Bible History
Bible History

2 Kings 23 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

You are here: Home New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 2 Kings 23

Josiah’s Covenant

23 (A)Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 2 The king went up to 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 great; and (B)he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant (C)which was found in the house of the Lord. 3 (D)The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, (E)to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people [a]entered into the covenant.

Reforms under Josiah

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and (F)the priests of the second order and the [b]doorkeepers, (G)to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, for [c]Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and (H)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the (I)host of heaven. 6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and (J)ground it to dust, and (K)threw its dust on the graves of the [d]common people. 7 He also broke down the houses of the (L)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where (M)the women were weaving [e]hangings for the Asherah. 8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from (N)Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9 Nevertheless (O)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 (P)He also defiled [f]Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, (Q)that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for (R)Molech. 11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the (S)sun, at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 (T)The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and (U)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down; and he [g]smashed them there and (V)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 The high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of (W)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (X)Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for (Y)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. 14 (Z)He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and (AA)filled their places with human bones.

15 Furthermore, (AB)the altar that was at Bethel and the (AC)high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. Then he [h](AD)demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah. 16 Now when Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it (AE)according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things. 17 Then he said, “What is this monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “(AF)It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.” 18 He said, “Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones.” So they [i]left his bones undisturbed (AG)with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19 Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were (AH)in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking [j]the Lord; and he did to them [k]just as he had done in Bethel. 20 All the priests of the high places who were there (AI)he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.

Passover Reinstituted

21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “(AJ)Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God (AK)as it is written in this book of the covenant.” 22 (AL)Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, Josiah [l]removed (AM)the mediums and the spiritists and the (AN)teraphim and (AO)the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, (AP)that he might [m]confirm the words of the law which were written (AQ)in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king (AR)like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

26 However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, (AS)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 The Lord said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, (AT)as I have removed Israel. And (AU)I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the [n]temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”

Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah

28 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 (AV)In his days (AW)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at (AX)Megiddo. 30 (AY)His servants drove [o]his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. (AZ)Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

31 (BA)Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was (BB)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (BC)according to all that his fathers had done. 33 (BD)Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him at (BE)Riblah in the land of (BF)Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh

34 Pharaoh Neco made (BG)Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and (BH)changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and [p](BI)brought him to Egypt, and he died there. 35 So Jehoiakim (BJ)gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the [q]command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

36 (BK)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, 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 sight of the Lord, (BL)according to all that his fathers had done.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:3 Lit took a stand in
  2. 2 Kings 23:4 Lit keepers of the threshold
  3. 2 Kings 23:4 I.e. a wooden symbol of a female deity, and so throughout the ch
  4. 2 Kings 23:6 Lit sons of the people
  5. 2 Kings 23:7 Or tents; lit houses
  6. 2 Kings 23:10 I.e. place of burning
  7. 2 Kings 23:12 Or ran from there
  8. 2 Kings 23:15 So the Gr; Heb burned the high place
  9. 2 Kings 23:18 Lit let his bones escape with
  10. 2 Kings 23:19 So with ancient versions
  11. 2 Kings 23:19 Lit according to all the acts
  12. 2 Kings 23:24 Lit consumed
  13. 2 Kings 23:24 Or perform
  14. 2 Kings 23:27 Lit house
  15. 2 Kings 23:30 Lit him, dead
  16. 2 Kings 23:34 So with Gr; Heb he came
  17. 2 Kings 23:35 Lit mouth

