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2 KINGS 24
page 351
these things. 17 “What is that monument over
there?” Josiah asked.
And the people of the town told him, “It is the
tomb of the man of God who came from Judah
and predicted the very things that you have just
done to the altar at Bethel!”
18 Josiah replied, “Leave it alone. Don’t disturb his bones.” So they did not burn his bones
or those of the old prophet from Samaria.
19 Then Josiah demolished all the buildings at
the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria, just
as he had done at Bethel. They had been built
by the various kings of Israel and had made the
Lord* very angry. 20 He executed the priests of
the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he
burned human bones on the altars to desecrate
them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Celebrates Passover
21 King Josiah then issued this order to all the
people: “You must celebrate the Passover to
the Lord your God, as required in this Book of
the Covenant.” 22 There had not been a Passover
celebration like that since the time when the
judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years
of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover
was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.
24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols,* and every
other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did
this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll
that Hilkiah the priest had found in the Lord’s
Temple. 25 Never before had there been a king
like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his
heart and soul and strength, obeying all the
laws of Moses. And there has never been a king
like him since.
26 Even so, the Lord was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh
had done to provoke him. 27 For the Lord said,
“I will also banish Judah from my presence just
as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my
chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where
my name was to be honored.”
28 The rest of the events in Josiah’s reign and
all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah.
29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco, king
of Egypt, went to the Euphrates River to help
the king of Assyria. King Josiah and his army
marched out to fight him,* but King Neco*
killed him when they met at Megiddo. 30 Josiah’s
officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own
23:19 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew
lacks the Lord. 23:24 The Hebrew term (literally round things)
probably alludes to dung. 23:29a Or Josiah went out to meet
him. 23:29b Hebrew he. 23:33a The meaning of the Hebrew
is uncertain. 23:33b Hebrew 100 talents [3,400 kilograms] of
silver and 1 talent [34 kilograms] of gold. 24:2 Or Chaldean.
tomb. Then the people of the land anointed Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and made him the next king.
Jehoahaz Rules in Judah
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he
became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three
months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 32 He did what was
evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestors
had done.
33 Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at
Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him
from ruling* in Jerusalem. He also demanded
that Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and
75 pounds of gold* as tribute.
Jehoiakim Rules in Judah
34 Pharaoh Neco then installed Eliakim, another
of Josiah’s sons, to reign in place of his father,
and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.
Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner,
where he died.
35 In order to get the silver and gold demanded
as tribute by Pharaoh Neco, Jehoiakim collected
a tax from the people of Judah, requiring them
to pay in proportion to their wealth.
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when
he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the
daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah. 37 He did what
was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestors
had done.
24
During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land
of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him
tribute for three years but then rebelled. 2 Then
the Lord sent bands of Babylonian,* Aramean,
Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah
to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised
through his prophets. 3 These disasters happened to Judah because of the Lord’s command. He had decided to banish Judah from his
presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, 4 who had filled Jerusalem with innocent
blood. The Lord would not forgive this.
5 The rest of the events in Jehoiakim’s reign
and all his deeds are recorded in The Book of the
History of the Kings of Judah. 6 When Jehoiakim
died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king.
7 The king of Egypt did not venture out of his
country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt—
from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin Rules in Judah
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three
months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. 9 Jehoiachin did
what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his
father had done.