Josiah’s Religious Reforms

23 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

Josiah’s Religious Reforms

²⁹ Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the Levites—all the people from the greatest to the least. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. ³¹ The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord’s presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll. ³² And he required everyone in Jerusalem and the people of Benjamin to make a similar pledge. The people of Jerusalem did so, renewing their covenant with God, the God of their ancestors.

³³ So Josiah removed all detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And throughout the rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

² The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual.^[a]

²⁰ Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials and went to the Temple of the Lord.

²⁸ “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them.

Moving the Ark to Jerusalem

6 Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all.