(KJV) 2 Kings 23¹

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⥃Josiah Renews the Covenant ^{[ 2 Chronicles 34:29–33 ]}

[1] And the king² sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. [2] And the king went up into the house of the Lord, 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 great³: and he read⁴ in their ears all the words of the book⁵ of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

[3] [¶]And the king stood⁶ by a pillar, and made a covenant⁷ before the Lord, to walk⁸ after the Lord, and to keep his commandments⁹ and his testimonies and his statutes with all [their] heart¹⁰ and all¹¹ [their] soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

⥃Josiah Destroys Idolatry ^{[ 1 Kings 13:1–10 † 2 Chronicles 34:3–7 ]}

[4] And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order¹², and the keepers¹³ of the door, to bring¹⁴ forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal¹⁵, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron¹⁶, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth–el¹⁷. [5] And he put down¹⁸ the idolatrous priests¹⁹, 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; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets²⁰, and to all the host²¹ of heaven. [6] And he brought out the grove²² from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned²³ it at the brook Kidron, and stamped [it] small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves²⁴ of the children²⁵ of the people. [7] And he brake down the houses of the sodomites²⁶, that [were] by the house of the Lord, where²⁷ the women wove hangings²⁸ for the grove. [8] And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from²⁹ Geba³⁰ to Beer–sheba³¹, and brake down the high places of the gates that [were] in the entering in 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] Nevertheless the priests³² of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did³³ eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. [10] And he defiled Topheth³⁴, which [is] in the valley³⁵ of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make³⁶ his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. [11] And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun³⁷, at the entering in of the house of the Lord³⁸, by the chamber of Nathan–melech the chamberlain³⁹, which [was] in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. [12] And the altars that [were] on the top⁴⁰ of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh⁴¹ had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake [them] down from thence⁴², and cast⁴³ the dust of them into the brook Kidron. [13] And the high places that [were] before Jerusalem, which [were] on the right hand of the mount of corruption⁴⁴, which Solomon⁴⁵ the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth⁴⁶ the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh⁴⁷ the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom⁴⁸ the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. [14] And he brake⁴⁹ in pieces the images⁵⁰, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men⁵¹.

[15] [¶]Moreover the altar⁵² that [was] at Beth–el, [and] the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, [and] stamped⁵³ [it] small to powder, and burned the grove. [16] And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that [were] there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned⁵⁴ [them] upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed⁵⁵ these words. [17] Then he said, What title [is] that that I see? And the men of the city told him, [It is] the sepulchre⁵⁶ of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth–el. [18] And he said, Let him alone⁵⁷; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet⁵⁸ that came out of Samaria. [19] And all the houses⁵⁹ also of the high places that [were] in the cities⁶⁰ of Samaria, which the kings⁶¹ of Israel had made to provoke [the Lord⁶²] to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth–el. [20] And he slew⁶³ all the priests of the high places that [were] there upon the altars, and burned⁶⁴ men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.

⥃Josiah Restores the Passover ^{[ 2 Chronicles 35:1–19 ]}

[21] [¶]And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep⁶⁵ the passover unto the Lord your God, as [it is] written⁶⁶ in the book of this covenant. [22] Surely⁶⁷ there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings⁶⁸ of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; [23] But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, [wherein] this passover was holden to the Lord in Jerusalem.

[24] [¶]Moreover⁶⁹ the [workers⁷⁰ with] familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images⁷¹, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might⁷² perform the words of the law which were written in the book⁷³ that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. [25] And like unto him⁷⁴ was there no king before him, that turned⁷⁵ to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according⁷⁶ to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there [any] like him.⁷⁷

[26] [¶]Notwithstanding⁷⁸ the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations⁷⁹ that Manasseh had provoked him withal. [27] And the Lord said, I will remove⁸⁰ Judah also out of my sight⁸¹, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name⁸² shall be there.

⥃The Death of Josiah ^{[ 2 Chronicles 35:20–24 ]}

[28] Now the rest⁸³ 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–nechoh⁸⁴ king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates⁸⁵: and king Josiah went⁸⁶ against him; and he slew him⁸⁷ at Megiddo⁸⁸, when he had seen him⁸⁹.⁹⁰ [30] And his servants⁹¹ carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people⁹² of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.

⥃Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah ^{[ 2 Chronicles 36:1–4 ]}

[31] Jehoahaz⁹³ [was] twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name [was] Hamutal⁹⁴, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. [32] And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.⁹⁵ [33] And Pharaoh–nechoh put him⁹⁶ in bands at Riblah⁹⁷ in the land of Hamath⁹⁸, that he might not reign⁹⁹ in Jerusalem; and put¹⁰⁰ the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. [34] And Pharaoh–nechoh made Eliakim¹⁰¹ the son¹⁰² of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned¹⁰³ his name to Jehoiakim¹⁰⁴, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came¹⁰⁵ to Egypt, and died there. [35] And Jehoiakim gave the silver¹⁰⁶ and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed¹⁰⁷ the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give [it] unto Pharaoh–nechoh.

⥃Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah ^{[ 2 Chronicles 36:5–8 ]}

[36] [¶]Jehoiakim¹⁰⁸ [was] twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name [was] Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah¹⁰⁹.¹¹⁰ [37] And he did¹¹¹ [that which was] evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that¹¹² his fathers had done.

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