2 Kings

The king summoned to his side all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem.

Then he went up to the house of the Lord, followed by all the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The priests, prophets, and all the people went with him, from the youngest to the oldest. When all were gathered, he read to them the Book of the Law found in the house of the Lord.

The king stood by the pillar; he made a Covenant in the presence of the Lord, promising to follow him, keep his commandments and laws, and respect his ordinances. He vowed to keep this Covenant according to what was written in the book with all his heart, soul, and people, promised to him.

Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of lesser rank, and all the gatekeepers to bring out all the objects made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of heaven. He had them burned outside Jerusalem, in Kidron’s idle land and brought their ashes to Bethel.

The kings of Judah had appointed pagan priests who offered sacrifices in the Sanctuaries on the hills, in the different cities of Judah, and the suburbs of Jerusalem. Josiah did away with them and those who offered incense to Baal, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the heavenly hosts.

The Sacred Pillar in the Lord’s house was brought out of Jerusalem and taken to the brook Kidron, where it was burned, and its ashes were thrown on the public grave.

The king demolished the house of the effeminate men who dedicated themselves to prostitution (as was done in the cult of Asherah). This was within the courtyards of the house of the Lord, and in this house, too, the women wove veils for Asherah.

Right after this, he made all the priests from the cities of Judah come to Jerusalem, and he destroyed all the sanctuaries on the hills where they had offered sacrifice, from Beersheba in the south to Geba in the north. He destroyed the Sanctuary of the Gates, which was on the left side of the entrance gate to the city and at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city governor.

The priests who had served in the Sanctuaries on the hills could not offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord; they only ate the unleavened bread with the priests of Jerusalem.

The king had the place for burning human sacrifices in the valley of Ben-Hinnom destroyed so that no one could sacrifice his sons or daughters in the fire according to the ritual of Molech.

The horses, which the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, were removed from the entrance of the house of the Lord; these were in the atrium, near the house of the palace official, Nathan-Melech. And the chariots of the sun were burned.

There were altars that the kings of Judah had built on the roof of the palace of Ahaz. Manasseh also built altars in the two courtyards of the house of the Lord. Josiah had them all destroyed and reduced to dust, thrown into the brook Kidron.

The king destroyed the Sanctuaries on the hills facing Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Olives. Solomon, king of Israel, had built them for Ashtoreth, the Sidonians’ idol, Chemosh, the idol of Moab, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites.

The king broke in pieces the images of the false gods, cut down the sacred pillars, and filled the places where these had been with human bones to make them unclean.

There was also the Sanctuary of Bethel, with the altar which Jeroboam, king of Israel, had made. This cult had been the sin of Israel. The king destroyed it. He set the Sanctuary on fire and burned the sacred pillar.

Looking around on all sides, Josiah saw the tombs on the mountain; he had the bones taken out of the tomb and burned on the altar. So the word of the Lord was fulfilled, which the man of God had proclaimed when Jeroboam stood by the altar during a feast. Josiah noticed the tomb of this man of God,

and said: “What is that monument that I see?” The people of the city replied: “That is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah to announce what you have just done with the altar of Bethel.”

The king commanded: “Leave the tomb in peace, and let no one touch his bones.” And his bones, together with the bones of the prophet of Samaria, were not touched.

Josiah also removed all the Sanctuaries on the hills in the cities of Samaria. These Sanctuaries had been made by the kings of Israel, which provoked the Lord’s anger. The king destroyed them and did to them as he had done to the temple of Bethel.

He slaughtered upon the altars all the priests of the Sanctuaries on the hills who were found there, and he burned human bones on the altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The king ordered everyone: “Celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, our God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”

A Passover like this had not been celebrated since the days of the Judges who had governed Israel or during the time when the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah reigned.

This Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of the reign of King Josiah.

Josiah obeyed all the words of the Law written in the book which the priest Hilkiah had found in the house of the Lord. He immediately did away with the mediums and seers, the small household gods and the idols, and all those loathsome things seen in the lands of Judah and Jerusalem.

There had never before been a king like him who returned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength, observing all the law of Moses, nor was another like him seen again.

Despite this, the Lord did not turn from the fire of his anger. He was angry with Judah because of all the evils Manasseh had done.

So the Lord declared: “I shall also cast Judah away from my presence as I have cast Israel; I shall no longer take Jerusalem into consideration, though it is the city I have chosen and there is the house of which I have said: My Name dwells here.”

The rest regarding Josiah and all he did is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

In those days, the Pharaoh Neco crossed the river Euphrates and went to join the king of Asshur. King Josiah set out to confront him, but Neco killed him in Megiddo when he saw him.

Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb. Then, the people took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, to anoint him and make him king in place of his father.

Jehoahaz of Judah (609)

Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

He did what displeases the Lord, imitating his ancestors.

The Pharaoh Neco bound Jehoahaz in chains in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, since he did not want him to reign in Jerusalem. Then he imposed on the land a contribution of one hundred talents of silver and ten of gold.

And he installed as king another son of Josiah, Eliakim, as the successor to his father and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away and brought him to Egypt, where Jehoahaz died.

Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to the Pharaoh to pay the contribution, which the Pharaoh himself exacted from him through a tax imposed on all the land. Everyone had to pay his quota according to what he possessed. So Jehoiakim collected from all the people the gold and silver demanded by the Pharaoh.

Jehoiachin of Judah (609-598)

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

He did what displeased the Lord, imitating his fathers.