¹Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. ²The king went up to the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ³Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lᴏʀᴅ, to follow the Lᴏʀᴅ and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant. ⁴And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the Lᴏʀᴅ all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel ⁵Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. ⁶And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. ⁷Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. ⁸And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. ⁹Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lᴏʀᴅ in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren. ¹⁰And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. ¹¹Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹²The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber 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 Lᴏʀᴅ, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. ¹³Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. ¹⁴And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, 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 sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. ¹⁶As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on 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 Lᴏʀᴅ which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. ¹⁷Then he said, “What gravestone is this that I see?” So the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” ¹⁸And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. ¹⁹Now Josiah also took away all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lᴏʀᴅ to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel ²⁰He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem. ²¹Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant. ²²Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. ²³But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lᴏʀᴅ in Jerusalem. ²⁴Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²⁵Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lᴏʀᴅ with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him. ²⁶Nevertheless the Lᴏʀᴅ did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. ²⁷And the Lᴏʀᴅ said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, 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, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁹In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo when he confronted him. ³⁰Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place. ³¹Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³²And he did evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, according to all that his fathers had done. ³³Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there. ³⁵So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho. ³⁶Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah ³⁷And he did evil in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, according to all that his fathers had done.

¹For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. ³Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. ⁵So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” ⁶As He also says in another place: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”; ⁷who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, ⁸though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

¹Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lᴏʀᴅ is coming, For it is at hand: ²A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. ³A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. ⁴Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. ⁵With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. ⁶Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. ⁷They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. ⁸They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. ⁹They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief. ¹⁰The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. ¹¹The Lᴏʀᴅ gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lᴏʀᴅ is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? ¹²“Now, therefore,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” ¹³So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. ¹⁴Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lᴏʀᴅ your God? ¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; ¹⁶Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. ¹⁷Let the priests, who minister to the Lᴏʀᴅ, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lᴏʀᴅ, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” ¹⁸Then the Lᴏʀᴅ will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. ¹⁹The Lᴏʀᴅ will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. ²⁰“But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.” ²¹Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lᴏʀᴅ has done marvelous things! ²²Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. ²³Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lᴏʀᴅ your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. ²⁴The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. ²⁵“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. ²⁶You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. ²⁷Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lᴏʀᴅ your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. ²⁸“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. ²⁹And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. ³⁰“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. ³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ³²And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lᴏʀᴅ has said, Among the remnant whom the Lᴏʀᴅ calls.

¹A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cry out to the Lᴏʀᴅ with my voice; With my voice to the Lᴏʀᴅ I make my supplication. ²I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. ³When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly set a snare for me. ⁴Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul. ⁵I cried out to You, O Lᴏʀᴅ: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. ⁶Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. ⁷Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.”