1. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem.
2. He did right in the eyes of Adonai, and walked in the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
3. In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek after the God of his father David. In the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, and the carved and molten images.
4. They tore down the altars of the Baal in his presence and chopped down the sun-images that were above them. Also the Asherah poles and the carved and molten images he smashed into pieces, ground into dust, and scattered upon the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
5. Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars—so he purged Judah and Jerusalem.
6. In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, with their surrounding ruins,
7. he broke down the altars, the Asherah poles, crushed the carved images into powder, and chopped down all the sun-images throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
8. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, after purging the land and the House, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the House of Adonai his God.
9. They came to Hilkiah the kohen gadol and handed over the silver money that was brought into the House of God, which the Levites, the gatekeepers, had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim and all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10. Then they put it in the hands of the workmen who were in charge of the House of Adonai. The workmen who were working in the House of Adonai spent it on repairing and restoring the House.
11. They in turn gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone as well as timber—for joining and making beams—for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let fall into ruin.
12. The men did the work faithfully. Over them were appointed Jahath and Obadiah, Levites from the sons of Merari, along with Zechariah and Meshullam from the sons of Kohath, to supervise, while other Levites—all skilled musicians—
13. were over the burden-bearers and supervised all who worked from task to task. Some of the Levites were also scribes, overseers and gatekeepers.
14. While they were bringing out the silver that had been brought into the House of Adonai, Hilkiah the kohen found a Torah scroll of Adonai given by Moses.
15. Hilkiah responded by telling Shaphan the scribe, “I have found a scroll of the Torah in the House of Adonai.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan.