2 Manghai 23
1 Te vaengah manghai loh a tah dongah Judah neh Jerusalem kah a ham boeih te anih taengla tingtun uh.
Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [of the other places in] Judah.
2 Manghai neh Judah hlang boeih, a taengkah Jerusalem khosa boeih, khosoih rhoek neh tonghma rhoek khaw, pilnam cungkuem tanoe lamloh kangham hil khaw BOEIPA im la cet tih BOEIPA im kah a hmuh paipi cabu dongkah ol boeih te amih hna ah a doek pah.
They went together to the temple, along with the priests and the prophets, and many other [HYP] people, from the most important people to the least important people. And while they listened, the king read to them all of the laws that Moses had written. He read from the scroll that had been found in the temple.
3 Te vaengah manghai te tung taengah pai tih BOEIPA hnukah pongpa ham, a olpaek neh a olphong neh, a khosing te lungbuei boeih neh hinglu boeih neh tuem ham khaw, te cabu dongah a daek paipi ol te thoh ham khaw BOEIPA mikhmuh ah paipi te a saii. Te dongah pilnam cungkuem loh paipi te a pai puei.
Then the king stood next to the pillar [where the kings stood when they made important announcements], and while Yahweh was listening, he repeated his promise to sincerely obey [DOU] all of Yahweh’s commands and regulations [DOU]. He also promised to (fulfill the conditions of/do what was written in) the agreement he made with Yahweh. And all the people also promised to obey the agreement.
4 Te phoeiah manghai loh khosoih boei Hilkiah neh hnukthoi khosoih rhoek khaw, cingkhaa aka hung rhoek khaw, Baal ham neh Asherah ham, vaan caempuei cungkuem ham a saii hnopai cungkuem te BOEIPA bawkim lamloh khoe ham a uen. Te dongah te rhoek te Jerusalem vongvoel kah Kidron lohmali ah a hoeh tih a hloi te Bethel la a phueih.
Then the king commanded Hilkiah the Supreme Priest and all the other priests who assisted him and the men who guarded the entrance to the temple to bring out from the temple all the items that people had been using to worship Baal, the goddess Asherah, and the stars. [After they carried them out, ] they burned all those things outside the city near the Kidron Valley. Then they took all the ashes to Bethel, [because that city was already considered to be desecrated/unholy].
5 Te vaengah Judah manghai rhoek kah a khueh mueirhol khosoih rhoek khaw, Judah khopuei rhoek kah hmuensang neh Jerusalem phai ah aka phum te khaw, Baal taengah, khomik taeng neh hla taengah, aisi taeng neh vaan caempuei cungkuem taengah aka phum rhoek te khaw a paa sak.
There were many pagan priests that the previous kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the altars on the tops of hills in Judah. They had been offering sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. The king stopped them from doing those things.
6 Asherah te BOEIPA im lamloh Jerusalem vongvoel kah Kidron soklong la a khuen. Te te Kidron soklong ah a hoeh tih laipi la a tip sak. Te phoeiah a hloi te pilnam paca kah phuel ah a hawk.
He [commanded that] the statue of the goddess Asherah [be] taken out of the temple. Then they took it outside Jerusalem, down to the Kidron Brook, and burned it. Then they pounded the ashes to powder and scattered that over the graves in the public cemetery.
7 BOEIPA im kah hlanghalh im te khaw a palet pah. Te ah te huta rhoek loh Asherah ham im a tah uh.
He also destroyed the rooms in the temple where the temple male prostitutes lived. That was where women wove robes that were used to worship the goddess Asherah.
8 Khosoih boeih te Judah khopuei lamloh a khuen tih khosoih rhoek loh hnap a phum thil hmuensang te Geba lamloh Beersheba duela a poeih pah. Khopuei mangpa Joshua vongka thohka kah vongka hmuensang te khaw a palet. Te te khopuei vongka kah banvoei ah rhip om.
