II Kings Chapter 23
Other Translations
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
2
And the king went up into the house of Jehovah, 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 had been found in the house of Jehovah.
3
And the king stood on the dais, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all [his] heart, and with all [his] soul, to establish the words of this covenant that are written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
4
And the king commanded Hilkijah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that had been made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
5
And he abolished the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah, and the environs of Jerusalem; and them that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
6
And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah, outside Jerusalem, to the torrent of Kidron, and burned it at the torrent of Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder upon the graves of the children of the people.
7
And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, which were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove tents for the Asherah.
8
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 even to Beer-sheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates, those at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, [and] those on the left hand of any [going in] at the gate of the city.
9
Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they ate of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
10
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might cause his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
11
And he abolished the horses that the kings of Judah had appointed to the sun at the entrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun, with fire.
12
And the king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, and he shattered them, [removing them] from thence, and cast the powder of them into the torrent of Kidron.
13
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 built 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.
14
And he broke in pieces the columns, and cut down the Asherahs, and filled their place with the bones of men.
15
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and burned the high place, stamped it small to powder, and burned the Asherah.
16
And Josiah turned himself, and saw the sepulchres that were there on the mount; and he sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned [them] upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah, that the man ofGod had proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
17
Then he said, What tombstone is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man ofGod who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
18
And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. And they saved his bones, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.
19
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 [Jehovah] to anger, Josiah removed, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
20
And he sacrificed upon the altars all the priests of the high places that were there, and burned men's bones upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem.
21
And the king commanded all the people saying, Hold the passover to Jehovah yourGod, as it is written in this book of the covenant.
22
For 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;
23
but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this passover holden to Jehovah in Jerusalem.
24
Moreover the necromancers and the soothsayers, and the teraphim and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah took away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkijah the priest had found in the house of Jehovah.
25
And before him there had been no king like him that turned to Jehovah 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 his like.
26
But Jehovah turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.
27
And Jehovah said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will reject this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
28
And 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
In his days Pharaoh-Nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates; and king Josiah went against him; but [Nechoh] slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
30
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.
31
Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
32
And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.
33
And Pharaoh-Nechoh had him bound at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and laid a tribute upon the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
34
And Pharaoh-Nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king instead of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And he took Jehoahaz; and he came to Egypt, and died there.
35
And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he laid a proportional tax on 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, of every one according to his estimation, to give it to Pharaoh-Nechoh.
36
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Zebuddah, daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
37
And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
1
Et renunciaverunt regi quod dixerat. Qui misit: et congregati sunt ad eum omnes senes Iuda et Ierusalem.
2
Ascenditque rex templum Domini, et omnes viri Iuda, universique qui habitabant in Ierusalem cum eo sacerdotes et prophetæ, et omnis populus a parvo usque ad magnum: legitque cunctis audientibus omnia verba libri fœderis, qui inventus est in domo Domini.
3
Stetitque rex super gradum: et fœdus percussit coram Domino, ut ambularent post Dominum, et custodirent præcepta eius, et testimonia, et ceremonias in omni corde, et in tota anima, et suscitarent verba fœderis huius, quæ scripta erant in libro illo: acquievitque populus pacto.
4
Et præcepit rex Helciæ pontifici, et sacerdotibus secundi ordinis, et ianitoribus, ut proiicerent de templo Domini omnia vasa, quæ facta fuerant Baal, et in luco, et universæ militiæ cæli: et combussit ea foris Ierusalem in Convalle cedron, et tulit pulverem eorum in Bethel.
5
Et delevit aruspices, quos posuerant reges Iuda ad sacrificandum in excelsis per civitates Iuda, et in circuitu Ierusalem: et eos, qui adolebant incensum Baal, et Soli, et Lunæ, et duodecim signis, et omni militiæ cæli.
6
Et efferri fecit lucum de domo Domini foras Ierusalem in Convalle cedron, et combussit eum ibi, et redegit in pulverem, et proiecit super sepulchra vulgi.
