2 Kings 22
About 2 KingsWritten by AI
2 Kings picks up exactly where 1 Kings stops, and the two were first one book. It is history told with a prophet's eye, weighing each king by his faithfulness to the LORD. The author is not named; Jewish tradition credits Jeremiah, and many scholars think the work was finished during the exile in Babylon, since its last scene takes place there.
The book moves downhill, with bright moments along the way. It opens with Elijah taken up and Elisha's many miracles. Then the northern kingdom of Israel, never free of Jeroboam's golden calves, falls to Assyria. Judah lasts longer, helped by reforming kings like Hezekiah and Josiah, of whom it says no king before or after “turned to the LORD with all his heart” as he did. But in the end Jerusalem falls to Babylon and the temple burns.
Watch for God's patience, the prophets' warnings, and the small sign of hope in the final verses: David's line is still alive.
Before you read 2 Kings 22Written by AI
Josiah becomes king at eight years old and does right, without turning aside. During temple repairs, the high priest Hilkiah finds the Book of the Law. When it is read to Josiah, he tears his clothes in grief. The prophetess Huldah confirms that judgment is coming, but because Josiah humbled himself, he will not see it.
Josiah Reigns in Judah
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Funding the Temple Repairs
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the scribe, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying, “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. And let them deliver it into the hands of the supervisors of those doing the work on the house of the LORD, who in turn are to give it to the workmen repairing the damages to the house of the LORD— to the carpenters, builders, and masons—to buy timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. But they need not account for the money put into their hands, since they work with integrity.”
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
And Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, “Your servants have paid out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hands of the workers and supervisors of the house of the LORD.”
Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king: “Go and inquire of the LORD for me, for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words in this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book by doing all that is written about us.”
Huldah’s Prophecy
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
And Huldah said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Tell the man who sent you that this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched.’
But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for the words that you heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its people, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD.
‘Therefore I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.’”
So they brought her answer back to the king.