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2 Kings 23
Christian Standard Bible

Covenant Renewal

23 So the king sent messengers,(A) and they gathered all the elders(B) of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant(C) that had been found in the Lord’s temple.(D) 3 Next, the king stood by the pillar[a](E) and made a covenant(F) in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul(G) in order to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to[b] the covenant.(H)

Josiah’s Reforms

4 Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah(I) and the priests of the second rank(J) and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky.(K) He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.(L) 5 Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places(M) in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and all the stars in the sky.(N) 6 He brought out the Asherah pole(O) from the Lord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,(P) beat it to dust,(Q) and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.[c](R) 7 He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes(S) that were in the Lord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries[d] for Asherah.(T)

8 Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places(U) from Geba(V) to Beer-sheba,(W) where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the city gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate). 9 The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.(X)

10 He defiled Topheth,(Y) which is in Ben Hinnom Valley,(Z) so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire[e](AA) to Molech.(AB) 11 He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of the Lord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech, the eunuch. He also burned the chariots of the sun.(AC)

12 The king tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had made on the roof(AD) of Ahaz’s upper chamber.(AE) He also tore down the altars that Manasseh had made(AF) in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. Then he smashed them[f] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the abhorrent idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites.(AG) 14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,(AH) cut down the Asherah poles,(AI) then filled their places with human bones.

15 He even tore down the altar at Bethel(AJ) and the high place(AK) that had been made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He burned the high place, crushed it to dust, and burned the Asherah.(AL) 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mountain. He sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar.(AM) He defiled it according to the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God[g] who proclaimed these things.(AN) 17 Then he said, “What is this monument I see?”

The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar at Bethel.”(AO)

18 So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.(AP)

19 Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to anger the Lord.(AQ) Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel. 20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of those high places,(AR) and he burned human bones on the altars.(AS) Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Observed

21 The king commanded all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant.”(AT) 22 No such Passover had ever been observed from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the Lord’s Passover was observed in Jerusalem.(AU)

Further Zeal for the Lord

24 In addition, Josiah eradicated the mediums, the spiritists,(AV) household idols,(AW) images, and all the abhorrent things(AX) that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord’s temple.(AY) 25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength(AZ) according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.(BA)

26 In spite of all that, the Lord did not turn from the fury of his intense burning anger, which burned against Judah because of all the affronts with which Manasseh had angered him.(BB) 27 For the Lord had said, “I will also remove Judah from my presence just as I have removed Israel.(BC) I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’”(BD)

Josiah’s Death

28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign,(BE) along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. 29 During his reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt(BF) marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to confront him, and at Megiddo(BG) when Neco saw him he killed him. 30 From Megiddo his servants carried his dead body in a chariot, brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb.(BH) Then the common people[h] took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.(BI)

Judah’s King Jehoahaz

31 Jehoahaz(BJ) was(BK) twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal(BL) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 32 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.(BM) 33 Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at Riblah(BN) in the land of Hamath(BO) to keep him from reigning in Jerusalem, and he imposed on the land a fine of seventy-five hundred pounds[i] of silver and seventy-five pounds[j] of gold.

Judah’s King Jehoiakim

34 Then(BP) Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim(BQ) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.(BR) But Neco took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.(BS) 35 So Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but at Pharaoh’s command he taxed the land to give it. He exacted the silver and the gold from the common people, each according to his assessment,(BT) to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37 He did what was evil(BU) in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestors had done.

Footnotes

  1. 23:3 2Ch 34:31 reads platform
  2. 23:3 Lit people took a stand in
  3. 23:6 Lit the sons of the people
  4. 23:7 Or clothing
  5. 23:10 Lit could make his son or daughter pass through the fire
  6. 23:12 Text emended; MT reads he ran from
  7. 23:16 LXX adds when Jeroboam stood by the altar of the feast. And he turned and raised his eyes to the tomb of the man of God
  8. 23:30 Lit the people of the land, also in v. 35
  9. 23:33 Lit 100 talents
  10. 23:33 Lit one talent
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2 Kings 23
Common English Bible

23 1 the king sent a message, and all of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s elders gathered before him. 2 Then the king went up to the Lord’s temple, together with all the people of Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets, and all the people, young and old alike. There the king read out loud all the words of the covenant scroll that had been found in the Lord’s temple. 3 The king stood beside the pillar and made a covenant with the Lord that he would follow the Lord by keeping his commandments, his laws, and his regulations with all his heart and all his being in order to fulfill the words of this covenant that were written in this scroll. All of the people accepted the covenant.

4 The king then commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the second-order priests, and the doorkeepers to remove from the Lord’s temple all the religious objects made for Baal, Asherah, and all the heavenly bodies. The king burned them outside Jerusalem in the Kidron fields and took the ashes to Bethel. 5 He got rid of the pagan priests that the Judean kings had appointed to burn incense at the shrines in Judah’s cities and the areas around Jerusalem. He did the same to those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the heavenly bodies. 6 He removed the Asherah image[a] from the Lord’s temple, taking it to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. There he burned it, ground it to dust, and threw the dust on the public graveyard. 7 The king tore down the shrines for the consecrated workers[b] that were in the Lord’s temple, where women made woven coverings[c] for Asherah.

