2 Kings 23
23
The People Hear the Law
1Then the king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together. 2He went up to the Temple of the Lord. All the men from Judah and Jerusalem went with him. The priests, prophets and all the people—from the least important to the most important—went with him. He read to them all the words of the Book of the Agreement. That book was found in the Temple of the Lord. 3The king stood by the pillar. He made an agreement in the presence of the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord and obey his commands, rules and laws with his whole being. He agreed to do what was written in this book. Then all the people promised to obey the agreement.
Josiah Destroys the Places for Idol Worship
4The king gave a command to Hilkiah the high priest. He also gave it to the priests of the next rank and the gatekeepers. He told them to bring out of the Temple of the Lord everything made for Baal, Asherah and all the stars of heaven. Then Josiah burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley. And he carried the ashes to Bethel. 5The kings of Judah had chosen priests for these gods. These priests burned incense on the places where false gods were worshiped. These places were in the cities of Judah and the towns around Jerusalem. The priests burned incense to Baal, the sun and the moon. And they burned incense to the planets and all the stars of heaven. But Josiah took those priests away. 6He removed the Asherah idol from the Temple of the Lord. He took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley. There he burned it and beat it into dust. And he threw the dust on the graves of the common people. 7Then he tore down the houses of the male prostitutes who were in the Temple of the Lord. This was where the women did weaving for Asherah.
8King Josiah brought all the false priests from the cities of Judah. He made the places where false gods were worshiped impure. This is where the priests had burned incense. These places of worship were everywhere, from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the places of worship at the entrance to the Gate of Joshua. (Joshua was the ruler of the city.) This gate was on the left side of the city gate. 9The priests at the places where false gods were worshiped were not allowed to serve at the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem. But they could eat bread made without yeast with their brothers.
10Topheth was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. Josiah made it impure so no one could sacrifice his son or daughter to Molech. 11Judah’s kings had placed horses at the front door of the Temple of the Lord. This was in the courtyard near the room of Nathan-Melech, an officer. These horses were for the worship of the sun. But Josiah removed them. Then he burned the chariots that were for sun worship.
12The kings of Judah had also built altars on the roof# In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer. of the upstairs room of Ahaz. Josiah broke down these altars. He also broke down the altars Manasseh had made. These were in the two courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. He smashed them to pieces. Then he threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13King Josiah made impure the places east of Jerusalem where false gods were worshiped. These were south of the Mount of Olives.# Literally, “The Mountain of Ruin.” Solomon king of Israel had built these places. One was for Ashtoreth, the hated goddess of the Sidonians. One was for Chemosh, the hated god of Moab. And one was for Molech, the hated god of the Ammonites. 14Josiah smashed into pieces the stone pillars they worshiped. He cut down the Asherah idols. And he covered the places with human bones.
15Josiah also broke down the altar at Bethel. This was the place of worship Jeroboam son of Nebat had made. Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. Josiah burned that place. He broke the stones of the altar to pieces. Then he beat them into dust. And he burned the Asherah idol. 16When he turned around, he saw the graves on the mountain. He had the bones taken from the graves. Then he burned the bones on the altar to make it impure. This happened as the Lord had said it would through the man of God.
17Josiah asked, “What is that monument to the dead 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 Bethel.”
18Josiah said, “Leave the grave alone. No person may move this man’s bones.” So they left his bones. And they left the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria.
19The kings of Israel had built temples for worshiping false gods in the cities of Samaria. That had caused the Lord to be angry. Josiah removed all those temples. He did the same things as he had done at Bethel. 20Josiah killed all the priests of those places of worship. He killed them on the altars. And he burned human bones on the altars. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
The Passover Is Brought Back
21The king gave a command to all the people. He said, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God. Do it as it is written in this Book of the Agreement.” 22No Passover like this one had been celebrated since the judges led Israel. Nor had one like it happened while there were kings of Israel and kings of Judah. 23This Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem. It was the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s rule.
24Josiah destroyed the mediums, fortune-tellers, house gods and idols. He destroyed all the hated gods seen in the land of Judah and Jerusalem. He did this to obey the words of the teachings. They were written in the book Hilkiah the priest had found in the Temple of the Lord.
25There was no king like Josiah before or after him. He obeyed the Lord with all his heart, soul and strength. He followed all the Teachings of Moses.
26Even so, the Lord did not stop his strong and terrible anger. His anger burned against Judah. It was because of all that Manasseh had done to make him angry. 27The Lord said, “I have taken Israel away. I will do the same to Judah. I will take them out of my sight. I will reject Jerusalem which I chose. I will take away the Temple about which I said, ‘I will be honored there.’”
