The Book of the Law Found^(A)

22 Josiah^(B) 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.^{(C) 2} He did what was right^(D) in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right^(E) or to the left.

³ In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan^(F) son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah^(G) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected^(H) from the people. ⁵ Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair^(I) the temple of the Lord— ⁶ the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.^{(J) 7} But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”^(K)

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(L) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.^(M)

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,^(N) he tore his robes. ¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(O) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:^{(P) 13} “Go and inquire^(Q) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger^(R) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

¹⁴ Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet^(S) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(T) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book^(U) the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken^(V) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,^[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(W) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ¹⁹ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled^(X) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse^[b](Y) and be laid waste^(Z)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.^(AA) Your eyes^(AB) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

Josiah’s Reforms^(A)(B)(C)

34 Josiah^(D) was eight years old when he became king,^(E) and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David,^(F) not turning aside to the right or to the left.

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God^(G) of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. ⁴ Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles^(H) and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.^{(I) 5} He burned^(J) the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, ⁷ he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder^(K) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

⁸ In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

⁹ They went to Hilkiah^(L) the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. ¹¹ They also gave money^(M) to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.^(N)

¹² The workers labored faithfully.^(O) Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—^{(P) 13} had charge of the laborers^(Q) and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.

The Book of the Law Found^(R)(S)

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(T) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁶ Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. ¹⁷ They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.” ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the Law,^(U) he tore^(V) his robes. ²⁰ He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan^(W), Abdon son of Micah,^[a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: ²¹ “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out^(X) on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”

²² Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him^[b] went to speak to the prophet^(Y) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath,^[c] the son of Hasrah,^[d] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

²³ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(Z) on this place and its people^(AA)—all the curses^(AB) written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have forsaken me^(AC) and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,^[e] my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’ ²⁶ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ²⁷ Because your heart was responsive^(AD) and you humbled^(AE) yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸ Now I will gather you to your ancestors,^(AF) and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”^(AG)

So they took her answer back to the king.

²⁹ Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ He went up to the temple of the Lord^(AH) with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. ³¹ The king stood by his pillar^(AI) and renewed the covenant^(AJ) in the presence of the Lord—to follow^(AK) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.

³² Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

³³ Josiah removed all the detestable^(AL) idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand^(A)

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs^(B) he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside^(C) and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival^(D) was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,^(E) “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,^(F) spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”^(G)

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,^(H) and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign^(I) Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”^{(J) 15} Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king^(K) by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.^(L)

Jesus Walks on the Water^(M)

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water;^(N) and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”^{(O) 21} Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

²² The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake^(P) realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.^{(Q) 23} Then some boats from Tiberias^(R) landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.^{(S) 24} Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Jesus the Bread of Life

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi,^(T) when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me,^(U) not because you saw the signs^(V) I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures^(W) to eternal life,^(X) which the Son of Man^(Y) will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal^(Z) of approval.”

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe^(AA) in the one he has sent.”^(AB)

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign^(AC) then will you give that we may see it and believe you?^(AD) What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna^(AE) in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[c]”^(AF)

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven^(AG) and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”^(AH)

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am^(AI) the bread of life.^(AJ) Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes^(AK) in me will never be thirsty.^{(AL) 36} But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me^(AM) will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven^(AN) not to do my will but to do the will^(AO) of him who sent me.^{(AP) 39} And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,^(AQ) but raise them up at the last day.^{(AR) 40} For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son^(AS) and believes in him shall have eternal life,^(AT) and I will raise them up at the last day.”

⁴¹ At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,^(AU) whose father and mother we know?^(AV) How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”^(AW)

⁴³ “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them,^(AX) and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^[d](AY) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God;^(AZ) only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.^{(BA) 48} I am the bread of life.^{(BB) 49} Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.^{(BC) 50} But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,^(BD) which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread^(BE) that came down from heaven.^(BF) Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”^(BG)

⁵² Then the Jews^(BH) began to argue sharply among themselves,^(BI) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh^(BJ) of the Son of Man^(BK) and drink his blood,^(BL) you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.^{(BM) 55} For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.^{(BN) 57} Just as the living Father sent me^(BO) and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”^{(BP) 59} He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of his disciples^(BQ) said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”^(BR)

⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?^{(BS) 62} Then what if you see the Son of Man^(BT) ascend to where he was before!^{(BU) 63} The Spirit gives life;^(BV) the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit^[e] and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known^(BW) from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.^{(BX) 65} He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”^(BY)

⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples^(BZ) turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.^(CA)

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him,^(CB) “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.^{(CC) 69} We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”^(CD)

⁷⁰ Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you,^(CE) the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”^{(CF) 71} (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot,^(CG) who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)^(CH)