And the king sent
, and they gathered
unto him all the elders
of Judah
and of Jerusalem
.
And the king went up
into the house
of the LORD
, 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 the LORD
.
And the king stood
by a pillar
, and made
a covenant
before
the LORD
, to walk
after
the LORD
, and to keep
his commandments
and his testimonies
and his statutes
with all their heart
and all their soul
, to perform
the words
of this covenant
that were written
in this book
. And all the people
stood
to the covenant
.
And the king commanded
Hilkiah
the high
priest
, and the priests
of the second order
, and the keepers
of the door
, to bring forth
out of the temple
of the LORD
all the vessels
that were made
for Baal
, and for the grove
, and for all the host
of heaven
: and he burned
them without
Jerusalem
in the fields
of Kidron
, and carried
the ashes
of them unto Bethel
.
And 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
; them also that burned incense
unto Baal
, to the sun
, and to the moon
, and to the planets
, and to all the host
of heaven
.
And he brought out the grove
from the house
of the LORD
, without
Jerusalem
, unto the brook
Kidron
, and burned
it at the brook
Kidron
, and stamped it small
to powder
, and cast
the powder
thereof upon the graves
of the children
of the people
.
And he brake down the houses
of the sodomites
, that were by the house
of the LORD
, where the women
wove
hangings
for the grove
.
And he brought all the priests
out of the cities
of Judah
, and defiled
the high places
where the priests
had burned incense
, from Geba
to Beersheba
, and brake down
the high places
of the gates
that were in the entering in
of the gate
of Joshua
the governor
of the city
, which were on a man's
left hand
at the gate
of the city
.
Nevertheless the priests of the high places
came not up
to the altar
of the LORD
in Jerusalem
, but they did eat
of the unleavened bread
among
their brethren
.
And he defiled Topheth
, which is in the valley
of the children
of Hinnom
, that no man
might make his son
or his daughter
to pass through
the fire
to Molech
.
And he took away the horses
that the kings
of Judah
had given
to the sun
, at the entering in
of the house
of the LORD
, by the chamber
of Nathanmelech
the chamberlain
, which was in the suburbs
, and burned
the chariots
of the sun
with fire
.
And the altars that were on the top
of the upper chamber
of Ahaz
, which the kings
of Judah
had made
, and the altars
which Manasseh
had made
in the two
courts
of the house
of the LORD
, did the king
beat down
, and brake them down
from thence, and cast
the dust
of them into the brook
Kidron
.
And the high places that were before
Jerusalem
, which were on the right hand
of the mount
of corruption
, which Solomon
the king
of Israel
had builded
for Ashtoreth
the abomination
of the Zidonians
, and for Chemosh
the abomination
of the Moabites
, and for Milcom
the abomination
of the children
of Ammon
, did the king
defile
.
And he brake in pieces the images
, and cut down
the groves
, and filled
their places
with the bones
of men
.
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel
, and the high place
which Jeroboam
the son
of Nebat
, who made Israel
to sin
, had made
, both that altar
and the high place
he brake down
, and burned
the high place
, and stamped
it small to powder
, and burned
the grove
.
And as Josiah turned
himself, he spied
the sepulchres
that were there in the mount
, and sent
, and took
the bones
out of the sepulchres
, and burned
them upon the altar
, and polluted
it, according to the word
of the LORD
which the man
of God
proclaimed
, who proclaimed
these words
.
Then he said, What title
is that
that I see
? And the men
of the city
told
him, It is the sepulchre
of the man
of God
, which came
from Judah
, and proclaimed
these things
that thou hast done
against the altar
of Bethel
.
And he said, Let him alone
; let no man
move
his bones
. So they let his bones
alone
, with the bones
of the prophet
that came out
of Samaria
.
And all the houses also of the high places
that were in the cities
of Samaria
, which the kings
of Israel
had made
to provoke the LORD to anger
, Josiah
took away
, and did
to them according to all the acts
that he had done
in Bethel
.
And he slew all the priests
of the high places
that were there upon the altars
, and burned
men's
bones
upon them, and returned
to Jerusalem
.
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
.
Surely there was not holden such a passover
from the days
of the judges
that judged
Israel
, nor in all the days
of the kings
of Israel
, nor of the kings
of Judah
;
But in the eighteenth year
of king
Josiah
, wherein this passover
was holden
to the LORD
in Jerusalem
.
Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards
, and the images
, and the idols
, and all the abominations
that were spied
in the land
of Judah
and in Jerusalem
, did Josiah
put away
, that he might perform
the words
of the law
which were written
in the book
that Hilkiah
the priest
found
in the house
of the LORD
.
And like unto him was there no king before
him, that 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
; neither after
him arose
there any like him.
Notwithstanding the LORD turned
not from the fierceness
of his great
wrath
, wherewith his anger
was kindled
against Judah
, because of all the provocations
that Manasseh
had provoked
him withal.
And the LORD said
, I will remove
Judah
also out of my sight
, as I have removed
Israel
, and will cast off
this city
Jerusalem
which I have chosen
, and the house
of which I said
, My name
shall be there.
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
?
In his days Pharaohnechoh
king
of Egypt
went up
against the king
of Assyria
to the river
Euphrates
: and king
Josiah
went
against
him; and he slew
him at Megiddo
, when he had seen
him.
And his servants carried him in a chariot
dead
from Megiddo
, and brought
him to Jerusalem
, and buried
him in his own sepulchre
. And the people
of the land
took
Jehoahaz
the son
of Josiah
, and anointed
him, and made him king
in his father's
stead.
Jehoahaz was twenty
and three
years
old
when he began to reign
; and he reigned
three
months
in Jerusalem
. And his mother's
name
was Hamutal
, the daughter
of Jeremiah
of Libnah
.
And he did that which was evil
in the sight
of the LORD
, according to all that his fathers
had done
.
And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands
at Riblah
in the land
of Hamath
, that he might not reign
in Jerusalem
; and put
the land
to a tribute
of an hundred
talents
of silver
, and a talent
of gold
.
And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim
the son
of Josiah
king
in the room of Josiah
his father
, and turned
his name
to Jehoiakim
, and took
Jehoahaz
away
: and he came
to Egypt
, and died
there.
And Jehoiakim gave
the silver
and the gold
to Pharaoh
; but he taxed
the land
to give
the money
according to the commandment
of Pharaoh
: he exacted
the silver
and the gold
of the people
of the land
, of every one
according to his taxation
, to give
it unto Pharaohnechoh
.
Jehoiakim was twenty
and five
years
old
when he began to reign
; and he reigned
eleven
years
in Jerusalem
. And his mother's
name
was Zebudah
, the daughter
of Pedaiah
of Rumah
.
And he did that which was evil
in the sight
of the LORD
, according to all that his fathers
had done
.