28Everything else Josiah did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Judah.
29While Josiah was king, Neco king of Egypt went to help the king of Assyria. Neco was at the Euphrates River. King Josiah marched out to fight against Neco. But at Megiddo, Neco faced Josiah and killed him. 30Josiah’s servants carried his body in a chariot from Megiddo. They brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own grave. Then the people of Judah chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz. They poured olive oil on him to appoint him king in his father’s place.
Jehoahaz King of Judah
31Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32Jehoahaz did what the Lord said was wrong. He did just as his ancestors had done.
33King Neco took Jehoahaz prisoner at Riblah in the land of Hamath. He did this so Jehoahaz could not rule in Jerusalem. Neco made the people of Judah pay about 7,500 pounds of silver and about 75 pounds of gold.
34King Neco made Josiah’s son Eliakim the king in place of Josiah his father. Then Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt, and he died there. 35Jehoiakim gave King Neco the silver and gold he demanded. But Jehoiakim taxed the land so he could pay the king. He took silver and gold from the people of the land. The amount he took from each person depended on how much he had.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
36Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah. She was from Rumah. 37Jehoiakim did what the Lord said was wrong, just as his ancestors had done.
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2 Kings 23: ICB
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2 Kings 23
23
Josiah Reads The Book of God's Law
(2 Chronicles 34.29-33)
1King Josiah called together the older leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2Then he went to the Lord's temple, together with the people of Judah and Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. Finally, when everybody was there, he read aloud The Book of God's Law#23.2 The Book of God's Law: The Hebrew text has “The Book of God's Agreement,” which is the same as “The Book of God's Law” in 22.8,11. In traditional translations this is called “The Book of the Covenant.” that had been found in the temple.
3After Josiah had finished reading, he stood by one of the columns. He asked the people to promise in the Lord's name to faithfully obey the Lord and to follow his commands. The people agreed to do everything written in the book.
Josiah Follows the Teachings of God's Law
(2 Chronicles 34.3-7)
4 #
2 K 21.3; 2 Ch 33.3. Josiah told Hilkiah the priest, the assistant priests, and the guards at the temple door to go into the temple and bring out the things used to worship Baal, Asherah, and the stars. Josiah had these things burned in Kidron Valley just outside Jerusalem, and he had the ashes carried away to the town of Bethel.
5Josiah also got rid of the pagan priests at the local shrines in Judah and around Jerusalem. These were the men that the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices to Baal and to the sun, moon, and stars. 6Josiah had the sacred pole#23.6 sacred pole: See the note at 13.6,7. for Asherah brought out of the temple and taken to Kidron Valley, where it was burned. He then had its ashes ground into dust and scattered over the public cemetery there. 7He had the buildings torn down where the male prostitutes#23.7 male prostitutes: Young men or boys sometimes served as prostitutes in the worship of Canaanite gods, but the Lord had forbidden the people of Israel and Judah to worship in this way (see Deuteronomy 23.17,18). lived next to the temple, and where the women wove sacred robes#23.7 sacred robes: Or “coverings.” for the idol of Asherah.
8In almost every town in Judah, priests had been offering sacrifices to the Lord at local shrines.#23.8 local shrines: See the note at 12.3. Josiah brought these priests to Jerusalem and had their shrines made unfit for worship—every shrine from Geba just north of Jerusalem to Beersheba in the south. He even tore down the shrine at Beersheba that was just to the left of Joshua Gate, which was named after the highest official of the city. 9Those local priests could not serve at the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat sacred bread,#23.9 sacred bread: The Hebrew text has “thin bread,” which may be either the pieces of thin bread made without yeast to be eaten during the Passover Festival (see verses 21-23) or the baked flour used in sacrifices to give thanks to the Lord (see Leviticus 2.4,5). just like the priests from Jerusalem.
10 #
Jr 7.31; 19.1-6; 32.35;
Lv 18.21. Josiah sent some men to Hinnom Valley just outside Jerusalem with orders to make the altar there unfit for worship. That way, people could no longer use it for sacrificing their children to the god Molech. 11He also got rid of the horses that the kings of Judah used in their ceremonies to worship the sun, and he destroyed the chariots along with them. The horses had been kept near the entrance to the Lord's temple, in a courtyard#23.11 in a courtyard: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. close to where an official named Nathan-Melech lived.