7
Destruxit quoque ædiculas effeminatorum, quæ erant in domo Domini, pro quibus mulieres texebant quasi domunculas luci.
8
Congregavitque omnes sacerdotes de civitatibus Iuda: et contaminavit excelsa, ubi sacrificabant sacerdotes de Gabaa usque Bersabee: et destruxit aras portarum in introitu ostii Iosue principis civitatis, quod erat ad sinistram portæ civitatis.
9
Verumtamen non ascendebant sacerdotes excelsorum ad altare Domini in Ierusalem: sed tantum comedebant azyma in medio fratrum suorum.
10
Contaminavit quoque Topheth, quod est in Convalle filii Ennom: ut nemo consecraret filium suum aut filiam per ignem, Moloch.
11
Abstulit quoque equos, quos dederant reges Iuda, Soli, in introitu templi Domini iuxta exedram Nathanmelech eunuchi, qui erat in Pharurim: currus autem Solis combussit igni.
12
Altaria quoque, quæ erant super tecta cœnaculi Achaz, quæ fecerant reges Iuda, et altaria quæ fecerat Manasses in duobus atriis templi Domini, destruxit rex: et cucurrit inde, et dispersit cinerem eorum in Torrentem cedron.
13
Excelsa quoque, quæ erant in Ierusalem ad dexteram partem Montis offensionis, quæ ædificaverat Salomon rex Israel Astaroth idolo Sidoniorum, et Chamos offensioni Moab, et Melchom abominationi filiorum Ammon, polluit rex.
14
Et contrivit statuas, et succidit lucos: replevitque loca eorum ossibus mortuorum.
15
Insuper et altare, quod erat in Bethel, et excelsum, quod fecerat Ieroboam filius Nabat, qui peccare fecit Israel: et altare illud, et excelsum destruxit, atque combussit, et comminuit in pulverem, succenditque etiam lucum.
16
Et conversus Iosias, vidit ibi sepulchra, quæ erant in monte: misitque et tulit ossa de sepulchris, et combussit ea super altare, et polluit illud iuxta verbum Domini, quod locutus est vir Dei, qui prædixerat verba hæc.
17
Et ait: Quis est titulus ille, quem video? Responderuntque ei cives urbis illius: Sepulchrum est hominis Dei, qui venit de Iuda, et prædixit verba hæc, quæ fecisti super altare Bethel.
18
Et ait: Dimitte eum, nemo commoveat ossa eius. Et intacta manserunt ossa illius cum ossibus prophetæ, qui venerat de Samaria.
19
Insuper et omnia fana excelsorum, quæ erant in civitatibus Samariæ, quæ fecerant reges Israel ad irritandum Dominum, abstulit Iosias: et fecit eis secundum omnia opera, quæ fecerat in Bethel.
20
Et occidit universos sacerdotes excelsorum, qui erant ibi super altaria: et combussit ossa humana super ea: reversusque est Ierusalem.
21
Et præcepit omni populo, dicens: Facite Phase Domino Deo vestro, secundum quod scriptum est in libro fœderis huius.
22
Nec enim factum est Phase tale a diebus iudicum, qui iudicaverunt Israel, et omnium dierum regum Israel, et regum Iuda,
23
sicut in octavo decimo anno regis Iosiæ factum est Phase istud Domino in Ierusalem.
24
Sed et pythones, et ariolos, et figuras idolorum, et immunditias, et abominationes, quæ fuerant in terra Iuda et Ierusalem, abstulit Iosias: ut statueret verba legis, quæ scipta sunt in Libro, quem invenit Helcias sacerdos in templo Domini.
25
Similis illi non fuit ante eum rex, qui reverteretur ad Dominum in omni corde suo, et in tota anima sua, et in universa virtute sua iuxta omnem legem Moysi: neque post eum surrexit similis illi.