Cross references

  1. 2 Kings 23:1 : 2 Chr 34:29-32
  2. 2 Kings 23:2 : Deut 31:10-13
  3. 2 Kings 23:2 : 2 Kin 22:8
  4. 2 Kings 23:3 : 2 Kin 11:14, 17
  5. 2 Kings 23:3 : Deut 13:4
  6. 2 Kings 23:4 : 2 Kin 25:18; Jer 52:24
  7. 2 Kings 23:4 : 2 Kin 21:3, 7; 2 Chr 33:3
  8. 2 Kings 23:4 : 2 Kin 23:15
  9. 2 Kings 23:5 : 2 Kin 21:3
  10. 2 Kings 23:6 : 2 Kin 23:15
  11. 2 Kings 23:6 : 2 Chr 34:4
  12. 2 Kings 23:7 : 1 Kin 14:24; 15:12
  13. 2 Kings 23:7 : Ex 35:25, 26; Ezek 16:16
  14. 2 Kings 23:8 : Josh 21:17; 1 Kin 15:22
  15. 2 Kings 23:9 : Ezek 44:10-14
  16. 2 Kings 23:10 : Is 30:33; Jer 7:31, 32; 19:4-6
  17. 2 Kings 23:10 : Lev 18:21
  18. 2 Kings 23:10 : 1 Kin 11:7
  19. 2 Kings 23:11 : Deut 4:19; Job 31:26; Ezek 8:16
  20. 2 Kings 23:12 : Jer 19:13; Zeph 1:5
  21. 2 Kings 23:12 : 2 Kin 21:5; 2 Chr 33:5
  22. 2 Kings 23:12 : 2 Kin 23:4, 6
  23. 2 Kings 23:13 : 1 Kin 11:7
  24. 2 Kings 23:13 : 1 Kin 11:5
  25. 2 Kings 23:13 : Num 21:29
  26. 2 Kings 23:14 : Deut 7:5, 25
  27. 2 Kings 23:14 : 2 Kin 23:16
  28. 2 Kings 23:15 : 1 Kin 13:1
  29. 2 Kings 23:15 : 1 Kin 12:28-33
  30. 2 Kings 23:15 : 2 Kin 23:6
  31. 2 Kings 23:16 : 1 Kin 13:2
  32. 2 Kings 23:17 : 1 Kin 13:1, 30, 31
  33. 2 Kings 23:18 : 1 Kin 13:11, 31
  34. 2 Kings 23:19 : 2 Chr 34:6, 7
  35. 2 Kings 23:20 : 2 Kin 10:25; 11:18
  36. 2 Kings 23:21 : 2 Chr 35:1-17
  37. 2 Kings 23:21 : Num 9:2-4; Deut 16:2-8
  38. 2 Kings 23:22 : 2 Chr 35:18, 19
  39. 2 Kings 23:24 : Lev 19:31; 2 Kin 21:6
  40. 2 Kings 23:24 : Gen 31:19 mg
  41. 2 Kings 23:24 : 2 Kin 21:11, 21
  42. 2 Kings 23:24 : Deut 18:10-22
  43. 2 Kings 23:24 : 2 Kin 22:8
  44. 2 Kings 23:25 : 2 Kin 18:5
  45. 2 Kings 23:26 : 2 Kin 21:11-13; Jer 15:4
  46. 2 Kings 23:27 : 2 Kin 18:11
  47. 2 Kings 23:27 : 2 Kin 21:13, 14
  48. 2 Kings 23:29 : 2 Chr 35:20-24
  49. 2 Kings 23:29 : Jer 46:2
  50. 2 Kings 23:29 : Judg 5:19
  51. 2 Kings 23:30 : 2 Kin 9:28
  52. 2 Kings 23:30 : 2 Chr 36:1-4
  53. 2 Kings 23:31 : 1 Chr 3:15; Jer 22:11
  54. 2 Kings 23:31 : 2 Kin 24:18
  55. 2 Kings 23:32 : 2 Kin 21:2-7
  56. 2 Kings 23:33 : 2 Kin 23:29
  57. 2 Kings 23:33 : 2 Kin 25:6
  58. 2 Kings 23:33 : 1 Kin 8:65
  59. 2 Kings 23:34 : 1 Chr 3:15
  60. 2 Kings 23:34 : 2 Kin 24:17; 2 Chr 36:4
  61. 2 Kings 23:34 : Jer 22:11, 12; Ezek 19:3, 4
  62. 2 Kings 23:35 : 2 Kin 23:33
  63. 2 Kings 23:36 : 2 Chr 36:5; Jer 22:18, 19; 26:1
  64. 2 Kings 23:37 : 2 Kin 23:32

You Might Also Like:

2 Kings 23 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

23 And the king sendeth, and they gather unto him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 and the king goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and every man of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, from small unto great, and he reade...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

23 which king sent, and all the eld men of Judah, and of Jerusalem, were gathered to him. (and the king sent for all the elders of Judah, and of Jerusalem, and they were gathered unto him.) 2 And the king went up into the temple of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the men that dwelled in ...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - World English Bible (WEB)

23 The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 2 The king went up to Yahweh’s house, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, with the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing a...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - The Voice (VOICE)

23 The king ordered an assembly of all of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s elders. 2 He then went to the Eternal’s temple with all the citizens of Jerusalem and the men of Judah, as well as the priests and prophets and people of all statuses, and he read to them everything in the covenant book that was disc...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Josiah Renews the Covenant23 Then the king sent for and they gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the House of Adonai and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him—the kohanim and the prophets, all the people, young and old—and he rea...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Josiah’s Reformation23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great;...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Josiah’s Reformation23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great;...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Josiah’s Reformation23 Then the king directed that all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem should be gathered to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him went all the people of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Josiah’s Reformation23 Then the king directed that all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem should be gathered to him.(A)2 The king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him went all the people of Judah, all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small an...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Josiah’s Religious Reforms23 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And the king went up to the Temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them t...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New Life Version (NLV)

Josiah Brings Back True Worship23 Then King Josiah sent men out to bring to him all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah and all the people who lived in Jerusalem. The religious leaders, the men who speak for God, and all the peop...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Josiah Restores True Worship(A)23 Now (B)the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and gr...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Josiah renews the covenant23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets – all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New International Version (NIV)

Josiah Renews the Covenant(A)(B)(C)(D)23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read(E) in their...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Josiah Promises Again to Obey the Covenant23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the Lord’s temple. The people of Judah and Jerusalem went with him. So did the priests and prophets. All of them went, from the least important of them to the most impor...
Read More

2 Kings 23 - New English Translation (NET)

The King Institutes Religious Reform23 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.[a] 2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the old...
Read More

61 Bible Translations

Popular Articles

Explore the Bible Like Never Before!

Bible History Online

Bible Study Tools

Top Tags