2 Kings 23:1-3

Covenant Renewal

1 So the king sent [messengers], and they gathered to him all the elders of Jerusalem and Judah.

2 Then the king went to the Lord's temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets-all the people from the youngest to the oldest. As they listened, he read all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord's temple.

3 Next, the king stood by the pillar^[a] and made a covenant in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments, His decrees, and His statutes with all his mind and with all his heart,^[b] and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to^[c] the covenant.^[d]

2 Kings 23:1-3 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. 2 Ch 34:31 reads platform
• [b]. Dt 6:4-6
• [c]. Lit people took a stand in
• [d]. Ex 24:3-8; Jos 24:14-28; 2 Ch 34:29-32