18. Then Shaphan the royal assistant told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from the book to the king.
19. The king heard the words of the Teachings. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was.
20. He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan. He also gave them to Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan and Asaiah. Shaphan was the royal assistant. And Asaiah was the king’s servant. These were the orders:
21. “Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book that was found. Ask for me and for the people who are left alive in Israel and Judah. The Lord is very angry with us because our ancestors did not obey the Lord’s word. They did not do everything this book says to do.”
22. So Hilkiah and those the king sent with him left. They went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas. Harhas took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.
23. She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,
24. ‘This is what the Lord says: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. I will bring all the curses that are written in the book that was read to the king of Judah.
25. The people of Judah have left me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the bad things they have made. So I will punish them in my anger. My anger will not be stopped.’
26. Tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard:
27. You heard my words against this place and its people. And you became sorry for what you had done. You became sorry in my presence. You tore your clothes to show how upset you were. And you cried in my presence. This is why I have heard you, says the Lord.
28. So I will let you die. You will be buried in peace. You won’t see all the trouble that I will bring to this place and the people living here.’”So they took her message back to the king.
29. Then the king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together.
30. He went up to the Temple of the Lord. All the men from Judah and the people from Jerusalem went with him. The priests and the Levites and all the people—from the most important to the least important—went with him. He read to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement. That book was found in the Temple of the Lord.
31. Then the king stood by his pillar. He made an agreement in the presence of the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord and to obey his commands, rules and laws with his whole being. And he agreed to obey the words of the agreement written in this book.
32. Then Josiah made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to accept the agreement. The people of Jerusalem obeyed the agreement of God, the God their ancestors obeyed.
33. And Josiah threw out the hated idols from all the land that belonged to the Israelites. He led everyone in Israel to serve the Lord their God. While Josiah lived, the people obeyed the Lord, the God their ancestors obeyed.