¹Josiah was eight years old when he started to reign, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. ²And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and he walked in every way of David his father, and he did not deviate to the right or left. ³And it came to pass, 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, and he said, ⁴“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money which has been brought to the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ⁵And let them pay it to those doing the work – those charged with the house of the Lord – and let them give it to those doing the work on the house of the Lord, to repair the breach in the house ⁶– to the craftsmen and the builders and the wall-builders – and to buy wood and hewn stone, to refurbish the house. ⁷But don't let the money which they are paid be a matter of them being held to account, because they are acting faithfully.” ⁸And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹Then Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported to the king and said, “Your servants have poured out the money which was present in the house, and they have paid it to those doing the work who were charged with the house of the Lord.” ¹⁰And Shaphan the scribe explained to the king and said, “Hilkiah the priest gave me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the king's presence. ¹¹And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes. ¹²And the king gave orders to 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, and he said, ¹³“Go and consult the Lord on behalf of me and on behalf of the people and on behalf of all Judah concerning the words of this book which was found, for the fury of the Lord which has been kindled against us is great, because our fathers did not heed the words of this book, that we should do everything 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 the vestry keeper, and she was resident in Jerusalem in the second quarter, and they spoke to her. ¹⁵And she said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶«This is what the Lord says: ‹I am about to bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants – all the words of the book which the king of Judah read – ¹⁷because they have forsaken me, and they have burned incense to other gods, so as to provoke me to anger with every work of their hands, and my fury has been kindled against this place, and it will not be extinguished.› » ¹⁸And to the king of Judah who sent you to consult the Lord, this is what you shall say: «This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‹As for the things which you have heard, ¹⁹on account of your contrition and the fact that you have humbled yourself before the Lord, in that you have heard what I have spoken in relation to this place and in relation to its inhabitants, that it will be a desolation and a curse, and that you have torn your clothes and wept before me, so I for my part have heard you›, the Lord says, ²⁰‹which is why I am about to gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I am bringing on this place.› » ’ ” And they reported it to the king.