Josiah Renews the Covenant (2 Chronicles 34:29–33)
1 ULT And the king sent, and they gathered to him all of the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. BSB BSB: Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
2 ULT And the king went up{ to} the house of Yahweh, and every man of Judah and all of the dwellers of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets, and all of the people from small and to great. And he read in their ears all of the words of the scroll of the covenant having been found in the house of Yahweh. BSB BSB: And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people small and great—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.
3 ULT And the king stood by the pillar, and he cut a covenant to the face of Yahweh to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all of the heart and with all of the soul, to raise up the words of this covenant written on that scroll. And all of the people stood in the covenant. BSB BSB: So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.
Josiah Destroys Idolatry (1 Kings 13:1–10; 2 Chronicles 34:3–7)
5 ULT And he made cease the idol- priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed that one should burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and the environs of Jerusalem and the ones burning incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to the whole army of the heavens. BSB BSB: Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
6 ULT And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh to outside of Jerusalem, to the Valley of Kidron, and he burned it in the Valley of Kidron. And he crushed{ it} to dust, and he threw its dust over the grave of the sons of the people. BSB BSB: He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.
7 ULT And he tore down the houses of the cultic prostitutes that{ were} by the house of Yahweh, where women were weaving houses there for Asherah. BSB BSB: He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where the women had woven tapestries for Asherah.
9 ULT (However, the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem. Rather, they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their brothers.) BSB BSB: Although the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.
10 ULT And he defiled Topheth, which{ was} in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so that a man could not make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. BSB BSB: He also desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire to Molech.
12 ULT And the king tore down the altars that{ were} on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, that the kings of Judah had made and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh. And he ran from there and threw their dust into the Valley of Kidron. BSB BSB: He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
13 ULT And the king defiled the high places that{ were} on the face of Jerusalem, which{ were} on the right of the Mount of Destruction, 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. BSB BSB: The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 ULT And he shattered the pillars, and he cut down the Asherahs, and he filled their place with bones of man. BSB BSB: He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.
15 ULT And also the altar that{ was} in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, made, who caused Israel to sin, both that altar and the high place, he tore down, and he burned the high place. He crushed{ them} to dust, and he burned the Asherah. BSB BSB: He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.
16 ULT And Josiah turned and saw the graves that{ were} there on the mountain, and he sent and took bones from the graves and burned{ them} on the altar. So he defiled it, according to the word of Yahweh that the man of God proclaimed who had proclaimed these things. BSB BSB: And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things.
17 ULT And he said,“What{ is} this monument that I am seeing?” And the men of the city said to him,“The grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.” BSB BSB: Then the king asked, “What is this monument I see?” And the men of the city replied, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar of Bethel.”
18 ULT And he said,“Let him stay. Let not a man disturb his bones.” And they rescued his bones, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. BSB BSB: “Let him rest,” said Josiah. “Do not let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, along with those of the prophet who had come from Samaria.
19 ULT And Josiah also removed all of the houses of the high places that{ were} in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made, provoking anger. And he did to them like all of the works that he had done in Bethel. BSB BSB: Just as Josiah had done at Bethel, so also in the cities of Samaria he removed all the shrines of the high places set up by the kings of Israel who had provoked the LORD to anger.
20 ULT And he sacrificed on the altars all of the priests of the high places who{ were} there, and he burned bones of man on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: On the altars he slaughtered all the priests of the high places, and he burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Restores the Passover (2 Chronicles 35:1–19)
21 ULT And the king commanded all of the people, saying,“Do Passover for Yahweh your God, as written in this scroll of the covenant.” BSB BSB: The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”
22 ULT Now like this Passover was not done from the days of the judges who judged Israel or all of the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah, BSB BSB: No such Passover had been observed from the days of the judges who had governed Israel through all the days of the kings of Israel and Judah.
23 ULT except in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was done for Yahweh in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: But in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem.
24 ULT And Josiah also removed the ritual pits and the familiar spirits and the teraphim and the idols and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, in order to raise up the words of the Law written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh. BSB BSB: Furthermore, Josiah removed the mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to carry out the words of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.
25 ULT And to his face a king was not like him, who returned to Yahweh with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his strength, according to all of the Law of Moses. And after him, one has not arisen like him. BSB BSB: Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.
26 ULT However, Yahweh did not turn from the great burning of his nose{ with} which his nose burned against Judah because of all of the provocations{ by} which Manasseh had provoked him. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the fury of His burning anger, which was kindled against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger.
27 ULT And Yahweh had said,“I will also remove Judah away from my face, just as I removed Israel. And I will reject this city that I chose, Jerusalem, and the house{ about} which I said,‘My name will be there.’” BSB BSB: For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’”
The Death of Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:20–24)
28 ULT Now the rest of the matters of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the matters of the days of the kings of Judah? BSB BSB: As for the rest of the acts of Josiah and all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
30 ULT And his servants caused him to ride dead from Megiddo and brought him{ to} Jerusalem. And they buried him in his grave. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and they anointed him and made him king in place of his father. BSB BSB: From Megiddo his servants carried his body in a chariot, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.
Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah (2 Chronicles 36:1–4)
31 ULT Jehoahaz{ was} a son of 23 years when he reigned, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother{ was} Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah. BSB BSB: Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
32 ULT And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that his fathers had done. BSB BSB: And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
33 ULT And Pharaoh Neco bound him in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, from reigning in Jerusalem. And he imposed tribute on the land, 100 kikkars of silver and a kikkar of gold. BSB BSB: And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned Jehoahaz at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he could not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
34 ULT And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, reign in place of Josiah his father, and he changed his name{ to} Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz, and he came{ to} Egypt, and he died there. BSB BSB: Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died.
35 ULT And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he assessed the land to give the silver according to the mouth of Pharoah.{ From} a man according to his assessment, he exacted the silver and the gold{ from} the people of the land to give to Pharoah Neco. BSB BSB: So Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh Neco, but to meet Pharaoh’s demand he taxed the land and exacted the silver and the gold from the people, each according to his wealth.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah (2 Chronicles 36:5–8)
36 ULT Jehoiakim{ was} a son of 25 years when he reigned, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother{ was} Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah. BSB BSB: Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah.
37 ULT And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, like all that his fathers had done. BSB BSB: And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
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