The king summoned, and they assembled before him all the elders of Yehudah and Yerusholayim.

The king went up to the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy, and all the people of Yehudah and all the inhabitants of Yerusholayim were with him, and the kohanim and the prophets, and all the people from small to great, and he read in their ears all the words of the Scroll of the Covenant that was found in the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy.

The king stood at his place, and enacted the Covenant before Adonoy, to follow Adonoy and to observe His commandments, His testimonies, and His statutes with all [their] heart and soul, to fulfill the words of this Covenant, which are written in this Scroll; and all the people accepted the Covenant.

The king instructed Chilkiyohu the kohein gadol, the kohanimof the second rank and the gatekeepers, to remove from the Temple of Adonoy all the utensils that were made for the Baal, for the asheiroh, and for the entire host of the heavens; and he burned them outside Yerusholayim in the plains of Kidron, and he carried their ashes to Beis Eil.

He abolished the pagan priests who the kings of Yehudah had appointed and who had burned incense on the high places in the cities of Yehudah and the surrounding areas of Yerusholayim, and those who burned incense to the Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of the heavens.

He removed the asheiroh from the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy to the Kidron Valley outside of Yerusholayim, and he burned it in the Kidron Valley and he ground it into dust; he threw its dust on the graves of the people.

He demolished the houses devoted to pagan worship that were in the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy, where the women would weave coverings for the asheiroh.

He brought all the priests from the towns of Yehudah, and he defiled the high places where the priests burned incense, from Geva to Be’er Sheva; he demolished the high places near the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Yehoshua the governor of the city, which was on a person’s left [upon entering] the city gate.

However, the priests of the high places were not [permitted] to ascend the altar of Adonoy in Yerusholayim; they would eat matzohs among their brethren.

He defiled the Tophes which was in the Valley of Ben Hinom, so that no man would pass his son or daughter through the fire to the Molech.

He abolished the horses that the kings of Yehudah had dedicated to the sun, from the entrance of the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy to the chamber of Neson Melech, the eunuch who was in the outskirts, and he burned the chariots of the sun in fire.

The altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Achaz which the kings of Yehudah had made, and the altars that Menashe had made in the two courtyards of the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy, the king demolished; he quickly removed them from there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

And the high places that were facing Yerusholayim, that were on the right of Har Hamashchis, which Shlomo king of Yisroel had built for Ashtores the abomination of the Tzidonim, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moav, and for Milkom the abomination of the children of Amon, the king defiled.

He smashed the monuments, and cut down the asheirim, and he filled their place with human bones.

Also, the altar that was in Beis Eil, the high place that Yorovom son of Nevot made, with which he caused Yisroel to sin, also that altar and the high place he demolished, and he burned the high place; he ground it into dust and burned theasheiroh.

Yoshiyahu turned and saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent [people] and took the bones out of the graves, and he burned them on the altar and defiled it; according to the word of Adonoy that the man of God had proclaimed, who had foretold these events.

And he said, “What is this marker that I see?” And the people of the city said to him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Yehudah and foretold things that you have done on the altar of Beis Eil.”

And he said, “Leave it alone. Let no one move his bones.” They spared his bones with the bones of the prophet who came from Shomron.

And also all the temples of the high places in the cities of Shomron, that Yisroel’s kings had made to anger [Adonoy], Yoshiyahu removed, and he did to them like all the deeds he had done in Beis Eil.

He slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were there on the altars, and he burned human bones upon them, and then he returned to Yerusholayim.

The king commanded all the people, saying, “Offer a Pesach sacrifice to Adonoy you God, as written in the Book of the Covenant.”

For such a Pesach sacrifice had not been offered since the time of the Judges who judged Yisroel, and all the days of the kings of Yisroel and the kings of Yehudah.

Except in the eighteenth year of king Yoshiyahu, this Pesach sacrifice was offered to Adonoy, in Yerusholayim.

Also, the necromancers and those who divine by the Yidoa bone and the teraphim and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Yehudah and in Yerusholayim, Yoshiyahu abolished, in order to fulfill the words of the Torah which were written in the Scroll that Chilkiyohu the kohein had found [in] the Beis [Hamikdosh] of Adonoy.

Before him there was never a king like him, who returned to Adonoy with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his possessions, according to the entire Torah of Moshe, and after him no one arose like him.

However, Adonoy did not turn back from His great wrath, His wrath that was kindled against Yehudah, because of all the provocations with which Menashe had provoked Him.

Adonoy said, “Yehudah, too, I will remove from My Presence, as I have removed Yisroel, and I will reject this city which I have chosen, Yerusholayim, and the Beis [Hamikdosh] of which I said, ‘My Name will be there.’”

The rest of the deeds of Yoshiyahu and all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of Yehudah’s kings.

In his days, Paroh Neko king of Egypt went up against the king of Ashur by the Euphrates River; King Yoshiyahu went toward him, and he [Paroh Neko] killed him in Megiddo when he saw him.

His servants transported him; dead, from Megiddo, they brought him to Yerusholayim, and buried him in his grave. The people of the land took Yehoachaz son of Yoshiyahu, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.

Yehoachaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Yerusholayim; his mother’s name was Chamutal daughter of Yirmiyahu of Livnoh.

He did what was evil in the eyes of Adonoy, like all that his forefathers had done.

Paroh Neko imprisoned him in Rivloh in the land of Chamos, [to prevent him] from reigning in Yerusholayim; he imposed a fine on the land [consisting] of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

Paroh Neko crowned Elyokim son of Yoshiyahu in place of his father Yoshiyahu, and he changed his name to Yehoyakim. He took Yehoachaz [captive], and came back to Egypt; and [Yehoachaz] died there.

Yehoyakim gave the silver and gold to Paroh, but he assessed the land in order to give the silver that Paroh had demanded; each one according to his assessment, he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land to give to Paroh Neko.

Yehoyakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Yerusholayim; his mother’s name was Zevudoh daughter of Pedoyoh of Rumoh.

He did what was evil in the eyes of Adonoy, like all that his forefathers had done.