2 Reyes 23

1 Entonces el rey convocó a todos los ancianos de Judá y Jerusalén.

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

2 Fue al Templo del Señor con todo el pueblo de Judá y de Jerusalén, junto con los sacerdotes y los levitas, todo el pueblo, desde el más pequeño hasta el más grande, y les leyó todo el Libro del Acuerdo que había sido descubierto en el Templo del Señor.

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 El rey se puso de pie junto a la columna e hizo un acuerdo solemne ante el Señor de seguirlo y de cumplir sus mandamientos, leyes y reglamentos con total dedicación, y de observar los requisitos del acuerdo tal como estaban escritos en el libro. Todo el pueblo aceptó el acuerdo.

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 Entonces el rey ordenó al sumo sacerdote Jilquías, a los sacerdotes de segundo rango y a los porteros que sacaran del Templo del Señor todo lo que se había hecho para Baal, Asera y la adoración del sol, la luna y las estrellas. Los quemó fuera de Jerusalén, en los campos de Cedrón, y llevó sus cenizas a 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 También despidió a los sacerdotes designados por los reyes de Judá para presentar holocaustos en los lugares altos de las ciudades de Judá y en los lugares de los alrededores de Jerusalén, a los que habían sacrificado a Baal, al sol y a la luna, a las constelaciones y a todos los poderes del cielo.

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 Quitó el poste de Asera del Templo del Señor y lo llevó al Valle del Cedrón, en las afueras de Jerusalén. Allí lo quemó, lo redujo a polvo y arrojó su polvo sobre las tumbas de la gente común.

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 También demolió las habitaciones de las prostitutas del culto que estaban en el Templo del Señor, donde las mujeres solían tejer tapices para la Asera.

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 Josías llevó a Jerusalén a todos los sacerdotes de las ciudades de Judá y profanó los lugares altos, desde Gueba hasta Beerseba, donde los sacerdotes habían sacrificado holocaustos. Derribó los lugares altos de las puertas, cerca de la entrada de la puerta de Josué, el gobernador de la ciudad, que quedaba de la puerta del pueblo.

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 Aunque los sacerdotes de los lugares altos no servían en el altar del Señor en Jerusalén, comían panes sin levadura con sus hermanos sacerdotes.

10 Profanó el altar de Tofet, en el valle de Ben-Hinom, para que nadie pudiera sacrificar a su hijo o hija en el fuego a Moloc.

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 Quitó de la entrada del Templo del Señor los caballos que los reyes de Judá habían dedicado al sol. Estaban en el patio, cerca de la habitación de un eunuco llamado Natán-melec. Josías también quemó los carros dedicados al sol.

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 Derribó los altares que los reyes de Judá habían colocado en el techo, cerca de la cámara alta de Acaz, y los altares que Manasés había colocado en los dos patios del Templo del Señor. El rey los hizo pedazos y los esparció en el valle del Cedrón.

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 El rey también profanó los lugares altos al este de Jerusalén, al sur del Monte de la Corrupción, los lugares que el rey Salomón de Israel había construido para Astoret, la vil diosa de los sidonios, para Quemos, el vil dios de los moabitas, y para Moloc, el vil dios de los amonitas.

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 Hizo pedazos los pilares de piedra sagrados, derribó los postes de Asera y cubrió los lugares con huesos humanos.

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 También demolió el altar de Betel, el lugar alto erigido por Jeroboam, hijo de Nabat, que había hecho pecar a Israel. Luego quemó el lugar alto, lo redujo a polvo y quemó el poste de Asera.

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 Cuando Josías miró a su alrededor, vio unas tumbas en la colina. Hizo sacar los huesos de las tumbas y los quemó en el altar para profanarlo, tal como el Señor había dicho por medio del hombre de Dios que había profetizado estas cosas.

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 Entonces preguntó: “¿De quién es la lápida que veo?” “Es la tumba del hombre de Dios que vino de Judá y proclamó exactamente lo que tú has hecho con el altar de Betel”, respondió la gente del pueblo.

