2 Kings 23:23

23 King Josiah celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. It was in the 18th year of his rule.

2 Kings 23:23 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:23

But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this
passover was holden to the Lord in Jerusalem.
] This shows that Josiah must begin the reformation very early that year, since he did all that is before recorded in this and the preceding chapter by the fourteenth of Nisan, the day on which the passover was kept, which month answers to part of our March and part of April, see ( 2 Kings 22:3 ) and was the same year the repairs of the temple were finished.

2 Kings 23:23 In-Context

21 The king gave an order to all of the people. He said, "Celebrate the Passover Feast to honor the LORD your God. Do what is written in this Scroll of the Covenant.

22 A Passover Feast like that one had not been held for a long time. There hadn't been any like it since the days of the judges who led Israel. And there hadn't been any like it during the whole time the kings of Israel and Judah were ruling.

23 King Josiah celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. It was in the 18th year of his rule.

24 And that's not all. Josiah got rid of those who got messages from people who had died. He got rid of those who talked to the spirits of the dead. He got rid of the statues of family gods and the statues of other gods. He got rid of everything else the LORD hates that was in Judah and Jerusalem. He did it to carry out what the law required. That law was written in the scroll the priest Hilkiah had found in the LORD's temple.

25 There was no king like Josiah either before him or after him. None of them turned to the LORD as he did. He followed the LORD with all his heart and all his soul. He followed him with all his strength. He did everything the Law of Moses required.