2 Kings 23

1 Then the king sent and got together all the responsible men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, small and great; and they were present at his reading of the book of the law which had come to light in the house of the Lord.

And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah.

3 And the king took his place by the pillar, and made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in the book; and all the people gave their word to keep the agreement.

And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

4 Then the king gave orders to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and to the priests of the second order, and to the keepers of the door, to take out of the house of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal and for the Asherah and for all the stars of heaven; and he had them burned outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and took the dust of them to Beth-el.

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.

5 And he put an end to the false priests, who had been put in their positions by the kings of Judah to see to the burning of offerings in the high places in the towns of Judah and the outskirts of Jerusalem, and all those who made offerings to Baal and to the sun and the moon and the twelve signs and all the stars of heaven.

And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

6 And he took the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem to the stream Kidron, burning it by the stream and crushing it to dust, and he put the dust on the place where the bodies of the common people were put to rest.

And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.

7 And he had the houses pulled down of those who were used for sex purposes in the house of the Lord, where women were making robes for the Asherah.

And he broke down the houses of the sodomites that were in the house of Jehovah where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.

8 And he made all the priests from the towns of Judah come into Jerusalem, and he made unclean the high places where the priests had been burning offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he had the high places of the evil spirits pulled down which were by the doorway of Joshua, the ruler of the town, on the left side of the way into the town.

And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

9 Still the priests of the high places never came up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; but they took their food of unleavened bread among their brothers.

Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

10 And Topheth, in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, he made unclean, so that no man might make his son or his daughter go through the fire to Molech.

And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

11 And he took away the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the way into the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan-melech, the unsexed servant, which was in the outer part of the building, and the carriages of the sun he put on fire.

And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 And the altars on the roof of the high room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two outer squares of the house of the Lord, were pulled down and crushed to bits, and the dust of them was put into the stream Kidron.

And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, the king broke down, and beat them down from there, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

13 And the high places before Jerusalem, on the south side of the mountain of destruction, which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for Ashtoreth, the disgusting god of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, and for Milcom, the disgusting god of the children of Ammon, the king made unclean.

And the king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon.

14 The stone pillars were broken to bits and the wood pillars cut down, and the places where they had been were made full of the bones of the dead.

And he broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.

15 And the altar at Beth-el, and the high place put up by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel do evil, that altar and that high place were pulled down; and the high place was burned and crushed to dust and the Asherah was burned.

Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. And he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16 Then Josiah, turning round, saw on the mountain the places of the dead, and he sent and had the bones taken out of their places and burned on the altar, so making it unclean, as the Lord had said by the man of God when Jeroboam was in his place by the altar on that feast-day. And he, turning his eyes to the resting-place of the man of God who had given word of these things, said:

And as Josiah turned himself, he noticed the sepulchers that were there in the mount. And he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

17 What is that headstone I see over there? And the men of the town said to him, It is the resting-place of the man of God who came from Judah and gave word of all these things which you have done to the altar of Beth-el.

Then he said, What monument is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulcher of the man of God who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou have done against the altar of Bethel.

18 So he said, Let him be; let not his bones be moved. So they let his bones be with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

And he said, Let him be; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

19 Then Josiah took away all the houses of the high places in the towns of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had put up, moving the Lord to wrath, and he did with them as he had done in Beth-el.

And Josiah also took away all the houses of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Jehovah to anger. And he did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

20 And all the priests of the high places there he put to death on the altars, burning the bones of the dead on them; and then he went back to Jerusalem.

And he killed all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem.

21 And the king gave orders to all the people, saying, Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it says in this book of the law.

And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the Passover to Jehovah your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.

22 Truly, such a Passover had not been kept in all the days of the judges of Israel or of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah;

Surely such a Passover was not kept from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah.

23 In the eighteenth year of the rule of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah this Passover was kept to Jehovah in Jerusalem.

24 And all those who had control of spirits, and the wonder-workers, and the images, and the false gods, and all the disgusting things which were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah put away, so that he might give effect to the words of the agreement recorded in the book which Hilkiah the priest made discovery of in the house of the Lord.

Moreover Josiah put away the psychics, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah.

25 Never before had there been a king like him, turning to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his power, as the law of Moses says; and after him there was no king like him.

And there was no king before him like him, who turned to Jehovah with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither arose any like him after him.

26 But still the heat of the Lord's wrath was not turned back from Judah, because of all Manasseh had done in moving him to wrath.

Notwithstanding, Jehovah did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.

27 And the Lord said, I will send Judah away from before my face, as I have sent Israel; I will have nothing more to do with this town, which I had made mine, even Jerusalem, and the holy house of which I said, My name will be there.

And Jehovah said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?

Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

29 In his days, Pharaoh-necoh, king of Egypt, sent his armies against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates; and King Josiah went out against him; and he put him to death at Megiddo, when he had seen him.

In his days Pharaoh-necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates, and king Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh-necoh killed him at Megiddo when he had seen him.

30 And his servants took his body in a carriage from Megiddo to Jerusalem, and put him into the earth there. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and put the holy oil on him and made him king in place of his father.

And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulcher. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.

31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, ruling in Jerusalem for three months; his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

32 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his fathers had done.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.

33 And Pharaoh-necoh put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath, so that he might not be king in Jerusalem; and took from the land a tax of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

And Pharaoh-necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem. And he put the land to a tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

34 Then Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, king in place of Josiah his father, changing his name to Jehoiakim; but Jehoahaz he took away to Egypt, where he was till his death.

And Pharaoh-necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt, and died there.

35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, taxing the land by his orders to get the money; the people of the land had to give silver and gold, everyone as he was taxed, to make the payment to Pharaoh-necoh.

And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it to Pharaoh-necoh.

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king; he was ruling in Jerusalem for eleven years; his mother's name was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

37 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord as his fathers had done.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.