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 “Déjenlo descansar en paz”, dijo Josías. “Que nadie toque sus huesos”. Así que dejaron sus huesos sin tocar, junto con los del profeta que vino de Samaria.

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 Josías destruyó, como lo hizo en Betel, todos los santuarios de los lugares altos de las ciudades de Samaria que habían construido los reyes de Israel que habían enojado al Señor.

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 Josías sacrificó a todos los sacerdotes que estaban allí en los lugares altos, en los altares, y quemó huesos humanos sobre ellos. Luego regresó a Jerusalén.

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 El rey envió una orden a todo el pueblo: “Celebren la Pascua del Señor, su Dios, como está escrito en este Libro del Acuerdo”.

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 Una Pascua como ésta no se había observado desde los días de los jueces que gobernaban Israel hasta todos los días de los reyes de Israel y de Judá.

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 Pero en el año dieciocho del rey Josías, se observó esta Pascua para honrar al Señor en Jerusalén.

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

24 Además, Josías se deshizo de los médiums y de los espiritistas, de los dioses domésticos y de los ídolos, y de todas las prácticas repugnantes que había en la tierra de Judá y en Jerusalén. Lo hizo para cumplir las palabras de la ley escritas en el libro que el sacerdote Jilquías había encontrado en el Templo del Señor.

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 Nunca antes hubo un rey como él que se comprometiera con el Señor en todos sus pensamientos y actitudes, y con todas sus fuerzas, guardando toda la Ley de Moisés. Tampoco hubo después un rey como él.

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 Sin embargo, el Señor no había abandonado su furiosa hostilidad, que ardía contra Judá por todo lo que Manasés había hecho para enfurecerlo.

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 Así que el Señor anunció: “También voy a desterrar a Judá de mi presencia, así como desterré a Israel. Abandonaré esta ciudad que he escogido, Jerusalén, y el Templo respecto al cual dije: Mi nombre estará allí”.

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 El resto de lo que sucedió en el reinado de Josías, y todo lo que hizo, están registrados en el Libro de las Crónicas de los Reyes de Judá.

[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 Mientras Josías aún era rey, el faraón Neco, rey de Egipto, dirigió su ejército para ayudar al rey de Asiria en el río Éufrates. El rey Josías llevó a su ejército a luchar contra él en Meguido, pero cuando Neco vio a Josías lo mató.

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 Sus servidores pusieron su cuerpo en un carro, lo trajeron de Meguido a Jerusalén y lo enterraron en su propia tumba. Entonces el pueblo del país eligió a Joacaz, hijo de Josías, lo ungió y lo hizo rey en sucesión de su padre.

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 Joacaz tenía veintitrés años cuando llegó a ser rey, y reinó en Jerusalén durante tres meses. Su madre se llamaba Jamutal, hija de Jeremías. Ella era de 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 Sus hechos fueron malos a los ojos del Señor, como los de todos sus antepasados.

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

33 El faraón Neco encarceló a Joacaz en Riblá, en la tierra de Jamat, para impedir que gobernara en Jerusalén. También impuso a Judá un tributo de cien talentos de plata y un talento de oro.

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 El faraón Neco nombró a Eliaquim, hijo de Josías, rey en sucesión de su padre Josías, y cambió el nombre de Eliaquim por el de Joaquim. Neco llevó a Joacaz a Egipto, donde murió.

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 Joaquim pagó la plata y el oro al faraón Neco, pero para satisfacer la demanda del faraón, éste gravó la tierra y exigió el pago de la plata y el oro al pueblo, cada uno en proporción a su riqueza.

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 Joaquim tenía veinticinco años cuando llegó a ser rey, y reinó en Jerusalén durante once años. Su madre se llamaba Zebida, hija de Pedaías; era de Rumá.

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 Sus hechos fueron malos a los ojos del Señor, como los de sus antepasados.

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