2 Kings 23:21

21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”

2 Kings 23:21 in Other Translations

KJV
21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.
ESV
21 And the king commanded all the people, "Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.
NLT
21 King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.”
MSG
21 The king now commanded the people, "Celebrate the Passover to God, your God, exactly as directed in this Book of the Covenant.
CSB
21 The king commanded all the people, "Keep the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant."

2 Kings 23:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:21

And the king commanded all the people
Not at Jerusalem only, but throughout the whole kingdom: saying,

keep the passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in this book
of the covenant;
which had been lately found and read, and they had agreed to observe, and in which this ordinance was strictly enjoined, and was a commemoration of their deliverance out of Egypt, and a direction of their faith to the Messiah, the antitype of the passover.

2 Kings 23:21 In-Context

19 Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the LORD’s anger.
20 Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”
22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed.
23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Exodus 12:11; Numbers 9:2; Deuteronomy 16:1-8
  • 2. S Exodus 24:7
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