Beginning
The People Hear the Agreement(A)
23 Then the king ·gathered [summoned] all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together. 2 He went up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, and all the people from Judah and Jerusalem went with him. The priests, prophets, and all the people—·from the least important to the most important [both small/low and great/high]—went with him. He read to them all the words of the Book of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant] that was found in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar and made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] ·in the presence of [before] the Lord to follow the Lord and obey his commands, rules, and laws with his whole being, and to obey the words of the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] written in this ·book [scroll]. Then all the people ·promised to obey [pledged themselves to; entered into] the ·agreement [covenant; treaty].
Josiah Destroys the Places for Idol Worship
4 The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the ·next rank [second order] and the ·gatekeepers [doorkeepers] to bring out of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·everything [all the vessels/articles] made for Baal, Asherah, and all the ·stars of the sky [powers/hosts of heaven]. Then Josiah burned them outside Jerusalem in the ·open country [fields; terraces] of the Kidron Valley and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 The kings of Judah had ·chosen [appointed] priests for these gods. These priests burned incense in the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3] in the cities of Judah and the ·towns [area] around Jerusalem. They burned incense to Baal, the sun, the moon, the ·planets [constellations], and all the ·stars of the sky [hosts/powers of heaven]. But Josiah ·took those priests away [did away with/or exterminated those priests]. 6 He removed the Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it and ·beat [ground] it into dust. Then he threw the dust on the graves of the common people. 7 He also tore down the houses of the male prostitutes [1 Kin. 14:24] who were in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, where the women ·did weaving [wove hangings/coverings/veils] for Asherah.
8 King Josiah brought all the false priests from the cities of Judah. He ·ruined [desecrated; defiled] the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3], where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the ·places of worship [L high places; 12:3] at the entrance to the Gate of Joshua, the ·ruler [governor] of the city, on the left side of the city gate. 9 The priests at the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3] were not allowed to ·serve [officiate; L go up] at the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem. But they could eat ·bread made without yeast [unleaven bread] with their ·brothers [fellow priests].
10 Josiah ·ruined [desecrated; defiled] Topheth, in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could ·sacrifice [L pass through the fire] his son or daughter to Molech. 11 Judah’s kings had ·placed [dedicated] horses to the sun at the front door of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord in the courtyard near the room of Nathan-Melech, an ·officer [official]. Josiah removed them and burned the chariots that were ·for sun worship also [dedicated to the sun].
12 The kings of Judah had built altars on the ·roof [C roofs were flat and served as an extra room] of the ·upstairs [upper] room of Ahaz. Josiah ·broke down [destroyed] these altars and the altars Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Josiah smashed them to pieces and threw their ·dust [rubble] into the Kidron Valley. 13 King Josiah ·ruined [desecrated; defiled] the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3] east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of ·Olives [or Corruption; or Destruction; C so called because of the pagan sites]. Solomon king of Israel had built these places. One was for Ashtoreth, the ·hated goddess [detestable thing; T abomination] of the Sidonians. One was for Chemosh, the ·hated god [detestable thing; T abomination] of Moab. And one was for Molech, the ·hated god [detestable thing; T abomination] of the Ammonites. 14 Josiah smashed to pieces the ·stone [sacred] pillars they worshiped, and he cut down the Asherah ·idols [poles; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6]. Then he covered the places with human bones.
15 Josiah also ·broke down [demolished] the altar at Bethel—the ·place of worship [high place; 12:3] made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel to sin. Josiah burned that place, broke the stones of the altar into pieces, then ·beat [ground] them into dust. He also burned the Asherah ·idol [pole; 13:6]. 16 When he turned around, he saw the ·graves [tombs] on the ·mountain [hillside]. He had the bones taken from the graves, and he burned them on the altar to ·ruin [desecrate; defile] it. This happened ·as the Lord had said it would [L in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed] through the man of God [1 Kin. 13:1–3].
17 Josiah asked, “What is that monument I see?”
The people of the city answered, “It’s the grave of the man of God who came from Judah. This prophet announced the things you have done against the altar ·of [at] Bethel.”
18 Josiah said, “Leave the grave alone. No one may ·move [disturb] this man’s bones.” So they left his bones and the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.
19 The kings of Israel had built ·temples for worshiping gods [shrines/L houses at the high places; 12:3] in the cities of Samaria, which had ·caused the Lord to be angry [aroused/provoked the Lord to anger]. Josiah removed all those ·temples [shrines; L houses] and did the same things as he had done at Bethel. 20 He ·killed [slaughtered] all the priests of ·those places of worship [the high places; 12:3]; he killed them on the altars and burned human bones on the altars. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
Josiah Celebrates the Passover(B)
21 The king commanded all the people, “·Celebrate [Observe] the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this Book of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 12].” 22 The Passover had not been ·celebrated [observed] like this since the judges ·led [ruled; judged] Israel. Nor had one like it happened ·while there were [in all the days/years of the] kings of Israel and kings of Judah. 23 This Passover was ·celebrated [observed] to the Lord in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s rule.
