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2 Kings

2 Kingschapter 23

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A.The king stands by the pillar and reads it all aloudvv. 1-3

1 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 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 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 this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

B.Vessels burned in Kidron; high places defiled from Geba to Beershebavv. 4-14

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 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 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 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. 8 Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which was to the left of the city gate. 9 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 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. 11 And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun. 12 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 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 He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.

C.The altar at Bethel, and the sepulchre of the man of Godvv. 15-20

15 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 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 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 pronounced these things that you have done to the altar of Bethel.” 18 “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 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 On the altars he slaughtered all the priests of the high places, and he burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

D.A Passover unlike any since the days of the judgesvv. 21-25

21 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 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 But in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 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 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.

E.Megiddo: Josiah falls before Pharaoh-necohvv. 26-30

26 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 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.’” 28 As for the rest of the acts of Josiah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 At the end of Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. 30 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.

F.Jehoahaz in chains; Jehoiakim taxes the landvv. 31-37

31 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 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done. 33 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 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 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. 36 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 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition
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Chapter summary

Josiah gathers all the people, small and great, reads the whole book in their ears, stands by the pillar to make a covenant.

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾

Josiah gathers all the people, small and great, reads the whole book in their ears, stands by the pillar to make a covenant. Then works down the list. Vessels made for Baal are burned in the fields of Kidron, the idolatrous priests put down, the Asherah beaten to dust, the sodomites' houses broken down, Topheth defiled so no man can make his son pass through the fire, the horses of the sun taken away. At Bethel he breaks Jeroboam's altar and burns bones on it, fulfilling the man of God's cry three centuries earlier. Then a Passover unlike any since the days of the judges. Yet the wrath kindled by Manasseh does not turn, and Josiah falls at Megiddo.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

History · Jeremiah — 2 Kings overview

  • A. 1–3 The king stands by the pillar and reads it all aloud
  • B. 4–14 Vessels burned in Kidron; high places defiled from Geba to Beersheba
  • C. 15–20 The altar at Bethel, and the sepulchre of the man of God
  • D. 21–25 A Passover unlike any since the days of the judges
  • E. 26–30 Megiddo: Josiah falls before Pharaoh-necoh
  • F. 31–37 Jehoahaz in chains; Jehoiakim taxes the land
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
  • 2 Kings 218 verses
    • 2 Kings 21:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
    • 2 Kings 21:3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
    • 2 Kings 21:5In both courtyards of the house of the LORD, he built altars to all the host of heaven.
    • 2 Kings 21:6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
    • 2 Kings 21:7Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.
    • 2 Kings 21:11“Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin,
    • Read 2 Kings 21: 2 more there →
  • 2 Kings 235 verses
    • 2 Kings 23:5Josiah 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.
    • 2 Kings 23:6He 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.
    • 2 Kings 23:15He 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.
    • 2 Kings 23:16And 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.
    • 2 Kings 23:33And 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.
    • Read 2 Kings 23 →
  • 1 Kings 134 verses
    • 1 Kings 13:1Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
    • 1 Kings 13:30Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!”
    • 1 Kings 13:31After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones,
    • 1 Kings 13:32for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”
    • Read 1 Kings 13 →
  • 2 Chronicles 344 verses
    • 2 Chronicles 34:4Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
    • 2 Chronicles 34:5Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
    • 2 Chronicles 34:6Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them.
    • 2 Chronicles 34:29Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
    • Read 2 Chronicles 34 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
  • 2 Chronicles 304 verses
    • 2 Chronicles 30:1Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh inviting them to come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel.
    • 2 Chronicles 30:2For the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to keep the Passover in the second month,
    • 2 Chronicles 30:6So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read: “Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.
    • 2 Chronicles 30:13In the second month, a very great assembly gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
    • Read 2 Chronicles 30 →
  • 2 Kings 113 verses
    • 2 Kings 11:14And she looked out and saw the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”
    • 2 Kings 11:17Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people that they would be the LORD’s people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people.
    • 2 Kings 11:18So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. And Jehoiada the priest posted guards for the house of the LORD.
    • Read 2 Kings 11 →
  • 2 Kings 243 verses
    • 2 Kings 24:4and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.
    • 2 Kings 24:17Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
    • 2 Kings 24:18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
    • Read 2 Kings 24 →
  • 2 Chronicles 363 verses
    • 2 Chronicles 36:1Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father.
    • 2 Chronicles 36:5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
    • 2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
    • Read 2 Chronicles 36 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.