2 Kings 23
Legacy Standard Bible
Josiah Reads the Book of the Covenant
23 (A)Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up to the house of Yahweh and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and (B)he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant (C)which was found in the house of Yahweh. 3 (D)Then the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before Yahweh, (E)to walk after Yahweh, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to establish the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people [a]entered into the covenant.
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and (F)the priests of the second order and the [b]doorkeepers, (G)to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for [c]Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and (H)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the (I)host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and (J)ground it to dust, and (K)threw its dust on the graves of the [d]common people. 7 He also tore down the houses of the (L)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where (M)the women were weaving [e]hangings for the Asherah. 8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from (N)Geba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9 Nevertheless (O)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 (P)He also defiled [f]Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, (Q)that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for (R)Molech. 11 And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the (S)sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 (T)Also, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and (U)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he [g]crushed them there and (V)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of (W)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (X)Ashtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for (Y)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. 14 (Z)And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and (AA)filled their places with human bones.
15 Furthermore, (AB)the altar that was at Bethel and the (AC)high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he [h](AD)demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. 16 Then Josiah turned, and he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it (AE)according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. 17 Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “(AF)It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they [i]left his bones undisturbed (AG)with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19 And also all the houses of the high places which were (AH)in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking [j]Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them [k]just as he had done in Bethel. 20 And all the priests of the high places who were there (AI)he [l]slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Celebrates the Passover
21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “(AJ)Celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God (AK)as it is written in this book of the covenant.” 22 (AL)For such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to Yahweh in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover, (AM)the mediums and the spiritists and the (AN)teraphim and (AO)the idols and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah purged in order (AP)that he might [m]establish the words of the law which were written (AQ)in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. 25 And before him there was no king (AR)like him who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
26 However, Yahweh did not turn from His great burning anger, His anger which burned against Judah, (AS)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him to anger. 27 And Yahweh said, “I will remove Judah also from My presence, (AT)as I have removed Israel. And (AU)I will reject Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the [n]house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”
Jehoahaz Reigns Over Judah
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 (AV)In his days (AW)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he put him to death at (AX)Megiddo. 30 (AY)And his servants drove [o]his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. (AZ)Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.
Jehoahaz’s Reign and Imprisonment
31 (BA)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (BB)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, (BC)according to all that his fathers had done. 33 (BD)And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at (BE)Riblah in the land of (BF)Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred [p]talents of silver and one talent of gold.
Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh
34 Then Pharaoh Neco made (BG)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father and (BH)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and [q](BI)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. 35 So Jehoiakim (BJ)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the [r]command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
36 (BK)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, (BL)according to all that his fathers had done.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 23:3 Lit took a stand in
- 2 Kings 23:4 Lit keepers of the threshold
- 2 Kings 23:4 A wooden symbol of a female deity, so in ch
- 2 Kings 23:6 Lit sons of the people
- 2 Kings 23:7 Or tents; lit houses
- 2 Kings 23:10 Lit place of burning
- 2 Kings 23:12 Or ran from there
- 2 Kings 23:15 As in Gr; Heb burned the high place
- 2 Kings 23:18 Lit let his bones escape
- 2 Kings 23:19 As in ancient versions
- 2 Kings 23:19 Lit according to all the acts
- 2 Kings 23:20 Lit sacrificed
- 2 Kings 23:24 Or perform
- 2 Kings 23:27 Or temple
- 2 Kings 23:30 Lit him, dead
- 2 Kings 23:33 A talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 2 Kings 23:34 As in Gr; Heb he came
- 2 Kings 23:35 Lit mouth
2 Kings 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Josiah’s Reformation
23 Then the king directed that all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem should be gathered to him.(A) 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him went all the people of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord.(B) 3 The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. All the people joined in the covenant.(C)
4 The king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of the second order, and the guardians of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.(D) 5 He deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem, those also who made offerings to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the host of the heavens. 6 He brought out the image of[a] Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the Wadi Kidron, burned it at the Wadi Kidron, beat it to dust, and threw the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.(E) 7 He broke down the houses of the illicit priests who were in the house of the Lord, where the women did weaving for Asherah.(F) 8 He brought all the priests out of the towns of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on the left at the gate of the city.(G) 9 The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem but ate unleavened bread among their kindred.(H) 10 He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no one would make a son or a daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech.(I) 11 He removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of the eunuch Nathan-melech, which was in the precincts;[b] then he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz that the kings of Judah had made and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord he pulled down from there and broke in pieces and threw the rubble into the Wadi Kidron.(J) 13 The king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.(K) 14 He broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the sacred poles,[c] and covered the sites with human bones.(L)
15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin—he pulled down that altar along with the high place. He burned the high place, crushing it to dust; he also burned the sacred pole.[d](M) 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount, and he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the festival; he turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of God who had proclaimed these things.[e](N) 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” The people 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 against the altar at Bethel.”(O) 18 He said, “Let him rest; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.(P) 19 Moreover, Josiah removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the towns of Samaria that kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger; he did to them just as he had done at Bethel.(Q) 20 He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places who were there and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.(R)
The Passover Celebrated
21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God as prescribed in this book of the covenant.”(S) 22 No such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, even during all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah,(T) 23 but in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.
24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums, wizards, teraphim,[f] idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he established the words of the law that were written in the book that the priest Hilkiah had found in the house of the Lord.(U) 25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.(V)
26 Still the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath by which his anger was kindled against Judah because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.(W) 27 The Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will reject this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’ ”(X)
Josiah Dies in Battle
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the River Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, but when Pharaoh Neco met him at Megiddo, he killed him.(Y) 30 His servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.(Z)
Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.(AA) 32 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestors had done. 33 Pharaoh Neco confined him at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed tribute on the land of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.(AB) 34 Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away; he came to Egypt and died there.(AC) 35 Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to meet Pharaoh’s demand for money. He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, from all according to their assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.(AD)
Jehoiakim Reigns over Judah
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.(AE) 37 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as all his ancestors had done.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.