Mambo Josiya we Juda
(2 Bomambo 22:1-2)1 Josiya wakabe ana makole ali zhanakadzi tjibaka tjaakatangisa busa, wakabusa makole ali makumi matatu ana gole (31) mu Jerusalema. 2 Wakathama ndulamo mbeli kwa Yahwe, katshamba thambo dza batategulu babe Dafite, kasi pambukile ku luji kene ku lumeshwe.
Josiya unogwisa midzimu
3 Ngono kwakati mu gole le buzhanakadzi le mbuso wa Josiya atji ntjetjana, katangisa kunamata Yahwe Ndzimu wa batategulu babe Dafite. Kwakati mu gole le bugumi lina mabili katangisa kutjenapadza Juda ne Jerusalema nge kukolomodza magalo a pezhugwi akabe athigamigwa midzimu kakolomodza ne ndzimukadzi Ashera ne zwifano zwakabezhiwa ne zwimwe zwakabumbiwa zwe midzimu. 4 Nge ndaulo iye zwibeso zwe zwibhayilo zwa bo Bhaale zwakakolomodziwa ne zwibeso zwinopisigwa motsha zwakabe zwakabakwa pezhugwi kwe zwe zwibhayilo zwakakolomogwa zwikabe zwipithu pithu, kaligila kutjena panda dze ndzimukadzi Ashera ne midzimu yakabezhiwa ne yakabumbiwa kaikwiya katola mavu yawo kaipaladzila pezhugwi kwe zwikumbu zwa ibabo bakabe bepisila midzimu. 5 Wakapisila mafupa e bapirisiti mu zwibeso zwabo ngono katjenapadza Juda ne Jerusalema. 6 Ku mizi ye Manase ne Ifureimi ne Simiyoni kunoti ku Nafutali ne matongo akapoteleka, 7 wakakolomola zwibeso ne zwifano zwe ndzimukadzi Ashera kapkhwanya midzimu kaikwiya ikasala inga bgwisa kapkhwanya ne zwibeso zwakabe zwipisigwa motsha. Kudwapo kabgwilila ku Jerusalema.
Wang'wa kwe lukwalo gwe nlayo
(2 Bomambo 22:3-20)8 Kwakati nge gole le bugumi lina makole ali zhanakadzi (18) le mbuso wa Mambo Josiya shule kwe batjenapadza Ng'umba ye Ndzimu kose ne shango, bakatuma Shafani nkololo wa Azaliya na Maaseya nlauli we nzi nkulu na Joahi nkololo wa Joahazi we nkwalili, kuti banomusa Ng'umba ya Yahwe Ndzimu uwe. 9 Bakayenda kuna Hilikiya ntungamili we bapirisiti ngono bakampa mari akabe adusigwa Ng'umba ye Ndzimu akubunganyiwa ne Balevi ne balisi be nkoba we Ng'umba ya Yahwe, mari iyawa akabe akubunganyiwa kudwa mu bathu be Manase ne Ifureimi ne mu malimbelimbe wose e Iziraela ne mu bathu bose be ntuthu we Juda ne Bhenjamini ne mu bagali bose be Jerusalema. 10 Bakatola mari iyawa bakaapa batungamili bakabe babigwa kubona kuti nshingo we Ng'umba ya Yahwe unoyenda zubuyanana kuti ndizo balipe bashingi banomusa Ng'umba ye Ndzimu 11 ne babezhi ne babaki kuti batenge mabgwe akabezhiwa ne mapango embalilo ne makwasayile e mbako dzakabe dzaletjedziwa ndi bomambo be Juda kuti dziwe. 12 Balume bakabe beshinga bakashinga nge mimoyo yabo yose. Bakabe bakatungamigwa ne Balevi bakabe bali be nsha wa Merari ibo bali bo Jahati na Obadiya na Zakhariya na Meshulamu bakabe bali be nsha wa Kohati. Balevi ibaba bakabe bali nyambi dzelidza zwilidzo, 13 kakale bakabe bakalingisana ngobona kuti bashingi bose banoshinga mishingo yabo ngosiyana kwayo. Balevi bamwe bakabe bali bakwalili bamwe bali balisi be mikoba.
