3. When Josiah was only sixteen years old he began worshipping God, just as his ancestor David had done. Then, four years later, he decided to destroy the local shrines in Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the sacred poles for worshipping the goddess Asherah and the idols of foreign gods.
4. He watched as the altars for the worship of the god Baal were torn down, and as the nearby incense altars were smashed. The Asherah poles, the idols, and the stone images were also smashed, and the pieces were scattered over the graves of their worshippers.
5. Josiah then had the bones of the pagan priests burnt on the altars.And so Josiah got rid of the worship of foreign gods in Judah and Jerusalem.
6. He did the same things in the towns and ruined villages in the territories of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as the border of Naphtali.
7. Everywhere in the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah tore down pagan altars and Asherah poles; he crushed idols to dust and smashed incense altars.Then Josiah went back to Jerusalem.
8. In the eighteenth year of Josiah's rule in Judah, after he had got rid of all the sinful things from the land and from the Lord's temple, he sent three of his officials to repair the temple. They were Shaphan son of Azaliah, Governor Maaseiah of Jerusalem, and Joah son of Joahaz, who kept the government records.
9. These three men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money that the Levite guards had collected from the people of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and the rest of Israel, as well as those living in Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem.
26-27. “Josiah, listen to what I am going to do. I noticed how sad you were when you heard that this country and its people would be completely wiped out. You even tore your clothes in sorrow, and I heard you cry.
28. So before I destroy this place, I will let you die in peace.”The men left and reported to Josiah what Huldah had said.
29. King Josiah called together the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30. Then he went to the Lord's temple, together with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the Levites.Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law that had been found in the temple.
31. After Josiah had finished reading, he stood in the place reserved for the king. He promised in the Lord's name to obey the Lord faithfully and to follow his laws and teachings that were written in the book.
32. Then he asked the people of Jerusalem and Benjamin to make that same promise and to obey the God their ancestors had worshipped.
33. Josiah destroyed all the idols in the territories of Israel, and he commanded everyone in Israel to worship only the Lord God. The people did not turn away from the Lord God of their ancestors for the rest of Josiah's rule as king.