Then the king went up [to] the temple of Yahweh, and all of the men of Judah and all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem [were] with him, [including] the priests, the prophets, and all of the people from smallest to greatest; and in their {hearing} he read all of the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been found in the temple of Yahweh.

Then the king stood by the pillar, and he {made} a covenant before Yahweh, to go after Yahweh and to keep his commands and his warnings and his statutes, with all of [his] heart and with his all of his soul, to keep the words of this covenant written on this scroll. Then all of the people {joined} in the covenant.

Then the {king} commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the second priests, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all of the objects made for Baal and for the Asherah and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and then he carried their ashes to Bethel

He removed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained [to] burn incense on the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem and who offered incense to, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

He brought out the Asherah image from the temple of Yahweh outside of Jerusalem to the Wadi of the Kidron and burnt it {there}; then he pulverized [it] to dust and threw its dust upon the tombs of the children of the people.

Then he brought all of the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests from Geba up to Beersheba burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on the left of each gate of the city.

However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their relatives.

He defiled the Topheth which [is] in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, {to prevent} anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech.

He kept the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun from coming to the temple of Yawheh at the side room of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, which [was] in the court; and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.

The altars which [were] on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh, the king tore down and ran from there and threw their ashes into the Wadi Kidron.

Moreover, the altar which [was] in Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin, had built, even that altar and the high place, [Josiah] tore down. Then he burned down the high place and crushed [the] pole of Asherah worship to dust and burned it with fire.

When Josiah turned and saw the tombs which [were] there on the hill, he sent and took the bones from the tombs and burned [them] on the altar. [Thus] he defiled them according to the word of Yahweh that the man of God had proclaimed who had proclaimed these things.

Then he said, "What [is] this gravestone that I [am] seeing?" The men of the city said to him, "[This 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."

Moreover, all of the shrines of the high places which [were] in the towns of Samaria which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [Yahweh], Josiah removed, and he did to them like all of the deeds he had done in Bethel

Then he slaughtered all of the priests of the high places who [were] there, on the altars, and he burned the bones of the humans on them. Then he returned [to] Jerusalem.

Then the king commanded all of the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as has been written on the scroll of this covenant.

Moreover, the mediums and the spiritists, the household gods and the idols, and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah removed in order to establish the words of the law written on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found [in] the temple of Yahweh.

There was not a king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his might according to the law of Moses, nor did one arise like him afterwards.

In his days, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to meet him, and he killed him at Megiddo as soon as he saw him.

So his servants drove him dead in a chariot from Megiddo, and they brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to all his ancestors had done.

Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of Josiah his father, and he changed his name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Jehoahaz and brought [him] to Egypt, and he died there.

The silver and the gold Jehoiakim gave to Pharaoh; however, he taxed the land to give the silver {to meet the demands of Pharaoh}. Each according to assessment, he exacted [payment] of the silver and the gold from the people of the land to give to Pharaoh Neco.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that his ancestors had done.

So Yahweh sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, raiding bands of Aram, raiding bands of Moab, and raiding bands of the {Ammonites}. He had sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken by the hand of his servants the prophets.

Surely, it was {on the command} of Yahweh against Judah to remove them from his sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done.

Also, [for] the blood of the innocent that he had shed--and he filled Jerusalem [with] innocent blood--Yahweh was not willing to forgive.

The king of Egypt did not again come out from his land, for the king of Babylon had taken [territory] from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. The name of his mother [was] Nehushta daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that his father had done.

At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came [to] Jerusalem, and the city came under the siege.

Jehoiachin king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his court officials. The king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king, the wives of the king, his court officials, and the citizenry of the land he caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

of all of the skilled men, seven thousand, and [of] the skilled craftsmen and the artisans, one thousand. All of the mighty warriors {fit for war} the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his uncle king in his place and changed his name [to] Zedekiah.

So they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and {they passed sentence on him}.

They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; then they blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in bronze fetters and brought him [to] Babylon.

In the fifth month, on the seventh of the month, that is, the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, a commander of the imperial guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came [to] Jerusalem.

The remainder of the people left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the remainder of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard deported.

The bronze pillars which [were in] the temple of Yahweh, the water carts, and the bronze sea that was in the temple of Yahweh, the Chaldeans broke into pieces and carried their bronze to Babylon.

