When they withdrew, they left Joash<n id="1" /> badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done to<n id="2" /> the son<n id="3" /> of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thus<n id="4" /> he died and was buried in the City of David,<n id="5" /> but not in the tombs of the kings.

Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle<n id="1" /> raided<n id="2" /> the cities of Judah from Samaria<n id="3" /> to Beth Horon. They killed<n id="4" /> 3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.p>

Messengers<n id="1" /> delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah.p> <p class="bodytext">This royal edict read:<n id="2" /> &#8220;O Israelites, return to the <sc>Lordsc> God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return<n id="3" /> to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">So Hilkiah and the others sent by the king<n id="1" /> went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah,<n id="2" /> the supervisor of the wardrobe.<n id="3" /> (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh<n id="4" /> district.) They stated their business,<n id="5" />

The king stood by his pillar<n id="1" /> and renewed<n id="2" /> the covenant before the <sc>Lordsc>, agreeing to follow<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc> and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being,<n id="4" /> by carrying out the terms<n id="5" /> of this covenant recorded on this scroll.

So his servants took him out of the chariot, put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem,<n id="1" /> where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors;<n id="2" /> all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah.

<p class="bodytext">When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, &#8220;We have no portion in David &#8211; no share in the son of Jesse!<n id="1" /> Return to your homes, O Israel!<n id="2" /> Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!&#8221;<n id="3" /> So all Israel returned to their homes.<n id="4" />

&#8220;Go, seek an oracle from<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> for me and those who remain in Israel and Judah. Find out about<n id="2" /> the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s fury has been ignited against us,<n id="3" /> because our ancestors<n id="4" /> have not obeyed the word of the <sc>Lordsc> by doing all that this scroll instructs!&#8221;<n id="5" />p>