24 Josiah ·destroyed [removed; got rid of] the mediums, ·fortune-tellers [spiritualists], house gods, and idols. He also ·destroyed [removed; got rid of] all the ·hated gods [detestable/abominable practices] seen in the land of Judah and Jerusalem. This was to ·obey [fulfill; confirm] the words of the ·teachings [law; L torah] written in the ·book [scroll] Hilkiah the priest had found in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
25 There was no king like Josiah before or after him. He ·obeyed [L turned to] the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength [cf. Mark 12:30, 33; Luke 10:27], following all the ·Teachings [Law; L torah] of Moses.
26 Even so, the Lord did not ·stop [L turn from] ·his strong and terrible [L the heat of his great] anger. His anger burned against Judah because of all Manasseh had done to ·make him angry [provoke/arouse him to anger]. 27 The Lord said, “I will ·send [remove] Judah out of my sight, as I have ·sent Israel away [removed Israel]. I will ·reject [cast away] Jerusalem, which I chose. And I will take away the ·Temple [L house] about which I said, ‘·I will be worshiped [L My name will be] there.’”
28 Everything else Josiah did ·is [L is it not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah.
29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah marched out to fight against Neco, but at Megiddo, Neco ·faced [met] him and killed him. 30 Josiah’s ·servants [officers] carried his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own ·grave [tomb]. Then the people of Judah ·chose [took] Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and ·poured olive oil on [anointed] him to make him king in his father’s place.
Jehoahaz King of Judah(C)
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal, who was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32 Jehoahaz did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestors [fathers] had done.
33 ·King [L Pharaoh] Neco took Jehoahaz prisoner at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that Jehoahaz could not ·rule [reign] in Jerusalem. Neco ·made the people of Judah pay about [imposed a tribute of] ·seventy-five hundred pounds [L one hundred talents] of silver and ·about seventy-five pounds [L a talent] of gold.
34 ·King [L Pharaoh] Neco made Josiah’s son Eliakim the king in place of Josiah his father. Then Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim [C Eliakim means “God has established”; Jehoiakim means “Yahweh has established”; changing Eliakim’s name was a way Pharaoh asserted his authority over him]. But Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died. 35 Jehoiakim gave ·King Neco [L Pharaoh] the silver and gold he demanded. Jehoiakim taxed the land and took silver and gold from the people of the land to give to ·King [L Pharaoh] Neco. Each person had to pay ·his share [according to his wealth/assessment].
Jehoiakim King of Judah
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah, who was from Rumah. 37 Jehoiakim did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his ·ancestors [fathers] had done.
24 While Jehoiakim was king, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the land of Judah. So Jehoiakim became Nebu-chadnezzar’s ·servant [vassal] for three years. Then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and ·broke away from his rule [rebelled]. 2 The Lord sent raiding ·parties [bands] from Babylon, Aram, Moab, and Ammon against Jehoiakim to destroy Judah. This happened ·as the Lord had said it would [L in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken] through his servants the prophets.
3 The Lord commanded this to happen to the people of Judah, to remove them from his ·presence [sight], because of all the sins of Manasseh. 4 He had killed many innocent people and had filled Jerusalem with their blood. And the Lord would not forgive these sins.
5 The other things that happened while Jehoiakim was king and all he did ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 6 Jehoiakim ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
7 The king of Egypt did not ·leave [march/venture out from] his land again, because the king of Babylon had captured all that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin King of Judah(D)
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. 9 Jehoiachin did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as his father had done.
10 At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem. When they reached the city, they ·attacked [besieged] it. 11 Nebuchadnezzar himself came to the city while his officers were ·attacking [besieging] it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon, along with Jehoiachin’s mother, servants, nobles, and ·officers [officials]. So Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin a prisoner in the eighth year he was king of Babylon. 13 Nebuchadnezzar ·took [carried off] all the treasures from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and from the ·palace [L king’s house]. He ·cut up [stripped away] all the gold ·objects [vessels; articles] Solomon king of Israel had made for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. This happened as the Lord had said it would. 14 Nebuchadnezzar took ·away [into exile] all the people of Jerusalem, including all the ·leaders [commanders], all the ·wealthy people [nobles; or warriors], and all the craftsmen and ·metal workers [artisans]. There were ten thousand ·prisoners [captives] in all. Only the poorest people in the land were left. 15 Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother and his wives, the ·officers [officials], and the ·leading men [elite] of the land. They were taken ·captive [into exile] from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 The king of Babylon also ·took [exiled] all seven thousand ·soldiers [L men of valor], who were strong and ·able to fight in [fit for] war, and about a thousand craftsmen and ·metal workers [artisans]. Nebuchadnezzar ·took [exiled] them as ·prisoners [captives] to Babylon. 17 Then he made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in Jehoiachin’s place. He also changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah King of Judah(E)
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah [C not the prophet Jeremiah] from Libnah. 19 Zedekiah did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 All this happened in Jerusalem and Judah because the Lord was angry with them. Finally, he ·threw [banished; cast] them out of his presence.
