Anden Kongebog 23

1 Da sendte Kongen Bud og lod alle Judas og Jerusalems Ældste kalde sammen hos sig.

Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [of the other places in] Judah.

2 Derpaa gik Kongen op i HERRENS Hus, fulgt af alle Judas Mænd og alle Jerusalems Indbyggere, Præsterne, Profeterne og hele Folket, smaa og store, og han forelæste dem alt, hvad der stod i Pagtsbogen, som var fundet i HERRENS Hus.

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 Saa tog Kongen Plads ved Søjlen og sluttede Pagt for HERRENS Aasyn om, at de skulde holde sig til HERREN og holde hans Bud, Vidnesbyrd og Anordninger af hele deres Hjerte og hele deres Sjæl, for at han kunde opfylde denne Pagts Ord, saaledes som de var skrevet i denne Bog. Og alt Folket indgik Pagten.

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 Derpaa bød Kongen Ypperstepræsten Hilkija og Andenpræsten og Dørvogterne at bringe alle de Ting, der var lavet til Ba'al, Asjera og hele Himmelens Hær, ud af HERRENS Helligdom, og han lod dem opbrænde uden for Jerusalem paa Markerne ved Kedron, og Asken lod han bringe til Betel.

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 Og han afsatte Afgudspræsterne, som Judas Konger havde indsat, og som havde tændt Offerild paa Højene i Judas Byer og Jerusalems Omegn, ligeledes dem, som havde tændt Offerild for Ba'al og for Solen, Maanen, Stjernebillederne og hele Himmelens Hær.

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 Og han lod Asjerastøtten bringe fra HERRENS Hus uden for Jerusalem til Kedrons Dal og opbrænde der, og han lod den knuse til Støv og Støvet kaste hen, hvor Smaafolk havde deres Grave.

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 Han lod Mandsskøgernes Kamre i HERRENS Hus rive ned, dem i hvilke Kvinderne vævede Kjortler til Asjera.

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 Han lod alle Præsterne hente fra Judas Byer og vanhelligede Offerhøjene, hvor Præsterne havde tændt Offerild, fra Geba til Be'ersjeba. Og han lod Portofferhøjen rive ned, som var ved Indgangen til Byøversten Jehosjuas Port til venstre, naar man gaar ind ad Byporten.

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 Dog fik Præsterne ved Højene ikke Adgang til HERRENS Alter i Jerusalem, men de maatte spise usyret Brød blandt deres Brødre.

10 Han vanhelligede Ildstedet i Hinnoms Søns Dal, saa at ingen mere kunde lade sin Søn eller Datter gaa igennem Ilden for Molok.

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 Han fjernede de Heste, Judas Konger havde opstillet for Solen ved Indgangen til HERRENS Hus hen imod Hofmanden Netan-Meleks Kammer i Parvarim, og Solens Vogne lod han opbrænde.

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 Altrene, som Judas Konger havde rejst paa Taget (Akaz's Tagbygning), og Altrene, som Manasse havde rejst i begge Forgaardene til HERRENS Hus, lod Kongen nedbryde og knuse paa Stedet, og Støvet lod han kaste hen i Kedrons Dal.

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 Og Offerhøjene østen for Jerusalem paa Sydsiden af Fordærvelsens Bjerg, som Kong Salomo af Israel havde bygget for Astarte; Zidoniernes væmmelige Gud, Kemosj, Moabiternes væmmelige Gud, og Milkom, Ammoniternes vederstyggelige Gud, vanhelligede Kongen.

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 Han lod Stenstøtterne nedbryde og Asjerastøtterne omhugge og Pladsen fylde med Menneskeknogler.

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 Ogsaa Alteret i Betel, den Offerhøj, som Jeroboam, Nebats Søn, havde rejst, han, der forledte Israel til Synd, ogsaa det Alter tillige med Offerhøjen lod han nedbryde; Stenene lod han nedrive og knuse til Støv, og Asjerastøtten lod han opbrænde.

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 Da Josias vendte sig om og fik Øje paa Gravene paa Bjerget, sendte han Folk hen og lod dem tage Benene ud af Gravene og opbrænde dem paa Alteret for at vanhellige det efter HERRENS Ord, som den Guds Mand udraabte, da han kundgjorde disse Ting,

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 Saa sagde han: »Hvad er det for et Gravmæle, jeg ser der?« Byens Folk svarede ham: »Det er den Guds Mands Grav, der kom fra Juda og kundgjorde det, du nu har gjort med Alteret i Betel.«

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 Da sagde han: »Lad ham ligge i Ro, ingen maa flytte hans Ben!« Saa lod de baade hans og Profeten fra Samarias Ben i fred.

