2 Kings 22:20
in 2 Kings 22‘Therefore I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
KJV
Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
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This verse in 2 Kings 22
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace - During thy life none of these calamities shall fall upon the people, and no adversary shall be permitted to disturb the peace of Judea, and thou shalt die in peace with God. But was Josiah gathered to the grave in peace? Is it not said, 2Ki 23:29, that Pharaoh-nechoh slew him at Megiddo?
This site's exposition
As touching the words which thou hast heard
on 2 Kings 22:18-20
The oracle's second half turns and addresses Josiah by his own act rather than his nation's: because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord. He is promised that he shall be gathered into thy grave in peace and that his eyes shall not see the evil coming on the place, a peace that sits beside 23:29's plain report that Pharaoh-nechoh killed him in battle at Megiddo. The bench reads peace of the time rather than the manner of death, before the Babylonian captivity that dwarfed every earlier trouble, not a peaceful deathbed, and both the promise and the battle report stand as written.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
How do we say that they have been advised who have died before the coming of the evils that followed their death, if after death they perceive whatever misfortunes befall the human life? Or is it that we are mistaken when we imagine that they are at rest when the restless life of the living concerns them? What is this, then, that God promised to the most devout king, Josiah, for a great reward, telling him that he would soon die in order that he might not see the evils that he was threatening to send on that place and that people? The words of God are these: "Thus says the Lord the God of Israel: My words, which you have heard and which you feared from my mouth when you heard what I said about this place and those who dwell in it, that it be forsaken and become a curse, and you rent your garments and wept in my sight, shall not come to pass, says the Lord of hosts. Behold I shall bring you to your fathers, and you shall be brought with peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evils that I bring upon this place and those who dwell in it." And Josiah, alarmed at the dire threats of God, wept and tore his garments and then was made secure by an early death from all future ills, because he would so rest in peace that he would not see those evils. The souls of the dead, then, are in a place where they do not see the things that go on and transpire in this mortal life. How, then, do they see their own graves or their own bodies, whether they are buried or lie exposed? How do they take part in the misery of the living, when either they are suffering their own evil deserts, if such they have merited, or they rest in peace, such as was promised to this Josiah? […]
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
This is promised to Josiah here: Thou shalt go to thy grave in peace, which refers not to the manner of his death (for he was killed in a battle), but to the time of it; it was a little before the captivity in Babylon, that great trouble, in comparison with which the rest were as nothing, so that he might be truly said to die in peace that did not live to share in that.
7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully. 8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v7-8
In peace - That is, in a time of public peace: for otherwise he died in battle. Besides, he died in peace with God, and was by death translated to everlasting peace.
Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But at the same time the king was consoled with an assurance that this season of punishment and sorrow should not be during his lifetime, on account of the faith, penitence, and pious zeal for the divine glory and worship which, in his public capacity and with his royal influence, he had displayed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In peace - The death of Josiah in battle 2Ki 23:29 is in verbal contradiction to this prophecy, but not in real opposition to its spirit, which is simply that the pious prince who has sent to inquire of the Lord, shall be gathered to his fathers before the troubles come upon the land which are to result in her utter desolation. Now those troubles were to come, not from Egypt, but from Babylon; and their commencement was not the invasion of Necho in 608 B.C., but that of Nebuchadnezzar three years later. Thus was Josiah “taken away from the evil to come,” and died “in peace” before his city had suffered attack from the really formidable enemy.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵן֩ | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֹֽסִפְךָ֜ | ʾosifkha | [will] gather you | H622 → | 200 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲבֹתֶ֗יךָ | ʾavoteikha | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְנֶאֱסַפְתָּ֣ | veneesafta | and you will be gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קִבְרֹתֶיךָ֮ | kivroteicha | grave<s> your | H6913 → | 67 times |
| בְּשָׁלוֹם֒ | beshalom | in peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִרְאֶ֣ינָה | tireinah | they will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| עֵינֶ֔יךָ | ʾeineikha | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| בְּכֹל֙ | bekhol | on all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָֽרָעָ֔ה | haraah | the distress | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מֵבִ֖יא | mevi' | [will] bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמָּק֣וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וַיָּשִׁ֥יבוּ | vaiyashivu | and they brought back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| דָּבָֽר׃ | davar | word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
לָכֵן֩<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
אֹֽסִפְךָ֜[will] gather you
ʾosifkhaH622 →200 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אֲבֹתֶ֗יךָancestors your
ʾavoteikhaH1 →1212 times
וְנֶאֱסַפְתָּ֣and you will be gathered
veneesaftaH622 →200 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
קִבְרֹתֶיךָ֮grave<s> your
kivroteichaH6913 →67 times
בְּשָׁלוֹם֒in peace
beshalomH7965 →236 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִרְאֶ֣ינָהthey will look
tireinahH7200 →1300 times
עֵינֶ֔יךָeyes your
ʾeineikhaH5869 →887 times
בְּכֹל֙on all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
הָֽרָעָ֔הthe distress
haraahH7451 →662 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מֵבִ֖יא[will] bring
mevi'H935 →2568 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמָּק֣וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וַיָּשִׁ֥יבוּand they brought back
vaiyashivuH7725 →1056 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
דָּבָֽר׃word
davarH1697 →1440 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
Genesis 25:8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 29:28
He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 35:28–29
And Isaac lived 180 years.
- Genesis 15:15
You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
- Genesis 49:33
When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
- Genesis 47:8–9
“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
- 1 Chronicles 29:28
Through
Psalms 37:37Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
it leads to
- Isaiah 32:17
The work of righteousness will be peace; the service of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.
- Isaiah 57:1–2
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
- 2 Timothy 4:6–8
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
- Isaiah 32:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, On the Care of the Dead 13.16; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.