Octo annorum erat Josias cum regnare cœpisset: triginta et uno anno regnavit in Jerusalem: nomen matris ejus Idida filia Hadaia de Besecath.

Josias was eight years old when he came to the throne, and his reign at Jerusalem lasted thirty-one years; his mother’s name was Idida, the daughter of Hadaia of Besecath.

Josias was eight years old when he began to reign: he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Idida, the daughter of Hadaia, of Besecath.

Fecitque quod placitum erat coram Domino, et ambulavit per omnes vias David patris sui: non declinavit ad dexteram, sive ad sinistram.

He was obedient to the Lord’s will, and followed in all things the example of his ancestor, king David, never swerving to right or left.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of David his father: he turned not aside to the right hand, or to the left.

Anno autem octavodecimo regis Josiæ, misit rex Saphan filium Aslia filii Messulam scribam templi Domini, dicens ei:

In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josias had an errand for the controller of the temple, Saphan, son of Aslia, son of Messula.

And in the eighteenth year of king Josias, the king sent Saphan the son of Assia, the son of Messulam, the scribe of the temple of the Lord, saying to him:

Vade ad Helciam sacerdotem magnum, ut confletur pecunia quæ illata est in templum Domini, quam collegerunt janitores templi a populo:

He was to bid the high priest Helcias reckon up the sum collected by the temple door-keepers for the needs of the Lord’s house,

Go to Helcias the high priest, that the money may be put together which is brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers of the temple have gathered of the people.

deturque fabris per præpositos domus Domini, qui et distribuant eam his qui operantur in templo Domini, ad instauranda sartatecta templi:

and pay it out to the workmen through the temple overseers. Pay must be given to these workmen, engaged on making good the temple fabric,

And let it be given to the workmen by the overseers of the house of the Lord: and let them distribute it to those that work in the temple of the Lord, to repair the temple:

tignariis videlicet et cæmentariis, et iis qui interrupta componunt: et ut emantur ligna, et lapides de lapicidinis, ad instaurandum templum Domini.

carpenters, masons, and builders alike; there was timber to be bought, too, and stone from the quarries, before the Lord’s temple could be repaired.

That is, to carpenters and masons, and to such as mend breaches: and that timber may be bought, and stones out of the quarries, to repair the temple of the Lord.

Verumtamen non supputetur eis argentum quod accipiunt, sed in potestate habeant, et in fide.

No account need be kept of these expenses; the overseers could be trusted with full disposal of the money.

But let there be no reckoning made with them of the money which they receive, but let them have it in their power, and in their trust.

Dixit autem Helcias pontifex ad Saphan scribam: Librum legis reperi in domo Domini. Deditque Helcias volumen Saphan, qui et legit illud.

It was then that the high priest Helcias told Saphan he had found, there in the temple, a copy of the law, which he gave him to read.

And Helcias the high priest said to Saphan the scribe: I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and Helcias gave the book to Saphan, and he read it.

Venit quoque Saphan scriba ad regem, et renuntiavit ei quod præceperat, et ait: Conflaverunt servi tui pecuniam quæ reperta est in domo Domini, et dederunt ut distribueretur fabris a præfectis operum templi Domini.

And Saphan, going back to the king with news of his errand, to report that the temple offerings had been reckoned up and paid over to the temple overseers, for distribution to the workmen,

And Saphan the scribe came to the king, and brought him word again concerning that which he had commanded, and said: Thy servants have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and they have given it to be distributed to the workmen, by the overseers of the works of the temple of the Lord.

Narravit quoque Saphan scriba regi, dicens: Librum dedit mihi Helcias sacerdos. Quem cum legisset Saphan coram rege,

added that he had a book which the high priest Helcias had given him.This book, then, Saphan read out in the royal presence;

And Saphan the scribe told the king, saying: Helcias the priest hath delivered to me a book. And when Saphan had read it before the king,

et audisset rex verba libri legis Domini, scidit vestimenta sua.

and the king, upon hearing the terms of the Lord’s law, rent his garments about him.

And the king had heard the words of the law of the Lord, he rent his garments.