14 Ngono bakati batjadusa mari abakabe babiga mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe, Hilikiya mpirisiti nkulu kawana Lukwalo gwe Nlayo wa Yahwe gwa Mushe gwaakabe apiwa ndi Yahwe. 15 Hilikiya kabe eti kuna Shafani we nkwalili, “Ndawana lukwalo gwe Nlayo mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe.” Hilikiya kagupa Shafani 16 Ngono Shafani kayisa lukwalo kuna mambo, kabikila mambo eti, “Balanda benyu banoshinga kose kwamakati bathame. 17 Mari akabe ali ku Ng'umba ya Yahwe bakaapa batungamili be bashingi be bathu ne bashingi.” 18 Ndizo Shafani nkwalili kadwa mambo kati, “Hilikiya mpirisiti wandipa lukwalo igogu.” Ngono Shafani kagubala mbeli kwa mambo. 19 Kwakati mambo basinohwa matama e lukwalo igogu gwe nlayo, bakapalula zwiambalo zwabo. 20 Ngono bakapa Hilikiya na Ahikamu nkololo wa Shafani na Abidoni nkololo wa Mika na Shafani nkwalili na Asaya nlanda wa mambo ndaulo inoti, 21 “Yendani kuna Yahwe Ndzimu munondibhuzwila imi ne bathu na bose bakasala mu Iziraela ne Juda ngekwe lukwalo igogu gwawang'wa, ngobe Yahwe bazhala bushongola kwazo nge kwa bobatategulu bedu basakabhulutana matama a Yahwe kakale abazolondolodza tjakakwagwa mu lukwalo igogu.”
22 Ndizo Hilikiya na bose bakabe batumwa na mambo bakayenda kuna Hulida nlebesambeli wakabe ali nkadzi wa Shalumu nkololo wa Tokhati, Tokhati ali nkololo wa Hasira wakabe ali ntjengeti we hazu dze Ng'umba ye Ndzimu. Hulida wakabe egala ku Jerusalema ku Ntuthu ntshwa. Bakalebeleka naye nge kwako. 23 Ngono Hulida kabadwa kati, “Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, ‘Endani munodwa nlume wamutumila kundili 24 muti, “Ndowodelusa mbipo mu ntuthu iwoyu ne mu bagali bawo, bhiso lose lakakwagwa mu lukwalo igogu labagwa mbeli kwa Mambo we Juda, 25 ngoti bakandifupatila bakapisila midzimu ipoga motsha. Ndizo bakandishongola nge mishingo yabakathama nge maboko abo, ndizo bushongola gwangu gowothuta ngono agutowodzimika.” 26 Koga ngekwa mambo we Juda wamutuma kuwobhuzwa kuna Yahwe mubadwe muti Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, “Se wahwa matama angu mu lukwalo, 27 ngobe moyo uwo wabe nnyolo, ukazwiyisa pasi mbeli kwangu, ukapalula zwiambalo zwizo ukalilila mbeli kwangu, ndakuhwa, koleba Yahwe. 28 Ndizo bona, unowotobela bobatategulu babo, unowobiganyiwa nge kunyalala, autowobona bubi gose gwandinozhisa mu bugalo igogu ne mu bagali bose bago.” ’ ” Ndizo bakabgwilila kuna Mambo Josiya nge matama iyawa.
Josiya unothama tjidumano kubhulutana Yahwe
(2 Bomambo 23:1-20)29 Mambo Josiya kakubunganya bathu bakulu bose be Juda ne be Jerusalema. 30 Mambo bakayenda ku Ng'umba ya Yahwe ne bakololo bose be Juda naibo bose be Jerusalema ne bapirisiti ne balebesambeli ne bathu bose bakulu ne batukununu, ndizo bakababalila matama wose e lukwalo gwe tjidumano gwakabe gwa wang'wa mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe. 31 Mambo bakama mu magalo abo ngono bakathama tjidumano ne meya dzabo dzose mbeli kwa Yahwe ili tjidumano tjekutobela ne kutjengeta milayo ya Yahwe ne kuthama zose zwakabe zwakakwagwa mu lukwalo gwe tjidumano.
32 Bakathama kuti bathu bose bakabe bali mu Jerusalema ne Bhenjamini babe ne mazwimisilo ekuti banoshinga tjidumano itjetjo. Bathu be Jerusalema bakathama koyendidzana ne tjidumano tje Ndzimu, Ndzimu wa bobatategulu babo. 33 Mambo Josiya kadusa midzimu yose inoshimisa mu ntuthu we Baiziraela kakale kakulumbidza bose bakabe bali mu Iziraela kuti bashingile Yahwe Ndzimu wabo. Mu butjilo gugwe gose abazopambuka mukutobela Yahwe Ndzimu wa bobatategulu babo.
