2 Kings 23:25-35

25 ¹Before him there was no king like him, who turned 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 arise after him.

26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, ²because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.

27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, ³as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, ⁴and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. ”

Josiah’s Death in Battle

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 ⁵In his days ⁶Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at ⁷Megiddo, as soon as he saw him.

30 ⁸And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from ⁹Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. ¹⁰And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.

Jehoahaz’s Reign and Captivity

31 ¹¹Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ¹²Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ¹³according to all that his fathers had done.

33 And ¹⁴Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at ¹⁵Riblah in the land of ¹⁶Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents^[a] of silver and a talent of gold.

34 And ¹⁷Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and ¹⁸changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, ¹⁹and he came to Egypt and died there.

35 And Jehoiakim ²⁰gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

2 Kings 23:25-35 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 23

This chapter treats of Josiah's reading the book of the law, and of him and the people renewing the covenant with God, 2Ki 23:1-3, and of his removing idols and idolatry in every shape, and witchcraft, out of the land, which he did in the sincerity of his heart, 2Ki 23:4-25, yet the wrath of God was still determined upon the land, 2Ki 23:26-28 and Josiah was taken away by an untimely death, 2Ki 23:29,30 and was succeeded by two sons of his, one after another, whose reigns were wicked, 2Ki 23:31-37.

Cross References

• 1. 23:25 [ch. 18:5]
• 2. 23:26 ch. 21:11; 24:3, 4; Jer. 15:4
• 3. 23:27 ch. 17:18, 20; 18:11; 21:13
• 4. 23:27 See ch. 21:4
• 5. 23:29 For ver. 29, 30, see 2 Chr. 35:20-24
• 6. 23:29 Jer. 46:2
• 7. 23:29 [Judg. 5:19; Zech. 12:11]
• 8. 23:30 [ch. 9:28]
• 9. 23:30 [See ver. 29 above]
• 10. 23:30 For ver. 30-34, see 2 Chr. 36:1-4
• 11. 23:31 [1 Chr. 3:15; Jer. 22:11]
• 12. 23:31 ch. 24:18
• 13. 23:32 [ch. 24:9, 19]
• 14. 23:33 [See ver. 29 above]
• 15. 23:33 ch. 25:6, 20, 21; Jer. 39:5, 6; 52:9, 10, 26, 27
• 16. 23:33 See 1 Kgs. 8:65
• 17. 23:34 [See ver. 29 above]
• 18. 23:34 [ch. 24:17; Dan. 1:7]
• 19. 23:34 Jer. 22:11, 12; [Ezek. 19:3, 4]
• 20. 23:35 ver. 33

Footnotes

• [a] 23:33 A 'talent' was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms