23Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.H4428H7971H622H2205H3063H3389 2And the king went up to the Temple of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the LORD's Temple.H4428H5927H1004H3068H376H3063H3427H3389H3548H5030H5971H6996H1419H7121H241H1697H5612H1285H4672H1004H3068 3The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the LORD's presence. He pledged to obey the LORD by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.H4428H5975H5982H3772H1285H6440H3068H3212H310H3068H8104H4687H5715H2708H3820H5315H6965H1697H1285H3789H5612H5971H5975H1285 4Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the LORD's Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel.H4428H6680H2518H1419H3548H3548H4932H8104H5592H3318H1964H3068H3627H6213H1168H842H6635H8064H8313H2351H3389H7709H6939H5375H6083H1008 5He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens.H7673H3649H4428H3063H5414H6999H1116H5892H3063H4524H3389H6999H1168H8121H3394H4208H6635H8064 6The king removed the Asherah pole from the LORD's Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the people.H3318H842H1004H3068H2351H3389H5158H6939H8313H5158H6939H1854H6083H7993H6083H6913H1121H5971 7He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole.H5422H1004H6945H1004H3068H802H707H1004H842 8Josiah brought to Jerusalem all the priests who were living in other towns of Judah. He also defiled the pagan shrines, where they had offered sacrifices—all the way from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city.H935H3548H5892H3063H2930H1116H3548H6999H1387H884H5422H1116H8179H6607H8179H3091H8269H5892H376H8040H8179H5892 9The priests who had served at the pagan shrines were not allowed to serve at the LORD's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests.H3548H1116H5927H4196H3068H3389H398H4682H8432H251 10Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire as an offering to Molech.H2930H8612H1516H1121H1121H2011H376H1121H1323H5674H784H4432 11He removed from the entrance of the LORD's Temple the horse statues that the former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch, an officer of the court. The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.H7673H5483H4428H3063H5414H8121H935H1004H3068H3957H5419H5631H6503H8313H4818H8121H784 12Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the LORD's Temple. He smashed them to bits and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley.H4196H1406H5944H271H4428H3063H6213H4196H4519H6213H8147H2691H1004H3068H4428H5422H7323H7993H6083H5158H6939 13The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites.H1116H6440H3389H3225H2022H4889H8010H4428H3478H1129H6253H8251H6722H3645H8251H4124H4445H8441H1121H5983H4428H2930 14He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.H7665H4676H3772H842H4390H4725H6106H120 15The king also tore down the altar at Bethel—the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.H4196H1008H1116H3379H1121H5028H3478H2398H6213H4196H1116H5422H8313H1116H1854H6083H8313H842 16Then Josiah turned around and noticed several tombs in the side of the hill. He ordered that the bones be brought out, and he burned them on the altar at Bethel to desecrate it. (This happened just as the LORD had promised through the man of God when Jeroboam stood beside the altar at the festival.) Then Josiah turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of God who had predicted these things.H2977H6437H7200H6913H2022H7971H3947H6106H6913H8313H4196H2930H1697H3068H376H430H7121H7121H1697 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!"H559H6725H1975H7200H582H5892H559H6913H376H430H935H3063H7121H1697H6213H4196H1008 18Josiah replied, "Leave it alone. Don't disturb his bones." So they did not burn his bones or those of the old prophet from Samaria.H559H3240H376H5128H6106H6106H4422H6106H5030H935H8111 19Then 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.H1004H1116H5892H8111H4428H3478H6213H3707H2977H5493H6213H4639H6213H1008 20He 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.H2076H3548H1116H4196H8313H120H6106H7725H3389 21King 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."H4428H6680H5971H559H6213H6453H3068H430H3789H5612H1285 22There 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.H6213H6453H3117H8199H8199H3478H3117H4428H3478H4428H3063 23This Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign.H8083H6240H8141H4428H2977H6453H6213H3068H3389 24Josiah 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.H178H3049H8655H1544H8251H7200H776H3063H3389H2977H1197H6965H1697H8451H3789H5612H2518H3548H4672H1004H3068 25Never 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.H4428H6440H7725H3068H3824H5315H3966H8451H4872H310H6965 26Even so, the LORD was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him.H3068H7725H2740H1419H639H639H2734H3063H3708H4519H3707 27For 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."H3068H559H5493H3063H6440H5493H3478H3988H5892H3389H977H1004H559H8034 28The 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.H3499H1697H2977H6213H3789H5612H1697H3117H4428H3063 29While 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.H3117H6549H4428H4714H5927H4428H804H5104H6578H4428H2977H3212H7125H4191H4023H7200 30Josiah's officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land anointed Josiah's son Jehoahaz and made him the next king.H5650H7392H4191H4023H935H3389H6912H6900H5971H776H3947H3059H1121H2977H4886H4427H1 31Jehoahaz 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.H3059H6242H7969H8141H1121H4427H4427H7969H2320H3389H517H8034H2537H1323H3414H3841 32He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his ancestors had done.H6213H7451H5869H3068H1H6213 33Pharaoh 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.H6549H631H7247H776H2574H4427H3389H5414H776H6066H3967H3603H3701H3603H2091 34Pharaoh 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.H6549H471H1121H2977H4427H2977H1H5437H8034H3079H3947H3059H3947H935H4714H4191 35In 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.H3079H5414H3701H2091H6547H6186H776H5414H3701H6310H6547H5065H3701H2091H5971H776H376H6187H5414H6549 36Jehoiakim 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.H3079H6242H2568H8141H1121H4427H4427H259H6240H8141H3389H517H8034H2080H1323H6305H7316 37He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his ancestors had done.H6213H7451H5869H3068H1H6213
