2 Kings 21–23

1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.

2He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.

3For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel did, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.

4He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.”

5He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house.

6He made his son to pass through the fire, practiced sorcery, used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits and with wizards. He did much evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger.

7He set the engraved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever;

8I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.”

9But they didn’t listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than the nations did whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.

10Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying,

11“Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has also made Judah to sin with his idols;

12therefore Yahweh the God of Israel says, ‘Behold, I will bring such evil on Jerusalem and Judah that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.

13I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plumb line of Ahab’s house; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

14I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. They will become a prey and a plunder to all their enemies,

15because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.’”

16Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; in addition to his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.

17Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

18Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza; and Amon his son reigned in his place.

19Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.

20He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, as Manasseh his father did.

21He walked in all the ways that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them;

22and he abandoned Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and didn’t walk in the way of Yahweh.

23The servants of Amon conspired against him, and put the king to death in his own house.

24But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

25Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

26He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

1Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

2He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, and walked in all the ways of David his father, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to the left.

3In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to Yahweh’s house, saying,

4“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which is brought into Yahweh’s house, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people.

5Let them deliver it into the hand of the workers who have the oversight of Yahweh’s house; and let them give it to the workers who are in Yahweh’s house, to repair the damage to the house,

6to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house.

7However, no accounting shall be asked of them for the money delivered into their hand, for they deal faithfully.”

8Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the book of the law in Yahweh’s house.” Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

9Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hands of the workmen who have the oversight of Yahweh’s house.”

10Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has delivered a book to me.” Then Shaphan read it before the king.

11When the king had heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

12The king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,

13“Go inquire of Yahweh for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is Yahweh’s wrath that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us.”

14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they talked with her.

15She said to them, “Yahweh the God of Israel says, ‘Tell the man who sent you to me,

16“Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.

17Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.’”

18But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Yahweh, tell him, “Yahweh the God of Israel says, ‘Concerning the words which you have heard,

19because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you,’ says Yahweh.

20‘Therefore behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.’”’” So they brought this message back to the king.

1The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2The king went up to Yahweh’s house, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him—with the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in Yahweh’s house.

3The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before Yahweh to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people agreed to the covenant.

4The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky; and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5He got rid of 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 around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the planets, and to all the army of the sky.

6He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.

7He broke down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes that were in Yahweh’s house, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.

8He 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 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 a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.

9Nevertheless the priests of the high places didn’t come up to Yahweh’s altar in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

10He 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.

11He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance of Yahweh’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of Yahweh’s house, and beat them down from there, and cast their dust into the brook Kidron.

13The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.

14He broke in pieces the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled their places with men’s bones.

15Moreover the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to Yahweh’s word which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

17Then he said, “What monument is that which I see?” The men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel.”

18He said, “Let him be! Let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

19All the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Yahweh to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

20He killed all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.

21The king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.”

22Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;

23but in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept to Yahweh in Jerusalem.

24Moreover, Josiah removed those who had familiar spirits, the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in Yahweh’s house.

25There was no king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; and there was none like him who arose after him.

26Notwithstanding, Yahweh didn’t turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocation with which Manasseh had provoked him.

27Yahweh said, “I will also remove Judah out of my sight, as I have removed Israel; and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”

28Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

29In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him, but Pharaoh Necoh killed him at Megiddo when he saw him.

30His servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.

31Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

32He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, according to all that his fathers had done.

33Pharaoh Necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.

34Pharaoh Necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim; but he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there.

35Jehoiakim 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, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necoh.

36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

37He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, according to all that his fathers had done.