Josiah also brought [to Jerusalem] all the priests who were offering sacrifices in the other cities in Judah. He also desecrated the places on the tops of hills where the priests had burned incense [to honor idols], from Geba [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south]. Those priests were not allowed to offer sacrifices in the temple, but they [were allowed to] eat the unleavened bread that the priests [who worked in the temple] ate. He also [commanded that] the altars that were dedicated to the goat demons near the gate built by Joshua, the mayor of Jerusalem, [be] destroyed. Those altars were at the left of the main gate into the city.
9 Hmuensang khosoih rhoek te Jerusalem ah BOEIPA hmueihtuk taengla mop uh pawt sitoe cakhaw a manuca lakli ah vaidamding a caak uh.
10 Hlang loh a capa khaw, a canu khaw hmai dong lamloh Molek taengla kat sak pawt ham kolrhawk, kolrhawk kah Topheth te khaw a poeih pah.
Josiah also desecrated the place named Topheth, in the Hinnom Valley, in order that no one could offer his son or daughter there to be completely burned for a sacrifice to [the god] Molech.
11 Judah manghai rhoek loh khomik taengla a nawn tih BOEIPA im kah a kun lamloh imkhoem Nathanmelek imkhan kaep kah imhlai laklo hil a khueh marhang te khaw a paa sak. Khomik leng te khaw hmai ah a hoeh.
He also removed the horses that the [previous] kings of Judah had dedicated to worshiping the sun, and he burned the chariots that were used in that worship. Those horses and chariots were kept in the courtyard outside the temple, near the entrance to the temple, and near the room where [one of Josiah’s] officials, whose name was Nathan-Melech, lived.
12 Judah manghai rhoek loh a saii Ahaz imhman, imphu sokah hmueihtuk rhoek khaw, Manasseh loh BOEIPA im vongup rhoi khuiah a khueh hmueihtuk te khaw manghai loh a palet. Te phoeiah te lamloh yong tih a hloi te Kidron soklong la a voeih.
Josiah also commanded his servants to tear down the altars that the previous kings of Judah had built on the roof of the palace, above the room where King Ahaz had stayed. They also tore down the altars that had been built by King Manasseh in the two courtyards outside the temple. He commanded that they be smashed to pieces and thrown down into the Kidron Valley.
13 Hmuensang te Jerusalem imdan kah khaw, kutcaihnah tlang kah bantang ah khaw Israel manghai Solomon loh Sidoni kah sarhingkoi Ashtoreth ham, Moab kah sarhingkoi Khemosh ham, Ammon koca rhoek kah tueilaehkoi Milkom ham a sak pah te khaw manghai loh a poeih pah.
He also commanded that the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of Olive Tree Hill, be desecrated. Solomon had built them for the worship of the disgusting idols—the [statue of the goddess] Astarte [worshiped by the people in] Sidon [city], Chemosh the god of the Moab people-group, and Molech the god of the Ammon people-group.
14 Kaam te a phaek tih Asherah te a top pah phoeiah tah a hmuen te hlang rhuh a bae sak.
They also broke into pieces the stone pillars that the Israeli people worshiped, and cut down the [pillars that honored the goddess] Asherah, and they scattered the ground there with human bones [to desecrate it].
15 Bethel kah hmueihtuk te khaw, Israel aka tholh sak Nebat capa Jeroboam loh a saii hmuensang te khaw, te kah hmueihtuk neh hmuensang te khaw a palet tih a hoeh. Hmuensang te laipi la a tip sak tih Asherah te a hoeh pah.
Furthermore, he commanded them to tear down the place of worship at Bethel which had been built by King Jeroboam, the king who persuaded the people of Israel to sin. They tore down the altar. Then they broke its stones into pieces and pounded them to become powder. They also burned the statue [of the goddess] Asherah.
16 Josiah te a mael vaengah phuel te tlang ah hnap a hmuh. Te dongah hlang a tueih tih phuel lamkah a rhuh te a poh sak. Te phoeiah hmueihtuk soah a hoeh tih BOEIPA ol bangla a poeih. Pathen kah hlang loh a doek vaengah te kah ol te a doek coeng.
Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill. He commanded his men to take the bones out of those tombs and burn them on the altar. By doing that, he desecrated the altar. That was what a prophet had predicted many years before when Jeroboam was standing close to that altar at a festival. Then Josiah looked up and saw the tomb of the prophet who had predicted that.
17 Te vaengah, “Bang pangkae nim ka hmuh he?” a ti. Te dongah khopuei hlang rhoek loh a taengah, “Pathen hlang kah phuel ni. Anih he Judah lamkah ha pawk tih Bethel hmueihtuk ah na saii hno te a doek,” a ti na uh.
Josiah asked, “Whose tomb is that?” The people of Bethel replied, “It is the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah and predicted that these things that you have just now done to this altar would happen.”
18 Tedae, “Anih te om saeh, hlang loh a rhuh thaih boel saeh,” a ti nah. Te dongah Samaria lamkah aka pawk tonghma rhuh tah amah rhuh bangla a khueh.
Josiah replied, “Allow his tomb to remain as it is. Do not remove the prophet’s bones from the tomb.” So the people did not remove those bones, or the bones of the other prophet, the one who had come from Samaria.
19 Samaria khopuei rhoek ahBOEIPAveet hamla Israel manghai rhoek loh a sak hmuensang im boeih te khaw Josiah loh a khoe. Te rhoek te Bethel ah a saii bangla khoboe cungkuem neh a saii.
In every city in Israel, at Josiah’s command, they tore down the shrines that had been built by the previous kings of Israel, which had caused Yahweh to become very angry. He did to all those shrines/altars the same thing that he had done to the altars at Bethel.
20 Hmuensang khosoih boeih te hmueihtuk dongah pahoi ngawn tih hlang rhuh te a soah a hoeh daengah Jerusalem la mael.
He ordered that all the priests who offered sacrifices on the altars on the tops of hills must be killed on those altars. Then he burned human bones on every one of those altars [to desecrate them]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
21 Te phoeiah manghai loh pilnam pum te a uen tih, “He paipi cabu khuiah a daek bangla na Pathen BOEIPA ham Yoom saii uh.
Then the king commanded all the people to celebrate the Passover Festival to honor Yahweh their God, which was written in the law of Moses that they should do [every year].
22 Laitloek rhoek loh Israel lai a tloek tue lamkah te Israel manghai rhoek neh Judah manghai rhoek tue boeih ah khaw hekah Yoom bang he a saii uh moenih.
During all the years that leaders ruled Israel and during all the years that kings had ruled Israel and Judah, they had not celebrated that festival.
23 Tedae manghai Josiah kah kum hlai rhet daengah ni Yoom he BOEIPA ham Jerusalem ah a saii pueng.
But now, after Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, to [honor] Yahweh they celebrated the Passover Festival in Jerusalem.
24 BOEIPA im ah khosoih Hilkiah loh a hmuh cabu khuiah a daek olkhueng ol te thoh hamla Josiah loh rhaitonghma neh hnam khaw, sithui neh mueirhol khaw, Judah khohmuen khui neh Jerusalem kah a hmuh sarhingkoi cungkuem te khaw boeih a hoeh.
Furthermore, Josiah got rid of all the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah who practiced sorcery and those who requested the spirits of dead people [to tell them what they should do]. He also removed from Jerusalem and from the other places in Judah all the household idols and all the other idols and abominable things. He did those things in order to obey what had been written in the scroll that Hilkiah had found in the temple.
25 Anih bangla BOEIPA taengah a thinko boeih, a hinglu boeih, a thadueng boeih neh aka mael manghai he anih hlan ah a om noek moenih. Anih bangla Moses kah olkhueng cungkuem dongah aka pongpa khaw anih hnukah a phoe bal moenih.
Josiah was totally devoted to Yahweh. There had never been [in Judah or Israel] a king like him. He obeyed all the laws of Moses. And there has never since then been a king like Josiah.
26 Tedae BOEIPA kah a thintoek thinsa puei te a mael moenih. Manasseh loh anih a veet vanbangla konoinah cungkuem dongah a thintoek loh Judah a sai thil pueng.
But Yahweh had become extremely angry with the people of Judah because of all the things that [King] Manasseh had done to infuriate him, and he continued to be very angry.
