2 Kings 23

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The king then had al the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned to him,	1 And they reported to the king what she had said. And he sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him.
2 and the king went up to the Temple of Yahweh with al the people of Judah and al the inhabitants ofJerusalem, priests, prophets and the whole populace, high and low. In their hearing he read out the entirecontents of the Book of the Covenant discovered in the Temple of Yahweh.	2 And the king ascended to the temple of the Lord. And with him were all the men of Judah and all who were living in Jerusalem: the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, from the small to the great. And in the hearing of everyone, he read all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of the Lord.
3 The king then, standing on the dais, bound himself by the covenant before Yahweh, to fol ow Yahweh,to keep his commandments, decrees and laws with al his heart and soul, and to carry out the terms of thecovenant as written in this book. Al the people pledged their allegiance to the covenant.	3 And the king stood upon the step. And he struck a covenant before the Lord, so that they would walk after the Lord, and keep his precepts and testimonies and ceremonies, with all their heart and with all their soul, and so that they would carry out the words of this covenant, which had been written in that book. And the people agreed to the covenant.
4 The king ordered Hilkiah with the priest next in rank and the guardians of the threshold to remove althe cult objects which had been made for Baal, Asherah and the whole array of heaven; he burnt them outsideJerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and had the ashes taken to Bethel.	4 And the king instructed Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, so that they would cast out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels which had been made for Baal, and for the sacred grove, and for the entire army of heaven. And he burned them outside of Jerusalem, in the steep valley of Kidron. And he carried their dust into Bethel.
5 He exterminated the spurious priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who offered sacrificeon the high places, in the towns of Judah and the neighbourhood of Jerusalem; also those who offered sacrificeto Baal, to the sun, the moon, the constel ations and the whole array of heaven.	5 And he destroyed the soothsayers, whom the kings of Judah had appointed to sacrifice in the high places throughout the cities of Judah, and all around Jerusalem, along with those who were burning incense to Baal, and to the Sun, and to the Moon, and to the twelve signs, and to the entire army of heaven.
6 And from the Temple of Yahweh he took the sacred pole outside Jerusalem to the Kidron val ey and inthe Kidron valley he burnt it, reducing it to ashes and throwing its ashes on the common burial-ground.	6 And he caused the sacred grove to be carried away from the house of the Lord, outside of Jerusalem, to the steep valley of Kidron. And he burned it there, and reduced it to dust. And he cast the dust over the graves of the common people.
7 He pulled down the house of the sacred male prostitutes which was in the Temple of Yahweh andwhere the women wove veils for Asherah.	7 Also, he destroyed the small places of the effeminate, which were in the house of the Lord, for which the women were weaving something like little houses in the sacred grove.
8 He brought all the priests in from the towns of Judah, and from Geba to Beersheba he renderedunsanctified the high places where these priests had offered sacrifice. He pul ed down the High Place of theGates, which stood at the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, to the left of the entry to the city.	8 And he gathered together all the priests from the cities of Judah. And he defiled the high places, where the priests were sacrificing, from Geba as far as Beersheba. And he tore down the altars of the gates at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the leader of the city, which was to the left of the gate of the city.
9 The priests of the high places, however, did not officiate at the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, althoughthey did share the unleavened bread of their brother-priests.	9 Yet truly, the priests of the high places did not ascend to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem. For they would only eat from the unleavened bread in the midst of their brothers.
10 He rendered unsanctified Tophet in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, so that no one could pass his son ordaughter through the fire of sacrifice to Molech.	10 Also, he defiled Topheth, which is in the steep valley of the son of Hinnom, so that no one would consecrate his son or his daughter, through fire, to Molech.
11 He destroyed the horses which the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance to theTemple of Yahweh, near the apartment of Nathan-Melech the official, in the precincts, and he burned the solarchariot.	11 Also, he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the Sun, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, beside the hallway of Nathan-melech, the eunuch, who was in Pharurim. And he burned the chariots of the Sun with fire.
12 The king pulled down altars which the kings of Judah had built on the roof and those which Manassehhad built in the two courts of the Temple of Yahweh, and broke them to pieces on the spot, throwing their rubbleinto the Kidron val ey.	12 Also, the altars which were upon 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 the temple of the Lord, the king destroyed. And he hurried from there, and he scattered their ashes into the torrent Kidron.
13 The king rendered unsanctified the high places facing Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Olives,which Solomon king of Israel had built for Astarte the Sidonian abomination, for Chemosh the Moabiteabomination, and for Milcom the Ammonite abomination.	13 Also, the high places which were in Jerusalem, to the right side of the Mount of Offense, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built to Ashtoreth, the idol of the Sidonians, and to Chemosh, the offense of Moab, and to Milcom, the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled.
14 He also smashed the sacred pil ars, cut down the sacred poles, and covered with human bones theplaces where they had stood.	14 And he crushed the statues, and he cut down the sacred groves. And he filled their places with the bones of the dead.
15 As for the altar which was at Bethel, the high place built by Jeroboam son of Nebat who had led Israelinto sin, he demolished this altar and this high place as wel , in the same way, breaking up its stones andreducing them to powder. The sacred pole he burned.	15 Then too, the altar which was in Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made: both that altar and the high place he tore down, and burned, and reduced to dust. And then he also set fire to the sacred grove.
16 On looking round, Josiah saw the tombs there on the hil side; he had the bones fetched from thetombs and burned them on the altar. This he rendered unsanctified, in accordance with the word of Yahwehwhich the man of God had proclaimed when Jeroboam was standing by the altar at the time of the feast. Onlooking round, Josiah caught sight of the tomb of the man of God who had foretold these things.	16 And in that place Josiah, turning, saw the sepulchers which were on the mount. And he sent and took the bones from the sepulchers. And he burned them upon the altar, and he defiled it in accord with the word of the Lord, which was spoken by the man of God, who had predicted these events.