12 #
2 K 21.5; 2 Ch 33.5. Some of the kings of Judah, especially Manasseh, had built altars in the two courts of the temple and in the room that Ahaz had built on the palace roof. Josiah had these altars torn down and smashed to pieces, and he had the pieces thrown into Kidron Valley, just outside Jerusalem. 13#1 K 11.7. After that, he closed down the shrines that Solomon had built east of Jerusalem and south of Spoil Hill to honor Astarte the disgusting goddess of Sidon, Chemosh the disgusting god of Moab, and Milcom the disgusting god of Ammon.#23.13 the shrines … Ammon: See 1 Kings 11.5-7. 14He tore down the stone images of foreign gods and cut down the sacred pole used in the worship of Asherah. Then he had the whole area covered with human bones.#23.14 Then he … human bones: This made the whole area unfit for the worship of any god.
15 #
1 K 12.32,33. But Josiah was not finished yet. At Bethel he destroyed the shrine and the altar that Jeroboam son of Nebat had built and that had caused the Israelites to sin. Josiah had the shrine and the Asherah pole burned and ground into dust. 16#1 K 13.1,2. As he looked around, he saw graves on the hillside. He had the bones in them dug up and burned on the altar, so that it could no longer be used. This happened just as God's prophet had said when Jeroboam was standing at the altar, celebrating a festival.#23.16 just … festival: See 1 Kings 13.1,2.
Then Josiah saw the grave of the prophet who had said this would happen 17#1 K 13.30-32. and he asked,#23.16,17 said when Jeroboam … asked: One ancient translation; Hebrew “said. 17 Then Josiah asked.” “Whose grave is that?”
Some people who lived nearby answered, “It belongs to the prophet from Judah who told what would happen to this altar.”
18Josiah replied, “Then leave it alone. Don't dig up his bones.” So they did not disturb his bones or the bones of the old prophet from Israel who had also been buried there.#23.18 old prophet … there: See 1 Kings 13.11-32.
19Some of the Israelite kings had made the Lord angry by building pagan shrines all over Israel. So Josiah sent troops to destroy these shrines just as he had done to the one in Bethel. 20He killed the priests who served at them and burned their bones on the altars.
After all that, Josiah went back to Jerusalem.
Josiah and the People of Judah Celebrate Passover
(2 Chronicles 35.1-19)
21Josiah told the people of Judah, “Celebrate Passover in honor of the Lord your God, just as it says in The Book of God's Law.”#23.21 The Book of God's Law: See the note at 23.2.
22This festival had not been celebrated in this way since the time that tribal leaders ruled Israel or the kings ruled Israel and Judah. 23But in Josiah's eighteenth year as king of Judah, everyone came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.
The Lord Is Still Angry with the People of Judah
24Josiah got rid of every disgusting person and thing in Judah and Jerusalem—including magicians, fortunetellers, and idols. He did his best to obey every law written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord's temple. 25No other king before or after Josiah tried as hard as he did to obey the Law of Moses.
26But the Lord was still furious with the people of Judah because Manasseh had done so many things to make him angry. 27The Lord said, “I will desert the people of Judah, just as I deserted the people of Israel. I will reject Jerusalem, even though I chose it to be mine. And I will abandon this temple built to honor me.”
Josiah Dies in Battle
(2 Chronicles 35.20—36.1)
28Everything else Josiah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 29During Josiah's rule, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. Josiah led his troops north to fight Neco, but when they met in battle at Megiddo, Josiah was killed.#23.29 killed: At this time, King Neco of Egypt (609–595 b.c.) was fighting on the side of the Assyrians. He marched north to fight the Babylonian army and help Assyria keep control of its land. Since Josiah considered Assyria an enemy, he set out to stop Neco and the Egyptian troops. 30A few of Josiah's servants put his body in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where they buried it in his own tomb. Then the people of Judah found his son Jehoahaz and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king.
King Jehoahaz of Judah
(2 Chronicles 36.2-4)
31Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem only 3 months. His mother Hamutal was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32Jehoahaz disobeyed the Lord, just as some of his ancestors had done.
33King Neco of Egypt had Jehoahaz arrested and put in prison at Riblah#23.33 Riblah: An important town in Syria on the Orontes River. near Hamath. Then he forced the people of Judah to pay him 3.4 tons of silver and 34 kilograms of gold as taxes. 34#Jr 22.11,12. Neco appointed Josiah's son Eliakim king of Judah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz as a prisoner to Egypt, where he died.
35Jehoiakim forced the people of Judah to pay higher taxes, so he could give Neco the silver and gold he demanded.
King Jehoiakim of Judah
(2 Chronicles 36.5-8)
36 #
Jr 22.18,19; 26.1-6; 35.1-19. Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he was appointed king, and he ruled 11 years from Jerusalem. His mother Zebidah was the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. 37Jehoiakim disobeyed the Lord by following the example of his ancestors.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.