11Then the kingsent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
2
The kingwent up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, bothsmall and great; and 2he read in their hearingall the words of the book of the covenant3which was found in the house of the LORD.
3
4The kingstood by the pillar and made a covenantbefore the LORD, 5to walkafter the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of thiscovenant that were written in thisbook. And all the peopleentered into the covenant.
Reforms under Josiah
4 Then the kingcommandedHilkiah the highpriest and 6the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, 7to bring out of the temple of the LORDall the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and 8he burned them outside*Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel
5
He didaway with the idolatrouspriestswhom the kings of Judah had appointed to burnincense in the highplaces in the cities of Judah and in the surroundingarea of Jerusalem, also those who burnedincense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the 9host of heaven.
6
He brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORDoutside*Jerusalem to the brookKidron, and burned it at the brookKidron, and 10ground it to dust, and 11threw its dust on the graves of the commonpeople.
7
He also brokedown the houses of the 12male cultprostituteswhich were in the house of the LORD, where*13the women were weavinghangings for the Asherah.
8
Then he broughtall the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the highplaceswhere* the priests had burnedincense, from 14Geba to Beersheba; and he brokedown the highplaces of the gateswhich were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one'sleft at the citygate.
9
Nevertheless15the priests of the highplaces did not go up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ateunleavenedbreadamong their brothers.
10
16He also defiledTopheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, 17that noman might make his son or his daughterpass through the fire for 18Molech.
11
He didaway with the horseswhich the kings of Judah had given to the 19sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12
20The altarswhich were on the roof, the upperchamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and 21the altarswhichManasseh had made in the twocourts of the house of the LORD, the kingbrokedown; and he smashed them there and 22threw their dust into the brookKidron.
13
The highplaceswhich were before*Jerusalem, which were on the right of 23the mount of destructionwhichSolomon the king of Israel had built for 24Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for 25Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the kingdefiled.
14
26He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cutdown the Asherim and 27filled their places with humanbones
15
Furthermore, 28the altar that was at Bethel and the 29highplacewhichJeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israelsin, had made, even that altar and the highplace he brokedown. Then he 30demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.
16
Now when Josiahturned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it 31according to the word of the LORDwhich the man of Godproclaimed, whoproclaimedthesethings.
17
Then he said, "What is thismonument that I see?" And the men of the citytold him, "32It is the grave of the man of Godwhocame from Judah and proclaimedthesethingswhich you have doneagainst the altar of Bethel."
18
He said, "Let him alone; let noonedisturb his bones." So they left his bonesundisturbed33with the bones of the prophetwhocame from Samaria.
19
Josiahalsoremovedall the houses of the highplaceswhich were 34in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had madeprovoking the LORD; and he did to them just* as he had done in Bethel
20
All the priests of the highplaceswho were there35he slaughtered on the altars and burnedhumanbones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.
Passover Reinstituted
21 Then the kingcommandedall the peoplesaying, "36Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God37as it is written in thisbook of the covenant.
22
38Surelysuch a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judgeswhojudgedIsrael, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah.
23
But in the eighteenth*year of KingJosiah, thisPassover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem.
24
Moreover, Josiahremoved39the mediums and the spiritists and the 40teraphim and 41the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, 42that he might confirm the words of the law which were written43in the book that Hilkiah the priestfound in the house of the LORD.
25
Before him there was noking44like him whoturned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him ariseafter him.
26
However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His greatwrath with which His angerburned against Judah, 45because of all the provocations with whichManasseh had provoked Him.
27
The LORDsaid, "I will removeJudahalso from My sight, 46as I have removedIsrael. And 47I will castoffJerusalem, thiscitywhich I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, 'My name shall be there.' "
Jehoahaz Succeeds Josiah
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles* of the Kings of Judah?
29
48In his days49PharaohNecoking of Egyptwent up to the king of Assyria to the riverEuphrates. And KingJosiahwent to meet him, and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at 50Megiddo.
30
51His servantsdrove his body in a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. 52Then the people of the landtookJehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.
31
53Jehoahaz was twenty-three*yearsold when he becameking, and he reignedthreemonths in Jerusalem; and his mother'sname was 54Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
32
He didevil in the sight of the LORD, 55according to all that his fathers had done.
33
56PharaohNecoimprisoned him at 57Riblah in the land of 58Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a fine of one hundredtalents of silver and a talent of gold.
Jehoiakim Made King by Pharaoh
34PharaohNecomade59Eliakim the son of Josiahking in the place of Josiah his father, and 60changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he tookJehoahaz away and 61brought him to Egypt, and he diedthere.
35
So Jehoiakim62gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land in order to give the money at the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, each according to his valuation, to give it to PharaohNeco.
36
63Jehoiakim was twenty-five*yearsold when he becameking, and he reignedeleven*years in Jerusalem; and his mother'sname was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah
37
He didevil in the sight of the LORD, 64according to all that his fathers had done.