26
Verumtamen non est aversus Dominus ab ira furoris sui magni, quo iratus est furor eius contra Iudam: propter irritationes, quibus provocaverat eum Manasses.
27
Dixit itaque Dominus: Etiam Iudam auferam a facie mea, sicut abstuli Israel: et proiiciam civitatem hanc, quam elegi Ierusalem, et domum, de qua dixi: Erit nomen meum ibi.
28
Reliqua autem sermonum Iosiæ, et universa quæ fecit, nonne hæc scripta sunt in Libro verborum dierum regum Iuda?
29
In diebus eius ascendit Pharao Nechao rex Ægypti, contra regem Assyriorum ad flumen Euphraten: et abiit Iosias rex in occursum eius: et occisus est in Mageddo, cum vidisset eum.
30
Et portaverunt eum servi sui mortuum de Mageddo: et pertulerunt in Ierusalem, et sepelierunt eum in sepulchro suo. Tulitque populus terræ Ioachaz filium Iosiæ: et unxerunt eum, et constituerunt eum regem pro patre suo.
31
Viginti trium annorum erat Ioachaz cum regnare cœpisset, et tribus mensibus regnavit in Ierusalem: nomen matris eius Amital, filia Ieremiæ, de Lobna.
32
Et fecit malum coram Domino, iuxta omnia quæ fecerant patres eius.
33
Vinxitque eum Pharao Nechao in Rebla, quæ est in terra Emath, ne regnaret in Ierusalem: et imposuit mulctam terræ centum talentis argenti, et talento auri.
34
Regemque constituit Pharao Nechao Eliacim filium Iosiæ pro Iosia patre eius: vertitque nomen eius Ioakim. porro Ioachaz tulit, et duxit in Ægyptum, et mortuus est ibi.
35
Argentum autem, et aurum dedit Ioakim Pharaoni cum indixisset terræ per singulos, ut conferretur iuxta præceptum Pharaonis: et unumquemque iuxta vires suas exegit, tam argentum quam aurum de populo terræ: ut daret Pharaoni Nechao.
36
Vigintiquinque annorum erat Ioakim cum regnare cœpisset: et undecim annis regnavit in Ierusalem: nomen matris eius Zebida filia Phadaia de Ruma.
37
Et fecit malum coram Domino iuxta omnia, quæ fecerant patres eius.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
1
And the king sendeth, and they gather unto him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem,
2
and the king goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and every man of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, from small unto great, and he readeth in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that is found in the house of Jehovah.
3
And the king standeth by the pillar, and maketh the covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep His commands, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all the heart, and with all the soul, to establish the words of this covenant that are written on this book, and all the people stand in the covenant.
4
And the king commandeth Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out from the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that are made for Baal, and for the shrine, and for all the host of the heavens, and he burneth them at the outside of Jerusalem, in the fields of Kidron, and hath borne their ashes to Beth-El.
5
And he hath caused to cease the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah have appointed, (and they make perfume in high places, in cities of Judah and suburbs of Jerusalem,) and those making perfume to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of the heavens.
6
And he bringeth out the shrine from the house of Jehovah to the outside of Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burneth it at the brook Kidron, and beateth it small to dust, and casteth its dust on the grave of the sons of the people.
7
And he breaketh down the houses of the whoremongers that <FI>are<Fi> in the house of Jehovah, where the women are weaving houses for the shrine.
8
And he bringeth in all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defileth the high places where the priests have made perfume, from Geba unto Beer-Sheba, and hath broken down the high places of the gates that <FI>are<Fi> at the opening of the gate of Joshua, head of the city, that <FI>is<Fi> on a man's left hand at the gate of the city;
9
only, the priests of the high places come not up unto the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they have eaten unleavened things in the midst of their brethren.
10
And he hath defiled Topheth, that <FI>is<Fi> in the valley of the son of Hinnom, so that no man doth cause his son and his daughter to pass over through fire to Molech.
