Covenant Renewal

23 So the king sent messengers,(A) and they gathered all the elders(B) of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 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) 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)

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Footnotes

  1. 23:3 2Ch 34:31 reads platform
  2. 23:3 Lit people took a stand in

Josiah’s Religious Reforms

23 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 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 prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple. 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. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

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