8 Then Josiah brought all the priests out of Judah’s cities. From Geba to Beer-sheba, he defiled the shrines where the priests had been burning incense. He also tore down the shrines at the gates at the entrance to the gate of Joshua the city’s governor, which were on the left as one entered the city gate. 9 Although the priests of these shrines didn’t go up on the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, they did eat unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 Josiah defiled the Topheth in the Ben-hinnom Valley so no one could burn their child alive in honor of the god Molech. 11 He did away with the horses that Judah’s kings had dedicated to the sun. They were kept at the entrance to the Lord’s temple near a room in the annex[d] that belonged to an official named Nathan-melech. Josiah set fire to the chariots that were dedicated to the sun. 12 The king also tore down the altars that were on the roof of Ahaz’s upper story, which had been made by the Judean kings, and he did the same with the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He broke them up there[e] and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king then defiled the shrines facing Jerusalem, south of the Mountain of Destruction. Solomon the king of Israel had built these for Ashtoreth, the monstrous Sidonian god, for Chemosh, the monstrous Moabite god, and for Milcom, the detestable Ammonite god. 14 He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the sacred poles,[f] filling the places where they had been with human bones.

15 Josiah also tore down the altar that was in Bethel. That was the shrine made by Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, who caused Israel to sin. Josiah tore down that altar and its shrine. He burned the shrine, grinding it into dust. Then he burned its sacred pole.[g] 16 When Josiah turned around, he noticed tombs up on the hillside. So he ordered the bones to be taken out of the tombs. He then burned them on the altar, desecrating it. (This was in agreement with the word that the Lord announced by the man of God when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the festival.) Josiah then turned and saw the tomb of the man of God[h] who had predicted these things. 17 “What’s this gravestone I see?” Josiah asked.

The people of the city replied, “That tomb belongs to the man of God who came from Judah and announced what you would do to the altar of Bethel.”

18 “Let it be,” Josiah said. “No one should disturb his bones.” So they left his bones untouched, along with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

19 Moreover, Josiah removed all the shrines on the high hills that the Israelite kings had constructed throughout the cities of Samaria. These had made the Lord angry. Josiah did to them just what he did at Bethel. 20 He actually slaughtered on those altars all the priests of the shrines who were there, and he burned human bones on them. Then Josiah returned to Jerusalem.

21 The king commanded all the people, “Celebrate a Passover to the Lord your God following what is instructed in this scroll containing the covenant.” 22 A Passover like this hadn’t been celebrated since the days when the judges judged Israel; neither had it been celebrated during all the days of the Israelite and Judean kings. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s rule, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Josiah burned those who consulted dead spirits and the mediums, the household gods and the worthless idols—all the monstrous things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way Josiah fulfilled the words of the Instruction written in the scroll that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord’s temple. 25 There’s never been a king like Josiah, whether before or after him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, all his being, and all his strength, in agreement with everything in the Instruction from Moses.

26 Even so, the Lord didn’t turn away from the great rage that burned against Judah on account of all that Manasseh had done to make him angry. 27 The Lord said, “I will remove Judah from my presence just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city, Jerusalem, which I chose, and this temple where I promised my name would reside.”

28 The rest of Josiah’s deeds and all that he accomplished, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? 29 In his days, the Egyptian king Pharaoh Neco marched against the Assyrian king at the Euphrates River. King Josiah marched out to intercept him. But when Neco encountered Josiah in Megiddo, he killed the king. 30 Josiah’s servants took his body from Megiddo in a chariot. They brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, anointed him, and made him king after his father.

Jehoahaz rules Judah

31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king, and he ruled for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal; she was Jeremiah’s daughter and was from Libnah. 32 He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, just as all his ancestors had done. 33 Pharaoh Neco made Jehoahaz a prisoner at Riblah in the land of Hamath, ending his rule in Jerusalem. Pharaoh Neco imposed a fine on the land totaling one hundred kikkars of silver and one kikkar of gold.

Jehoiakim rules Judah

34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim, Josiah’s son, king after his father Josiah. Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Neco took Jehoahaz away; he later died in Egypt. 35 Jehoiakim gave Pharaoh the silver and gold, but he taxed the land in order to meet Pharaoh’s financial demands. Each person was taxed appropriately. Jehoiakim exacted silver and the gold from the land’s people in order to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah; she was Pedaiah’s daughter and was from Rumah. 37 He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, just as all his ancestors had done.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:6 Heb lacks image; perhaps a pole dedicated to the goddess.
  2. 2 Kings 23:7 Traditionally cultic prostitutes
  3. 2 Kings 23:7 Heb uncertain
  4. 2 Kings 23:11 Heb uncertain
  5. 2 Kings 23:12 Correction; MT removed them quickly or ran from there
  6. 2 Kings 23:14 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah
  7. 2 Kings 23:15 Heb asherah, perhaps an object devoted to the goddess Asherah
  8. 2 Kings 23:16 LXX; MT lacks when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the festival. Josiah then turned and saw the tomb of the man of God.
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2 Kings 22
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