Day 199 of 365

¹Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

²He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

³It happened in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying,

⁴"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people.

⁵Let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord; and let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house,

⁶to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house.

⁷However there was no accounting made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully."

⁸Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord." Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

⁹Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, "Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord."

¹⁰Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has delivered a book to me." Shaphan read it before the king.

¹¹It happened, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.

¹²The king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,

¹³"Go inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us."

¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they talked with her.

¹⁵She said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: 'Tell the man who sent you to me,

¹⁶"Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will bring disaster on this place, and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.

¹⁷Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.'"

¹⁸But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus you shall tell him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: 'Concerning the words which you have heard,

¹⁹because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have torn your clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard you,' says the Lord.

²⁰'Therefore behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the disaster which I will bring on this place.'"'" They brought back this message to the king.

¹The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

²The king went up to the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

³The king stood by the pillar, and 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 confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant.

⁴The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the Lord's temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

⁵He put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky.

⁶He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.

⁷He broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.

⁸He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

⁹Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

¹⁰He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

¹¹He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

¹²The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, and beat them down from there, and cast their dust into the brook Kidron.

¹³The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.

¹⁴He broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.

¹⁵Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

¹⁶As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

¹⁷Then he said, "What monument is that which I see?" The men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel."

¹⁸He said, "Let him be! Let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

¹⁹All the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

²⁰He killed all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.

²¹The king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant."

²²Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;

²³but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this Passover kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

²⁴Moreover Josiah removed those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

²⁵Like him was there no king before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

²⁶Notwithstanding, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocation with which Manasseh had provoked him.

²⁷The Lord said, "I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, 'My name shall be there.'"

²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁹In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh Necoh killed him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.

³⁰His servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.

³¹Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

³²He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

³³Pharaoh Necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

³⁴Pharaoh Necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim: but he took Jehoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there.

³⁵Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of everyone according to his taxation, to give it to Pharaoh Necoh.

³⁶Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

³⁷He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

¹In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

²The Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.

³Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,

⁴and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and the Lord would not pardon.

⁵Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

⁶So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

⁷The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

⁸Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

⁹He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

¹⁰At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

¹¹Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it;

¹²and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

¹³He carried out there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the Lord's temple, as the Lord had said.

¹⁴He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest sort of the people of the land.

¹⁵He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

¹⁶All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

¹⁷The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's father's brother, king is his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

¹⁹He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

²⁰For through the anger of the Lord, it happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

¹Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,

²both low and high, rich and poor together.

³My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart shall utter understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will open my riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

⁶Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches-

⁷none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.

⁸For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough,

⁹That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.

¹⁰For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.

¹²But man, despite his riches, doesn't endure. He is like the animals that perish.

¹³This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.

¹⁴They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.

¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah.

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.

¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lived he blessed his soul- and men praise you when you do well for yourself-

¹⁹he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light.

²⁰A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.

¹A wise son listens to his father's instruction, but a scoffer doesn't listen to rebuke.

²By the fruit of his lips, a man enjoys good things; but the unfaithful crave violence.

³He who guards his mouth guards his soul. One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the sluggard desires, and has nothing, but the desire of the diligent shall be fully satisfied.

⁵A righteous man hates lies, but a wicked man brings shame and disgrace.

⁶Righteousness guards the way of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

⁷There are some who pretend to be rich, yet have nothing. There are some who pretend to be poor, yet have great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a man's life is his riches, but the poor hear no threats.

⁹The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.

¹⁰Pride only breeds quarrels, but with ones who take advice is wisdom.

¹¹Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away, but he who gathers by hand makes it grow.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

¹³Whoever despises instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a spring of life, to turn from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding wins favor; but the way of the unfaithful is hard.

¹⁶Every prudent man acts from knowledge, but a fool exposes folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy gains healing.

¹⁸Poverty and shame come to him who refuses discipline, but he who heeds correction shall be honored.

¹⁹Longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.

²⁰One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

²¹Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous.

²³An abundance of food is in poor people's fields, but injustice sweeps it away.

²⁴One who spares the rod hates his son, but one who loves him is careful to discipline him.

²⁵The righteous one eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.