27 Te dongah BOEIPA loh, “Judah te khaw ka mikhmuh lamloh Israel ka khoe bangla ka khoe ni. Jerusalem he ka coelh tih im he khaw kamah ming la pahoi om saeh ka ti vanbangla hekah khopuei he ka hnawt ni,” a ti.
He said, “I will do to Judah what I have done to Israel. I will banish the people of Judah, with the result that they will never enter my presence again. And I will reject Jerusalem, the city that I chose [to belong to me], and I will abandon the temple, the place where I said that I [MTY] should be worshiped.”
28 Josiah kah ol noi neh a saii boeih te khaw Judah manghai rhoek kah khokhuen olka cabu dongah a daek uh moenih a?
[If you want to know more about] [RHQ] all the other things that Josiah did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
29 Anih tue vaengah Egypt manghai Pharaoh Neko te Assyria manghai taengah Perath tuiva la cet. Te dongah manghai Josiah te anih mah hamla cet dae Megiddo ah anih te a hmuh vaengah anih te a duek sak.
While Josiah was the king of Judah, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah tried to stop the army of Egypt at Megiddo [city], but Josiah was killed in a battle there.
30 Te dongah a sal rhoek loh a duek rhok te a tloeng uh tih Megiddo lamloh Jerusalem la a khuen uh. Te phoeiah anih te amah phuel ah a up uh. Te vaengah khohmuen pilnam loh Josiah capa Jehoahaz te a loh tih a koelh uh phoeiah anih te a napa yueng la a manghai sakuh.
His officials placed his corpse in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where it was buried in his own tomb, a tomb where the other previous kings had not been buried. Then the people of Judah poured [olive] oil on [the head of] Josiah’s son Joahaz, to appoint him to be the new king.
31 Jehoahaz he kum kul kum thum a lo ca vaegah manghai tih Jerusalem ah hla thum manghai. A manu ming tah Libnah lamkah Jeremiah canu Hamutal ni.
Joahaz was 23 years old when he became the king [of Judah], but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah [city].
32 A napa rhoek kah a cungkuem a saii bangla BOEIPA mik ah boethae a saii.
Joahaz did many things that Yahweh said were evil, just like many of his ancestors had done.
33 Anih te Pharaoh Neko loh Khamath khohmuen kah Riblah ah a khoh. Jerusalem ah a manghai tah a manghai sak dae khohmuen kah cawn la cak talent yakhat neh sui talent khat te a thoh sak.
King Neco’s [army came from Egypt and captured him and] tied him up with chains and took him as a prisoner to Riblah [town] in Hamath [district], to prevent him from continuing to rule in Jerusalem. Neco forced the people of Judah to pay to him (7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.) of silver and (75 pounds/34 kg.) of gold.
34 Pharaoh Neko loh Josiah capa Eliakim te a napa Josiah yueng la a manghai sak tih a ming te Jehoiakim la a hoi pah. Tedae Jehoahaz loh a loh tih Egypt la a khuen vaengah pahoi duek.
King Neco appointed another son of Josiah, Eliakim, to be the new king, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Joahaz to Egypt, and later Joahaz died there in Egypt.
35 Cak neh sui khaw Jehoiakim loh Pharaoh taengla a paek. Te phoeiah Pharaoh kah kueknah bangla cak te paek ham khohmuen te a kawt. Pharaoh Neko taengah paek hamla khohmuen pilnam kah tangka neh sui mai a phu bangla hlang taengah lai a suk.
King Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people [of Judah]. He collected more from the rich people and less from the poor people. He collected silver and gold from them, in order to pay to the king of Egypt what he commanded them to give.
36 Jehoiakim he kum kul kum nga a lo ca vaengah manghai tih Jerusalem ah kum hlai khat manghai. A manu ming Zebidah he khaw Rumah lamkah Pedaiah canu Zebidah ni.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah [town].
37 Tedae a napa rhoek kah a saii bangla BOEIPA mikhmuh ah boethae cungkuem te a saii.
He did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his ancestors had done.