11
And he causeth to cease the horses that the kings of Judah have given to the sun from the entering in of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, that <FI>is<Fi> in the suburbs, and the chariots of the sun he hath burnt with fire.
12
And the altars that <FI>are<Fi> on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, that the kings of Judah made, and the altars that Manasseh made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, hath the king broken down, and removeth thence, and hath cast their dust unto the brook Kidron.
13
And the high places that <FI>are<Fi> on the front of Jerusalem, that <FI>are<Fi> on the right of the mount of corruption, that Solomon king of Israel had built to Ashtoreth abomination of the Zidonians, and Chemosh abomination of Moab, and to Milcom abomination of the sons of Ammon, hath the king defiled.
14
And he hath broken in pieces the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines, and filleth their place with bones of men;
15
and also the altar that <FI>is<Fi> in Beth-El, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat made, by which he made Israel sin, both that altar and the high place he hath broken down, and doth burn the high place--he hath beat it small to dust, and hath burnt the shrine.
16
And Josiah turneth, and seeth the graves that <FI>are<Fi> there in the mount, and sendeth and taketh the bones out of the graves, and burneth <FI>them<Fi> on the altar, and defileth it, according to the word of Jehovah that the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
17
And he saith, `What <FI>is<Fi> this sign that I see?' and the men of the city say unto him, `The grave of the man of God who hath come from Judah, and proclaimeth these things that thou hast done concerning the altar of Beth-El.'
18
And he saith, `Let him alone, let no man touch his bones;' and they let his bones escape, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.
19
And also all the houses of the high places that <FI>are<Fi> in the cities of Samaria, that the kings of Israel made to provoke to anger, hath Josiah turned aside, and doth to them according to all the deeds that he did in Beth-El.
20
And he slayeth all the priests of the high places who <FI>are<Fi> there by the altars, and burneth the bones of man upon them, and turneth back to Jerusalem.
21
And the king commandeth the whole of the people, saying, `Make ye a passover to Jehovah your God, as it is written on this book of the covenant.'
22
Surely there hath not been made like this passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, even all the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Judah;
23
but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, hath this passover been made to Jehovah in Jerusalem.
24
And also, those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah, and in Jerusalem, hath Josiah put away, in order to establish the words of the law that are written on the book that Hilkiah the priest hath found in the house of Jehovah.
25
And like him there hath not been before him a king who turned back unto Jehovah with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses, and after him there hath none risen like him.
26
Only, Jehovah hath not turned back from the fierceness of His great anger with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh provoked him,
27
and Jehovah saith, `Also Judah I turn aside from my presence, as I turned Israel aside, and I have rejected this city that I have chosen--Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name is there.'
28
And the rest of the matters of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
29
In his days hath Pharaoh-Nechoh king of Egypt come up against the king of Asshur, by the river Phrat, and king Josiah goeth out to meet him, and he putteth him to death in Megiddo, when he seeth him.
30
And his servants cause him to ride dying from Megiddo, and bring him in to Jerusalem, and bury him in his own grave, and the people of the land take Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and anoint him, and cause him to reign instead of his father.
31
A son of twenty and three years <FI>is<Fi> Jehoahaz in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother <FI>is<Fi> Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah,
32
and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers did,
33
and Pharaoh-Nechoh bindeth him in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, from reigning in Jerusalem, and he putteth a fine on the land--a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.
34
And Pharaoh-Nechoh causeth Eliakim son of Josiah to reign instead of Josiah his father, and turneth his name to Jehoiakim, and Jehoahaz he hath taken away, and he cometh in to Egypt, and dieth there.
35
And the silver and the gold hath Jehoiakim given to Pharaoh; only he valued the land to give the silver by the command of Pharaoh; from each, according to his valuation, he exacted the silver and the gold, from the people of the land, to give to Pharaoh-Nechoh.
36
A son of twenty and five years <FI>is<Fi> Jehoiakim in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother <FI>is<Fi> Zebudah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah,
37
and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers did.
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).