2 Kings 23:3

3 The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all [his] heart, and all [his] soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant.

2 Kings 23:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:3

And the king stood by a pillar
As the manner of kings was, ( 2 Kings 11:14 ) and is thought to be the brasen scaffold erected by Solomon, on which he stood at the dedication of the temple, and now Josiah at the reading of the law, ( 2 Chronicles 6:13 ) , it is said to be his place, ( 2 Chronicles 34:31 ) , (See Gill on 2 Kings 11:14)

and made a covenant before the Lord:
agreed and promised in the presence of God, both he and his people:

to walk after the Lord:
the worship of the Lord, as the Targum; closely to attend to that:

and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes:
all the laws of God, moral, civil, and ceremonial:

with all their heart, and all their soul:
cordially and sincerely:

to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book:
lately found, and now read unto them:

and all the people stood to the covenant:
agreed to it, and promised to keep it; so the Targum,

``all the people took upon them the covenant,''

engaged to observe it.

2 Kings 23:3 In-Context

1 The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2 The king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh.

3 The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all [his] heart, and all [his] soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant.

4 The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel

5 He put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of the sky.