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 Ogsaa alle Offerhusene paa Højene i Samarias Byer, som Israels Konger havde opført for at krænke HERREN, lod Josias fjerne, og han handlede med dem ganske som han havde gjort i Betel;

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 og han lod alle Højenes Præster, som var der ved Altrene, dræbe, og han opbrændte Menneskeknogler paa Altrene. Saa vendte han tilbage til Jerusalem.

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 Derefter gav Kongen alt Folket den Befaling: »Hold Paaske for HERREN eders Gud, som der er foreskrevet her i Pagtsbogen!«

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 Thi slig en Paaske var ikke nogen Sinde blevet holdt i Israels og Judas Kongers Tid, ikke siden Dommerne dømte Israel;

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 men først i Kong Josias's attende Regeringsaar blev en saadan Paaske fejret for HERREN i Jerusalem.

But now, after Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, to [honor] Yahweh they celebrated the Passover Festival in Jerusalem.

24 Ogsaa Dødemanerne og Sandsigerne, Husguderne, Afgudsbillederne og alle de væmmelige Guder, der var at se i Judas Land og Jerusalem, udryddede Josias for at opfylde Lovens Ord, der stod skrevet i den Bog, Præsten Hilkija havde fundet i HERRENS Hus.

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 Der havde ikke før været nogen Konge, der som han af hele sit Hjerte og hele sin Sjæl og al sin Kraft omvendte sig til HERREN og fulgte hele Mose Lov; og heller ikke efter ham opstod hans Lige.

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 Alligevel lagde HERRENS mægtige Vredesglød sig ikke, thi hans Vrede var blusset op mod Juda over alle de Krænkelser, Manasse havde tilføjet ham.

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 Og HERREN sagde: »Ogsaa Juda vil jeg fjerne fra mit Aasyn, ligesom jeg fjernede Israel, og jeg vil forkaste Jerusalem, denne min udvalgte By, og det Hus, om hvilket jeg har sagt: Mit Navn skal være der!«

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 Hvad der ellers er at fortælle om Josias, alt, hvad han udførte, staar jo optegnet i Judas Kongers Krønike.

[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 I hans Dage drog Ægypterkongen Farao Neko op til Eufratfloden imod Assyrerkongen. Kong Josias rykkede imod ham, men Neko fældede ham ved Megiddo, straks han saa ham.

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 Og hans Folk førte ham død bort fra Megiddo, bragte ham til Jerusalem og jordede ham i hans Grav. Men Folket fra Landet tog Joahaz, Josias's Søn, og salvede og hyldede ham til Konge i hans Faders Sted.

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 Joahaz var tre og tyve Aar gammel, da han blev Konge, og han herskede tre Maaneder i Jerusalem. Hans Moder hed Hamutal og var en Datter af Jirmeja fra Libna.

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 Han gjorde, hvad der var ondt i HERRENS Øjne, ganske som hans Fædre.

Joahaz did many things that Yahweh said were evil, just like many of his ancestors had done.

33 Men Farao Neko lod ham fængsle i Ribla i Hamats Land og gjorde dermed Ende paa hans Herredømme i Jerusalem og lagde en Skat af hundrede Talenter Sølv og ti Talenter Guld paa Landet.

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 Derpaa gjorde Farao Neko Eljakim, Josias's Søn, til Konge i hans Fader Josias's Sted, og han ændrede hans Navn til Jojakim; Joahaz derimod tog han med til Ægypten, og der døde han.

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 Sølvet og Guldet udredede Jojakim til Farao; men for at kunne udrede Pengene efter Faraos Befaling satte han Landet i Skat; efter som hver især var sat i Skat, inddrev han Sølvet og Guldet for at give Farao Neko det.

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 Jojakim var fem og tyve Aar gammel, da han blev Konge, og han herskede elleve Aar i Jerusalem. Hans Moder hed Zebida og var en Datter af Pedaja fra Ruma.

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 Han gjorde, hvad der var ondt i HERRENS Øjne, ganske som hans Fædre.

He did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his ancestors had done.