judab ǃoagu ge ǁaixa tsîb ge ǁaib âba ǀam tama ge i. 27 Nētib ge ǃKhūba ge mî: “Tita ge Israeli ǀkha ta ge dī khami Judab ǀkha nî dī. Judab khoena ta ge ti aisa xu nî dībē, tsî ta ge ǁhûiǂuibasen ta ge ǃās Jerusalems tsî Tempeli, ǁîb ǃnâ ta nî ǀgoreǀîhe, ti ta ge mîb tsîna nî ǂhara.”
Josiab di ǁōb
(2 Kroniks 35:20—36:1)28 Gao-aob Josiab ge dī xūn hoan ge ǃNaeǃkhaidi ǂKhanis Judab Gao-aogu dis ǃnâ a xoamâisa. 29 Josiab ǂgaeǂguis ǁaeb ǃnâb ge Egipteb gao-aob Nekoba, Siriab gao-aobab nî huise ǁîb toroǂnubisa Eufratǃāb ǁga ge ǂgaeǂui. Josiab ge Egipteb toroǂnubisab ra ǁkhae ǂgao hîa toroǃkhammi ǃnâ Megidos tawa ge ǃgamhe. 30 ǁÎb di ǂamkhoegu ge soros âba kunis ai ǃnao tsî Jerusalems ǁga oa-ū tsî ǁîb ǀhobas ǂûs ǃnâ sī ge ǁkhō.
Judab khoen ge Josiab ôab Joahasa ǁhûi tsî gao-aose ge ǀnauǂgā.
Judab di gao-aob Joahasi
(2 Kroniks 36:2-4)31 ǀGamdisiǃnonaǀa kurixab a hîab ge Joahasa ge Judab gao-ao kai tsîb ge ǃnona ǁkhâga Jerusalems ǃnâ ge ǂgaeǂgui. ǁÎb îs ge Hamutals, Jeremiab ǃās Libnas di ge ib di ôasa. 32 ǁÎb ge ǁîb aboxagu aiǁgausa sao tsî ǃKhūb ǃoagu ge ǁore. 33 ǁÎb ǂgaeǂguis ge gao-aob Nekob, Egipteb dib ge Riblas, Hamatǃhūb dis ǃnâ ǃkhōsis ǃnâ ū bi, o ge ǀam. Nekob ge Judab khoena ge ǁgui-ai, în ǃnonaǀoadisi tsî hakakaidisi kiloxramgu ǀhaiǀurib tsî ǃnonadisihakaǀa kiloxramgu ǃhuniǀurib tsîna matare. 34 Gao-aob Nekob ge Josiab ôab Eliakimma ǁgûb soas ǃnâ gao-aodī tsî ǁîb ǀonsa Jojakim ti ge ǀkharaǀkhara. Joahasi ge gao-aob Nekob xa Egipteb ǁga ge ǃgû-ūhe tsî ǁnāpa sī ge ǁō.
Judab di gao-aob Jojakimmi
(2 Kroniks 36:5-8)35 Gao-aob Jojakimmi ge ǁgui-aimarisa khoena xu gere ū, mâ-i hoa-e xu ǁî-i ǃkhūsiba ǃoa. Nēsab ge Egipteb gao-aob Nekob ǂgaoǀkhās aib nî dīǀoaǀoaga gere dī.
36 Jojakimmi ge ǀgamdisikoroǀa kurixab a hîa ge Judab gao-ao kai, tsî disiǀguiǀa kuriga Jerusalems ǃnâ gere ǂgaeǂgui. ǁÎb îs ge Sebidas, Pedajab, Rumas dib di ôasa. 37 ǁÎb ge ǁîb aboxagu aiǁgausa sao tsî ǃKhūb ǃoagu gere ǁore.
