Josiah's Reforms

2 Kings 23

1 w Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And x he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant y that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood z by the pillar and a made a covenant before the Lord, b to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests c of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for d Baal, for e Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. f He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations g and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out h the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, i and burned it at the brook Kidron j and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves k of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of l the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, m where the women wove hangings for h the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from n Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 o However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled p Topheth, which is q in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, r that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to s Molech. 1 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. 2 And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars t on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars u that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces 3 and cast the dust of them v into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of w the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for x Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for y Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for z Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the a pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.

15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected b by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, c who made Israel to sin, d that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, 4 reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, e according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, "What is that monument that I see?" And the men of the city told him, f "It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted 5 these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel." 18 And he said, "Let him be; let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones g of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were h in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And i he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, j and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

  1. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:1 - 3
    Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him.
    2 Chronicles 34:29 - 32
    Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
  2. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:11
    When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
  3. Cross References
    2 Kings 22:8
    And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
  4. Cross References
    2 Kings 11:14
    And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, "Treason! Treason!
  5. Cross References
    2 Kings 11:17
    And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord 's people, and also between the king and the people.
  6. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 13:4
    You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
  7. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:18
    And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold.
    Jeremiah 52:24
    And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold.
  8. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:3
    For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
  9. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 16:21
    You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make.
  10. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:15
    Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah.
  11. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:3
    For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
  12. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 16:21
    You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make.
  13. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:15
    Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah.
  14. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:15
    Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah.
    2 Chronicles 15:16
    Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.
  15. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 34:4
    And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
  16. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:24
    And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
    1 Kings 15:12
    He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
    Deuteronomy 23:17
    None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.
  17. Cross References
    Ezekiel 16:16
    You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.
  18. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:6
    And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.
  19. Cross References
    1 Kings 15:22
    Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
  20. Cross References
    Ezekiel 44:10 - 14
    But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 30:33
    For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
    Jeremiah 7:31 - 32
    And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
    Jeremiah 19:6
    Therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
    Jeremiah 19:11 - 14
    And shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury.
  22. Cross References
    Joshua 15:8
    Then the boundary goes up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite ( that is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.
  23. Cross References
    Leviticus 18:21
    You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
  24. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:7
    Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 19:13
    The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah - all the houses on whose roofs offerings have been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods - shall be defiled like the place of Topheth.'
    Jeremiah 32:29
    The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
    Zephaniah 1:5
    Those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom.
  26. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:5
    And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.
  27. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:4
    And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
    2 Kings 23:6
    And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.
  28. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:7
    Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
  29. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:5
    For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
  30. Cross References
    Numbers 21:29
    Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon.
  31. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:5
    For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
  32. Cross References
    Exodus 23:24
    You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.
  33. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:28 - 29
    So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
    1 Kings 12:33
    He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
  34. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:16
    And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.
  35. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:6
    And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.
  36. Cross References
    1 Kings 13:2
    And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the Lord : 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'
  37. Cross References
    1 Kings 13:1
    And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings.
    1 Kings 13:30
    And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!
  38. Cross References
    1 Kings 13:11
    Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king.
    1 Kings 13:31
    And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
  39. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 34:6 - 7
    And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around.
  40. Cross References
    2 Kings 11:18
    Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord.
    Exodus 22:20
    Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.
    1 Kings 18:40
    And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
  41. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 34:5
    He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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