Josiah Reigns in Judah

¹mJosiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ²And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the nAsherim, and the carved and the metal images. ⁴And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the oincense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the nAsherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and oscattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. ⁵pHe also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶And in the qcities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins1 all around, ⁷he broke down the altars and beat the nAsherim and the images rinto powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Found

⁸sNow in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the tgovernor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, uthe recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. ⁹They came to vHilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from qManasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. ¹¹They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and wbeams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. ¹²And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. xThe Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, ¹³were over ythe burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

¹⁴While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, vHilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given through2 Moses. ¹⁵Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. ¹⁷They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the Lord and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” ¹⁸Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

¹⁹And when the king heard the words of the Law, zhe tore his clothes. ²⁰And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, ²¹“Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is athe wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Huldah Prophesies Disaster

²²So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent3 went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect. ²³And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. ²⁵Because they have forsaken me and bhave made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore amy wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched. ²⁶But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, ²⁷because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.’” And they brought back word to the king.

²⁹cThen the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. ³¹And the king dstood in his place eand 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 perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. ³²Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³And Josiah took away fall the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.

The Thousand Years

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, nholding in his hand the key to othe bottomless pit1 and a great chain. ²And he seized pthe dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and qbound him for a thousand years, ³and threw him into othe pit, and shut it and rsealed it over him, so that she might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴Then I saw tthrones, and useated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw vthe souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those wwho had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. xThey came to life and yreigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ⁶zBlessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such athe second death has no power, but they will be bpriests of God and of Christ, and they cwill reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

⁷And when the thousand years are ended, dSatan will be released from his prison ⁸and will come out eto deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, fGog and Magog, gto gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹And hthey marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ithe camp of the saints and jthe beloved city, but kfire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, ¹⁰and the devil lwho had deceived them was mthrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where nthe beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence oearth and sky fled away, and pno place was found for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and qbooks were opened. Then another book was opened, which is rthe book of life. And sthe dead were judged by what was written in the books, taccording to what they had done. ¹³And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, uDeath and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, taccording to what they had done. ¹⁴Then uDeath and Hades vwere thrown into the lake of fire. This is wthe second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, xhe was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Lord Rebukes the Priests

¹“And now, yO priests, zthis command is for you. ²aIf you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send bthe curse upon you and I will curse cyour blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. ³Behold, dI will rebuke your offspring,1 and espread dung on your faces, the fdung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.2 ⁴So shall you know that I have sent gthis command to you, that hmy covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. ⁵My covenant with him was one of life and ipeace, and I gave them to him. jIt was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. ⁶kTrue instruction3 was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he lturned many from iniquity. ⁷For mthe lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people4 should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸But you have turned aside from the way. nYou have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted othe covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, ⁹and so pI make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but qshow partiality in your instruction.”

Judah Profaned the Covenant

¹⁰Have we not all rone Father? Has not sone God created us? Why then are we tfaithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? ¹¹Judah has been tfaithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For uJudah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹²May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant5 of the man who does this, who vbrings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

¹³And this second thing you do. wYou cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. ¹⁴xBut you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ywas witness between you and the wife of your youth, zto whom tyou have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ¹⁵aDid he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?6 And what was the one God7 seeking?8 bGodly offspring. So guard yourselves9 in your spirit, and let none of you be tfaithless to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶“For cthe man who does not love his wife but divorces her,10 says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers11 his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and tdo not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

¹⁷dYou have wearied the Lord with your words. xBut you say, “How have we wearied him?” eBy saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, f“Where is the God of justice?”

Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified

¹Then Pilate took Jesus and qflogged him. ²rAnd the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. ⁴Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that sI find no guilt in him.” ⁵So Jesus came out, wearing tthe crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, u“Behold the man!” ⁶When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, v“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for wI find no guilt in him.” ⁷The Jews1 answered him, “We have a law, and xaccording to that law he ought to die because yhe has made himself the Son of God.” ⁸When Pilate heard this statement, zhe was even more afraid. ⁹aHe entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, b“Where are you from?” But cJesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” ¹¹Jesus answered him, d“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ehe who delivered me over to you fhas the greater sin.”

¹²From then on gPilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. hEveryone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” ¹³So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on ithe judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic2 Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was jthe day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.3 He said to the Jews, k“Behold your King!” ¹⁵They cried out, l“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” ¹⁶mSo he ndelivered him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion

So they took Jesus, ¹⁷and ohe went out, pbearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸qThere they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ¹⁹Pilate ralso wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” ²⁰Many of the Jews read this inscription, for sthe place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. ²¹So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” ²²Pilate answered, t“What I have written I have written.”

²³uWhen the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.4 But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, ²⁴so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” vThis was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

w“They divided my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things, ²⁵xbut standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and ythe disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, z“Woman, behold, your son!” ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to ahis own home.

The Death of Jesus

²⁸After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now bfinished, said (vto fulfill the Scripture), c“I thirst.” ²⁹A jar full of sour wine stood there, dso they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. ³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, e“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and fgave up his spirit.

Jesus' Side Is Pierced

³¹Since it was gthe day of Preparation, and hso that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was ia high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. ³²So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other jwho had been crucified with him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out kblood and water. ³⁵lHe who saw it has borne witness—mhis testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—nthat you also may believe. ³⁶oFor these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: p“Not one of his bones qwill be broken.” ³⁷And again another Scripture says, r“They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

Jesus Is Buried

³⁸sAfter these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly tfor fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. ³⁹uNicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus5 by night, came vbringing a mixture of wmyrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds6 in weight. ⁴⁰So they took the body of Jesus and xbound it in ylinen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹Now in the place where he was crucified there was a zgarden, and ain the garden a new tomb bin which no one had yet been laid. ⁴²So because of the Jewish cday of Preparation, dsince the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.