Zedekiah ·turned [rebelled] against the king of Babylon.
The Fall of Jerusalem(F)
25 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army during Zedekiah’s ninth year as king, on the tenth day of the tenth month [C January 15, 588 bc]. He made a camp around the city and ·piled dirt against the city walls to attack it [built siege walls all around it]. 2 The city was under ·attack [siege] until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. 3 By ·the ninth day of the fourth month [C July 18, 586 bc], the ·hunger [famine] was ·terrible [severe] in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. 4 Then the wall of the city was breached, and the whole army ran away at night through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden. ·While [Though] the Babylonians were still surrounding the city, Zedekiah and his men ran away toward the ·Jordan Valley [L Arabah; C a plain near Jericho, east of Jerusalem]. 5 But the Babylonian army chased King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. All of his army ·was scattered from [deserted] him, 6 so they captured Zedekiah and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah. There he passed sentence on Zedekiah. 7 They ·killed [slaughtered] Zedekiah’s sons as he watched. Then they ·put [gouged] out his eyes and put bronze ·chains [shackles] on him and took him to Babylon.
8 Nebuzaradan was the commander of the king’s special guards. This officer of the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem on ·the seventh day of the fifth month [C August 14, 586 bc], in Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon. 9 Nebuzaradan ·set fire to [burned down] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and the ·palace [L king’s house] and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building was burned.
10 The whole Babylonian army, led by the commander of the king’s special guards, ·broke down [demolished] the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, ·captured [carried into exile] the people left in Jerusalem, those who had ·surrendered [deserted] to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the people. 12 But the commander of the guard left behind some of the poorest people of the land to ·take care of [work] the vineyards and fields.
13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze stands, and the large bronze ·bowl [basin] called the Sea [1 Kin. 7:23–45] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Then they carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took the pots, shovels, ·wick trimmers [snuffers], dishes, and all the bronze objects used to serve in the ·Temple [L house]. 15 The commander of the king’s special guards took away the ·pans for carrying hot coals [censers], the ·bowls [basins], and everything made of ·pure [fine] gold or silver. 16 There were two pillars and the large bronze Sea and the ·movable stands [water carts] which Solomon had made for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed. 17 Each pillar was ·about twenty-seven feet [L eighteen cubits; 1 Kin. 7:15–20] high. The bronze capital on top of the pillar was ·about four and one-half feet [L three cubits] high. It was decorated with a ·net design and [latticework/network of] bronze pomegranates all around it. The other pillar also had a ·net design [latticework; network] and was like the first pillar.
Judah Is Taken Prisoner(G)
18 The commander of the guards took some ·prisoners [captives]—Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three ·doorkeepers [gatekeepers]. 19 Of the people who were still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the ·fighting men [soldiers], as well as five advisors to the king. He took the royal secretary who ·selected [conscripted] people for the army and sixty other men who were in the city. 20 Nebuzaradan, the commander, took all these people and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them killed. So the people of Judah were ·led away from their country as captives [sent into exile from their land].
Gedaliah Becomes Governor(H)
22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left some people in the land of Judah. He appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor.
23 The army captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, so they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, and their men. 24 Then Gedaliah ·promised [vowed/swore to] these army captains and their men, “Don’t be afraid of the Babylonian ·officers [officials]. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and everything will go well for you.”
25 In ·the seventh month [mid-autumn] Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama from the king’s family, came with ten men and ·killed [assassinated; murdered] Gedaliah. They also killed the men of Judah and Babylon who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, ·from the least important to the most important [both great/high and small/low], along with the army leaders, ran away to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Babylonians.
Jehoiachin Is Set Free(I)
27 Jehoiachin king of Judah was ·held [exiled] in Babylon for thirty-seven years. In the thirty-seventh year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, and he let Jehoiachin out of prison on ·the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month [C April 2]. 28 Evil-Merodach spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a seat of honor above the seats of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put ·away [aside] his prison clothes. For ·the rest [L all the days] of his life, he ate ·at [in] the king’s ·table [presence]. 30 Every day, for as long as Jehoiachin lived, the king gave him an allowance.
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