Et præcepit Helciæ sacerdoti, et Ahicam filio Saphan, et Achobor filio Micha, et Saphan scribæ, et Asaiæ servo regis, dicens:

Then he gave his orders to Helcias, and Ahicam son of Saphan, and Achobor son of Micha, and Saphan the controller of the temple, and Asaia, one of his courtiers;

And he commanded Helcias the priest, and Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Achobor the son of Micha, and Saphan the scribe, and Asaia the king’s servant, saying:

Ite et consulite Dominum super me, et super populo, et super omni Juda, de verbis voluminis istius, quod inventum est: magna enim ira Domini succensa est contra nos, quia non audierunt patres nostri verba libri hujus, ut facerent omne quod scriptum est nobis.

Go and consult the Lord, he told them, in my name, and in the name of this whole people of Juda, about this new-found copy of the law. Fiercely the Lord’s anger burns against us, that the words of this book should have fallen on deaf ears, and our race should have disobeyed the commands enjoined upon us.

Go and consult the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Juda, concerning the words of this book which is found: for the great wrath of the Lord is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do all that is written for us.

Ierunt itaque Helcias sacerdos, et Ahicam, et Achobor, et Sapham, et Asaia, ad Holdam prophetidem, uxorem Sellum filii Thecuæ filii Araas custodis vestium, quæ habitabat in Jerusalem in Secunda: locutique sunt ad eam.

So Helcias, Ahicam, Achobor, Saphan and Asaia betook themselves to the prophetess Holda. She was wife to Sellum, son of Thecua, son of Araas, that once kept the royal wardrobe; her dwelling was at Jerusalem, in the new part of the city. So they told her their business,

So Helcias the priest, and Ahicam, and Achobor, and Saphan, and Asaia went to Holda the prophetess the wife of Sellum the son of Thecua, the son of Araas keeper of the wardrobe, who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second: and they spoke to her.

Et illa respondit eis: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: Dicite viro qui misit vos ad me:

and she, in return, gave them this message from the Lord God of Israel for the man that sent them:

And she said to them: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me:

Hæc dicit Dominus: Ecce ego adducam mala super locum istum, et super habitatores ejus, omnia verba legis quæ legit rex Juda:

Thus says the Lord, For this city and its citizens I have punishments in store, all the punishments threatened in yonder book the king of Juda has read.

Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will bring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, all the words of the law which the king of Juda hath read:

quia dereliquerunt me, et sacrificaverunt diis alienis, irritantes me in cunctis operibus manuum suarum: et succendetur indignatio mea in loco hoc, et non extinguetur.

The men of Juda have forsaken me, and offered sacrifice to alien gods; all they do is done in defiance of me; the fire of my vengeance must needs break out against this city, and there is no quenching it.

Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, provoking me by all the works of their hands: therefore my indignation shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

Regi autem Juda, qui misit vos ut consuleretis Dominum, sic dicetis: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: Pro eo quod audisti verba voluminis,

But to the king of Juda, who sent you here to consult the Lord, give this message from the Lord God of Israel: Well for thee thou didst listen to the warnings this book gave thee!

But to the king of Juda, who sent you to consult the Lord, thus shall you say: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Forasmuch as thou hast heard the words of the book,

et perterritum est cor tuum, et humiliatus es coram Domino, auditis sermonibus contra locum istum et habitatores ejus, quod videlicet fierent in stuporem et in maledictum: et scidisti vestimenta tua, et flevisti coram me, et ego audivi, ait Dominus:

Well for thee that fear caught at thy heart, and thou didst humble thyself before the Lord, at hearing him threaten city and citizens with despair and doom; that thou didst rend thy garments, and hadst recourse to me in tears! And thou hast won my audience, the Lord says;

And thy heart hath been moved to fear, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, hearing the words against this place, and the inhabitants thereof, to wit, that they should become a wonder and a curse: and thou hast rent thy garments, and wept before me, I also have heard thee, saith the Lord:

idcirco colligam te ad patres tuos, et colligeris ad sepulchrum tuum in pace, ut non videant oculi tui omnia mala quæ inducturus sum super locum istum.

I will lay thee to rest with thy fathers, in quiet times thou shalt go to thy grave; not for thy eyes to witness the great calamities I mean to bring on this city of thine.

Therefore I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy sepulchre in peace, that thy eyes may not see all the evils which I will bring upon this place.