King Josiah of Judah
(2 Kings 22.12 2)1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years. 2 He did what was pleasing to the Lord; he followed the example of his ancestor King David, strictly obeying all the laws of God.
Josiah Attacks Pagan Worship
3 In the eighth year that Josiah was king, while he was still very young, he began to worship the God of his ancestor King David. Four years later he began to destroy the pagan places of worship, the symbols of the goddess Asherah, and all the other idols. 4 Under his direction the altars where Baal was worshiped were smashed, and the incense altars near them were torn down. They ground to dust the images of Asherah and all the other idols and then scattered the dust on the graves of the people who had sacrificed to them. 5 He burned the bones of the pagan priests on the altars where they had worshiped. By doing all this, he made Judah and Jerusalem ritually clean again. 6 He did the same thing in the cities and the devastated areas of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far north as Naphtali. 7 Throughout the territory of the Northern Kingdom he smashed the altars and the symbols of Asherah, ground the idols to dust, and broke into bits all the incense altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
The Book of the Law Is Discovered
(2 Kings 22.3-20)8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, after he had purified the land and the Temple by ending pagan worship, King Josiah sent three men to repair the Temple of the Lord God: Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the governor of Jerusalem, and Joah son of Joahaz, a high official. 9 The money that the Levite guards had collected in the Temple was turned over to Hilkiah the High Priest. (It had been collected from the people of Ephraim and Manasseh and the rest of the Northern Kingdom, and from the people of Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem.) 10 This money was then handed over to the three men in charge of the Temple repairs, and they gave it to 11 the carpenters and the builders to buy the stones and the timber used to repair the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to decay. 12 The men who did the work were thoroughly honest. They were supervised by four Levites: Jahath and Obadiah of the clan of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam of the clan of Kohath. (The Levites were all skillful musicians.) 13 Other Levites were in charge of transporting materials and supervising the workers on various jobs, and others kept records or served as guards.
14 While the money was being taken out of the storeroom, Hilkiah found the book of the Law of the Lord, the Law that God had given to Moses. 15 He said to Shaphan, “I have found the book of the Law here in the Temple.” He gave Shaphan the book, 16 and Shaphan took it to the king. He reported, “We have done everything that you commanded. 17 We have taken the money that was kept in the Temple and handed it over to the workers and their supervisors.” 18 Then he added, “I have here a book that Hilkiah gave me.” And he read it aloud to the king.
19 When the king heard the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay 20 and gave the following order to Hilkiah, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Abdon son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king's attendant: 21 “Go and consult the Lord for me and for the people who still remain in Israel and Judah. Find out about the teachings of this book. The Lord is angry with us because our ancestors have not obeyed the word of the Lord and have not done what this book says must be done.”
22 At the king's command, Hilkiah and the others went to consult a woman named Huldah, a prophet who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. (Her husband Shallum, the son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas, was in charge of the Temple robes.) They described to her what had happened, 23 and she told them to go back to the king and give him 24 the following message from the Lord: “I am going to punish Jerusalem and all its people with the curses written in the book that was read to the king. 25 They have rejected me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and so have stirred up my anger by all they have done. My anger is aroused against Jerusalem, and it will not die down. 26 As for the king himself, this is what I, the Lord God of Israel, say: You listened to what is written in the book, 27 and you repented and humbled yourself before me, tearing your clothes and weeping, when you heard how I threatened to punish Jerusalem and its people. I have heard your prayer, 28 and the punishment which I am going to bring on Jerusalem will not come until after your death. I will let you die in peace.”
The men returned to King Josiah with this message.
Josiah Makes a Covenant to Obey the Lord
(2 Kings 23.1-20)29 King Josiah summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, 30 and together they went to the Temple, accompanied by the priests and the Levites and all the rest of the people, rich and poor alike. Before them all the king read aloud the whole book of the covenant, which had been found in the Temple. 31 He stood by the royal column and made a covenant with the Lord to obey him, to keep his laws and commands with all his heart and soul, and to put into practice the demands attached to the covenant, as written in the book. 32 He made the people of Benjamin and everyone else present in Jerusalem promise to keep the covenant. And so the people of Jerusalem obeyed the requirements of the covenant they had made with the God of their ancestors. 33 King Josiah destroyed all the disgusting idols that were in the territory belonging to the people of Israel, and as long as he lived, he required the people to serve the Lord, the God of their ancestors.