2 Kings 23:26

26 But despite Josiah, God's hot anger did not cool; the raging anger ignited by Manasseh burned unchecked.

2 Kings 23:26 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:26

Notwithstanding, the Lord turned not from the fierceness of
his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah
Notwithstanding the great reformation wrought among them; for though Josiah was a sincere reformer, and did what he did heartily, as to the Lord, according to his will, and for his glory; yet the people were not sincere in their compliance, they turned to the Lord not with their whole heart, but feignedly, ( Jeremiah 3:10 )

because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal;
by shedding innocent blood and committing idolatry, which the people consented to and approved of, and even now privately committed idolatry, as the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zephaniah show; and it may easily be concluded that their hearts were after their idols, by their openly returning to them in the days of the sons of Josiah.

2 Kings 23:26 In-Context

24 Josiah scrubbed the place clean and trashed spirit-mediums, sorcerers, domestic gods, and carved figures - all the vast accumulation of foul and obscene relics and images on display everywhere you looked in Judah and Jerusalem. Josiah did this in obedience to the words of God's Revelation written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in The Temple of God.
25 There was no king to compare with Josiah - neither before nor after - a king who turned in total and repentant obedience to God, heart and mind and strength, following the instructions revealed to and written by Moses. The world would never again see a king like Josiah.
26 But despite Josiah, God's hot anger did not cool; the raging anger ignited by Manasseh burned unchecked.
27 And God, not swerving in his judgment, gave sentence: "I'll remove Judah from my presence in the same way I removed Israel. I'll turn my back on this city, Jerusalem, that I chose, and even from this Temple of which I said, 'My Name lives here.'"
28 The rest of the life and times of Josiah is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.