Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

2 Kings 23:1-4
New English Translation

The King Institutes Religious Reform

23 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.[a] 2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud[b] all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed[c] the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow[d] the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being,[e] by carrying out the terms[f] of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant.[g]

4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests,[h] and the guards[i] to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of[j] Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky.[k] The king[l] burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces[m] of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:1 tn Heb “and the king sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him.”
  2. 2 Kings 23:2 tn Heb “read in their ears.”
  3. 2 Kings 23:3 tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made, agreed to.”
  4. 2 Kings 23:3 tn Heb “walk after.”
  5. 2 Kings 23:3 tn Or “soul.”
  6. 2 Kings 23:3 tn Heb “words.”
  7. 2 Kings 23:3 tn Heb “stood in the covenant.”
  8. 2 Kings 23:4 tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.
  9. 2 Kings 23:4 tn Or “doorkeepers.”
  10. 2 Kings 23:4 tn Heb “for.”
  11. 2 Kings 23:4 tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).
  12. 2 Kings 23:4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. 2 Kings 23:4 tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.
Listen to 2 Kings 23:1-4
Close NIV

2 Kings 23:1-4
New International Version

Josiah Renews the Covenant(A)(B)(C)(D)

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read(E) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,(F) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar(G) and renewed the covenant(H) in the presence of the Lord—to follow(I) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers(J) to remove(K) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel.

Read full chapter
Next
2 Kings 22
2 Kings 24
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV