2 Chronicles 34:33
in 2 Chronicles 34And Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required everyone in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were found in Israel to serve, even to serve Jehovah their God. All his days they departed not from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
KJV
And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 34
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel,.... All their idols, as related in 2Ki 23:4, &c. and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God; by his edicts, and by his example: and all his days they departed not from following the Lord God of their fathers; not publicly and universally; otherwise there were great declensions and corruptions among them, as the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zephaniah show.
This site's exposition
take a stand in agreement to it
on 2 Chronicles 34:32-33
Josiah has everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin “take a stand in agreement to it,” which Adam Clarke takes as the people rising to their feet. The purge that began in the northern cities closes the chapter. Albert Barnes and John Gill hold the closing formula true of public religion.
This site's exposition
Throughout his reign they did not turn aside
Albert Barnes reads the verse as outward conformity: open idolatry ceased. John Gill points to the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zephaniah, spoken in these same years, which expose the corruption that remained. Jeremiah 3:6 to 10, dated to Josiah's days, says Judah returned to the LORD without her whole heart.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Much of this we had 2 Kings xxii. 1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the L ORD , and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:87%@v1-3
), to do it and to make a business of it. He did all he could to bring them to it-- to serve, even to serve; the repetition denotes that this was the only thing his heart was set on; he aimed at nothing else in what he did but to engage them to God and their duty.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
All his days they departed not - This must be understood in the letter rather than in the spirit. There was no open idolatry in the reign of Josiah, but the reformation was seeming rather than real, superficial rather than searching and complete (compare the marginal reference).
The words behind it
27 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֨סַר | vaiyasar | and he removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| יֹֽאשִׁיָּ֜הוּ | yoshiyahu | Josiah | H2977 → | 53 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַתּוֹעֵב֗וֹת | hatoevot | the abominations | H8441 → | 117 times |
| מִֽכָּל־ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאֲרָצוֹת֮ | haaratzot | the lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | [belonged] to [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַֽיַּעֲבֵ֗ד | vaiyaaved | and he made to serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֵ֤ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנִּמְצָא֙ | hanimtza' | <the> [one who] was found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לַעֲב֖וֹד | laavod | to serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יָמָ֕יו | yamav | days his | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| סָ֔רוּ | saru | they turned aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מֵֽאַחֲרֵ֕י | meacharei | from after | H310 → | 715 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ פ | ʾavoteihem | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיָּ֨סַרand he removed
vaiyasarH5493 →299 times
יֹֽאשִׁיָּ֜הוּJosiah
yoshiyahuH2977 →53 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַתּוֹעֵב֗וֹתthe abominations
hatoevotH8441 →117 times
מִֽכָּל־from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הָאֲרָצוֹת֮the lands
haaratzotH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לִבְנֵ֣י[belonged] to [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַֽיַּעֲבֵ֗דand he made to serve
vaiyaavedH5647 →288 times
אֵ֤ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנִּמְצָא֙<the> [one who] was found
hanimtza'H4672 →455 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
לַעֲב֖וֹדto serve
laavodH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יָמָ֕יוdays his
yamavH3117 →2304 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
סָ֔רוּthey turned aside
saruH5493 →299 times
מֵֽאַחֲרֵ֕יfrom after
meachareiH310 →715 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ פancestors their
ʾavoteihemH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 6:4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
it leads to
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Hosea 11:8
How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within…
- Psalms 78:34–37
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Psalms 106:12–13
Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.
- Hosea 13:3
Through
Jeremiah 3:10Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Hosea 7:14
They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.
- Jeremiah 12:2
You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
- Hosea 7:14
Through
Joshua 24:31Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.
it leads to
- Judges 2:7
And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel.
- Deuteronomy 31:13
Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to…
- Judges 2:7
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Chronicles

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