17 'What is that monument I see?' he asked. The townspeople replied, 'It is the tomb of the man of Godwho came from Judah and foretold what you have done to the altar.'	17 And he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the citizens of that city responded to him: “It is the sepulcher of the man of God, who came from Judah, and who predicted these events, which you have carried out concerning the altar of Bethel.”
18 'Let him rest,' the king said, 'and let no one disturb his bones.' So they left his bones untouched, withthe bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.	18 And he said: “Permit him. Let no one move his bones.” And his bones have remained untouched, with the bones of the prophet who had arrived from Samaria.
19 Josiah also destroyed all the shrines on the high places which were in the towns of Samaria andwhich the kings of Israel had built to provoke Yahweh's anger; he treated these places exactly as he had treatedthe one at Bethel.	19 Then too, all the shines of the high places, which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord, Josiah took away. And he acted toward them according to all the works that he had done in Bethel.
20 Al the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars, and on those altarsburned human bones. Then he returned to Jerusalem.	20 And all the priests of the high places, who were in that place, he killed upon the altars. And he burned the bones of the men upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem.
21 The king gave this order to the whole people: 'Celebrate a Passover to Yahweh your God, asprescribed in this Book of the Covenant.'	21 And he instructed all the people, saying: “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, according to what has been written in the book of this covenant.”
22 No Passover like this had ever been celebrated since the days when the judges ruled Israel, northroughout the entire period of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.	22 Now no similar Passover was kept, from the days of the judges, who judged Israel, and from all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah,
23 The eighteenth year of King Josiah was the only time when such a Passover was celebrated inYahweh's honour in Jerusalem.	23 as this Passover, which was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem, in the eighteenth year of king Josiah.
24 What is more, the spirit-guides and mediums, the household gods and idols, and al the abominationsto be seen in the country of Judah and in Jerusalem, were swept away by Josiah to give effect to the words ofthe Law written in the book found by the priest Hilkiah in the Temple of Yahweh.	24 Then too, Josiah took away those who divined by spirits, and the soothsayers, and the images of the idols, and the defilements, and the abominations, which had been in the land of Judah and Jerusalem, so that he might establish the words of the law, which were written in the book, which Hilkiah, the priest, found in the temple of the Lord.
25 No king before him turned to Yahweh as he did, with al his heart, all his soul, al his strength, inperfect loyalty to the Law of Moses; nor did any king like him arise again.	25 There was no king before him similar to him, who returned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, in accord with the entire law of Moses. And after him, there rose up no one similar to him.
26 Yet Yahweh did not renounce the heat of his great anger which had been aroused against Judah byal the provocations which Manasseh had caused him.	26 Yet truly, the Lord did not turn away from the wrath of his great fury, his fury which was enraged against Judah because of the provocations by which Manasseh had provoked him.
27 Yahweh said, 'I shal thrust Judah away from me too, as I have already thrust Israel; I shall cast offJerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the Temple of which I have said: My Name shal be there.'	27 And so the Lord said: “And now I will remove Judah from my face, just as I removed Israel. And I will cast aside this city, Jerusalem, which I have chosen, and the house, about which I said: My name shall be there.”
28 The rest of the history of Josiah, his entire career, is this not recorded in the Book of the Annals of theKings of Judah?	28 Now the rest of the words of Josiah, and all that he did, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah?
29 In his times, Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt was advancing to meet the king of Assyria at the RiverEuphrates, and King Josiah went to intercept him; but Necho kil ed him at Megiddo in the first encounter.	29 During his days, Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, ascended against the king of the Assyrians to the river Euphrates. And king Josiah went out to meet him. And when he had seen him, he was killed at Megiddo.
30 His retainers carried his body from Megiddo by chariot; they brought him to Jerusalem and buried himin his own tomb. The people of the country then took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him, proclaiming himking in succession to his father.	30 And his servants carried him dead from Megiddo. And they took him to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his own sepulcher. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah. And they anointed him, and made him king in place of his father.
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months inJerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah, of Libnah.	31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah, from Libnah.
32 He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, just as his ancestors had done.	32 And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
33 Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah in Hamath, to prevent his reigning any longer inJerusalem, and imposed a levy of a hundred talents of silver and ten talents of gold on the country.	33 And Pharaoh Neco bound him at Riblah, which is in the land of Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem. And he imposed a penalty on the land: one hundred talents of silver, and one talent of gold.
34 Pharaoh Necho then made Eliakim son of Josiah king in succession to Josiah his father, and changedhis name to Jehoiakim. Carrying off Jehoahaz, he took him to Egypt, where he died.	34 And Pharaoh Neco appointed Eliakim, the son of Josiah, as king in place of Josiah his father. And he changed his name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Jehoahaz away, and he brought him into Egypt, and there he died.
35 Jehoiakim paid over the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but first had to tax the people of the countrybefore he could raise the sum which Pharaoh demanded: he levied the silver and gold to be paid over toPharaoh Necho from each according to his means.	35 Now Jehoiakim gave silver and gold to Pharaoh, when he had taxed the land, according to each one who would contribute by the command of Pharaoh. And he exacted both silver and gold from the people of the land, from each one according to his ability, so that he would give to Pharaoh Neco.
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for eleven years inJerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.	36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he had begun to reign, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah.
37 He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, just as his ancestors had done.	37 And he did evil before the Lord, in accord with all that his fathers had done.