The two pillars, the one sea, and the water cart which Solomon had made for the temple of Yahweh, there was no weighing to the bronze of all of these vessels.

Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

When all of the commanders of the troops heard, they and the men, that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, [even] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seriah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and he said to them, "You must not be afraid because of the Chaldeans. Settle in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and may it go well with you."

Then all the people, from youngest to oldest, and the commanders of the troops, went [to] Egypt, for they were afraid of the presence of the Chaldeans.

He spoke {kindly} to him, and he gave him a better seat than the seat of the kings who [were] with him in Babylon.

His allowance was continually given to him from the king, {a portion every day} all the days of his life.

And Cush fathered Nimrod; he himself began to be mighty on earth.

And two sons were born to Eber: the name of the one [was] Peleg (for in his days the earth was divided), and the name of his brother [was] Joktan.

And the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.

The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah; [these] three were born to him from Bathshua the Canaanite. Now Er, Judah's firstborn, [was] evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he put him to death.

And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore Perez and Zerah to him. The sons of Judah [were] five in all.

The sons of Hezron who were born to him: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

And when Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrathah, and she bore Hur to him.

And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Makir the father of Gilead. And he married her when he was sixty years old. And she bore Segub to him.

And after the death of Hezron in Caleb-Ephrathah, Abijah the wife of Hezron bore to him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa.

And the name of the wife of Abishur [was] Abihail, and she bore to him Ahban and Molid.

So Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his slave for a wife, and she bore to him Attai.

And Ephah, the concubine of Caleb, gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. And Haran fathered Gazez.

Maacah, the concubine of Caleb, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah.

She also gave birth to Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb [was] Acsah.

These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite;

Six were born to him in Hebron. And he reigned there seven years and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem.

And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four by Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel;

And Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives: Helah and Naarah.

and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem. (Now the records are ancient).

And they went to the entrance of Gedor, up to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

These, mentioned by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there. And they devoted them to destruction to this day, and they settled among them because [there was] pasture there for their flocks.

And some of them from the Simeonites went to Mount Seir, five hundred men. And Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, [were] under their leadership.

And they destroyed the remainder of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but when he defiled the couch of his father, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that he was not enrolled in the genealogy as the firstborn,

though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief [came] from him, but the birthright belonged to Joseph).

He also lived to the east up to the entrance of the desert {this side of} the River Euphrates, for their livestock had multiplied in the land of Gilead.

And the sons of Gad lived near to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah:

And their kinsmen according to their fathers' households: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber, seven.

And they lived in Gilead, in Bashan, and in {its towns}, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon to their limits.

And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who [were] with them were given into their hand, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he responded to their prayer because they trusted in him.

And they captured their livestock: fifty thousand of their camels; two hundred and fifty thousand sheep; two thousand donkeys; and one hundred thousand men alive.

And the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land from Bashan to Baal-Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. They [were] numerous.

So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tiglath-Pilneser, king of Assyria, and he took them [into exile], namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, until this day.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. Now these [are] the families of the Levites according to their ancestors.

They were ministering with song before the tabernacle of the tent of assembly until Solomon built the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem. And they stood according to their order with respect to their duty.

son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah,

But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

And these [are] their dwellings according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for the [first] lot [was] theirs,

and they gave to them Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands,

but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands,

To the Kohathites who remained from the family of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, [were given] by lot ten cities.

To the Gershomites according to their clans thirteen cities [were allotted] out of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

To the Merarites twelve cities [were] allotted according to their clans out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun.

To the Gershomites [were given] out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands.

To the remainder of the Merarites [were allotted] out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands.

The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses; for Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David [were] twenty-two thousand six hundred.

And in addition to them, according to their generations, according to the house of their fathers, [were] troops of the army for war: thirty-six thousand. For {they had} many wives and sons.

Now their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar [were] in all eighty-seven thousand mighty warriors, enrolled according to their genealogy.

The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, [the] heads of [the] house of [the] fathers, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogy [was] twenty-two thousand thirty-four.

And their enrollment by genealogy according to their generations, [as] heads of the house of their fathers, mighty warriors, [was] twenty thousand two hundred.

All these [were] the sons of Jediael according to the heads of the {families}, mighty warriors, seventeen thousand two hundred, {able to go to war}.

The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she gave birth to Makir the father of Gilead.