24During Jehoiakim's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled.H3117H5019H4428H894H5927H3079H5650H7969H8141H7725H4775 2Then 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.H3068H7971H1416H3778H1416H758H1416H4124H1416H1121H5983H7971H3063H6H1697H3068H1696H3027H5650H5030 3These 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,H6310H3068H3063H5493H6440H2403H4519H6213 4who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The LORD would not forgive this.H5355H1818H8210H4390H3389H5355H1818H3068H14H5545 5The 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.H3499H1697H3079H6213H3789H5612H1697H3117H4428H3063 6When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became the next king.H3079H7901H1H3078H1121H4427 7The 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.H4428H4714H3318H3254H776H4428H894H3947H5158H4714H5104H6578H4428H4714 8Jehoiachin 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.H3078H8083H6240H8141H1121H4427H4427H3389H7969H2320H517H8034H5179H1323H494H3389 9Jehoiachin did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as his father had done.H6213H7451H5869H3068H1H6213 10During Jehoiachin's reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it.H6256H5650H5019H4428H894H5927H3389H5892H935H4692 11Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege.H5019H4428H894H935H5892H5650H6696 12Then King Jehoiachin, along with the queen mother, his advisers, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians. In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he took Jehoiachin prisoner.H3078H4428H3063H3318H4428H894H517H5650H8269H5631H4428H894H3947H8083H8141H4427 13As the LORD had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the LORD's Temple and the royal palace. He stripped away all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the Temple.H3318H214H1004H3068H214H4428H1004H7112H3627H2091H8010H4428H3478H6213H1964H3068H3068H1696 14King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.H1540H3389H8269H1368H2428H6235H505H1540H2796H4525H7604H2108H1803H5971H776 15Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoiachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem's elite.H1540H3078H894H4428H517H4428H802H5631H352H193H776H3212H1473H3389H894 16He also exiled 7,000 of the best troops and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war.H582H2428H7651H505H2796H4525H505H1368H6213H4421H4428H894H935H1473H894 17Then the king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mattaniah's name to Zedekiah.H4428H894H4983H1730H4427H5437H8034H6667 18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.H6667H6242H259H8141H1121H4427H4427H259H6240H8141H3389H517H8034H2537H1323H3414H3841 19But Zedekiah did what was evil in the LORD's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done.H6213H7451H5869H3068H3079H6213 20These things happened because of the LORD's anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.H639H3068H3389H3063H7993H6440H6667H4775H4428H894
25So on January 15, during the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.H8671H8141H4427H6224H2320H6218H2320H5019H4428H894H935H2428H3389H2583H1129H1785H5439 2Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign.H5892H935H4692H6249H6240H8141H4428H6667 3By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone.H8672H2320H7458H2388H5892H3899H5971H776 4Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king's garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.H5892H1234H582H4421H3915H1870H8179H2346H4428H1588H3778H5892H5439H3212H1870H6160 5But the Babylonian troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered.H2428H3778H7291H310H4428H5381H6160H3405H2428H6327 6They took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah.H8610H4428H5927H4428H894H7247H1696H4941 7They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.H7819H1121H6667H5869H5786H5869H6667H631H5178H5178H935H894 8On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem.H2549H2320H7651H2320H8672H6240H8141H8141H4428H5019H4428H894H935H5018H7227H2876H5650H4428H894H3389 9He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city.H8313H1004H3068H4428H1004H1004H3389H1419H1004H8313H784 10Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.H2428H3778H7227H2876H5422H2346H3389H5439 11Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, then took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.H3499H5971H7604H5892H5307H5307H4428H894H3499H1995H5018H7227H2876H1540 12But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in Judah to care for the vineyards and fields.H7227H2876H7604H1803H776H3755H3009H1461 13The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the LORD's Temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the Sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.H5982H5178H1004H3068H4350H5178H3220H1004H3068H3778H7665H5375H5178H894 14They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, dishes, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the Temple.H5518H3257H4212H3709H3627H5178H8334H3947 15Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver.H4289H4219H2091H2091H3701H3701H7227H2876H3947 16The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the Sea, and the water carts was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the LORD's Temple in the days of King Solomon.H8147H5982H259H3220H4350H8010H6213H1004H3068H5178H3627H3808H4948 17Each of the pillars was 27 feet tall. The bronze capital on top of each pillar was 7 1/2 feet As in parallel texts at 1 Kgs 7.16, 2 Chr 3.15, and Jer 52.22, all of which read 5 cubits [2.3 meters]; Hebrew reads 3 cubits, which is 4.5 feet or 1.4 meters high and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around.H6967H259H5982H8083H6240H520H3805H5178H6967H3805H7969H520H7639H7416H3805H5439H5178H8145H5982H7639 18Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers.H7227H2876H3947H8304H7218H3548H6846H4932H3548H7969H8104H5592 19And from among the people still hiding in the city, he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army; five of the king's personal advisers; the army commander's chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment; and sixty other citizens.H5892H3947H259H5631H6496H582H4421H2568H582H7200H4428H6440H4672H5892H8269H5608H6635H6633H5971H776H8346H376H5971H776H4672H5892 20Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Riblah.H5018H7227H2876H3947H3212H4428H894H7247 21And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land.H4428H894H5221H4191H7247H776H2574H3063H1540H127 22Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan as governor over the people he had left in Judah.H5971H7604H776H3063H5019H4428H894H7604H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H6485 23When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they went to see him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men.H8269H2428H582H8085H4428H894H1436H6485H935H1436H4709H3458H1121H5418H3110H1121H7143H8304H1121H8576H5200H2970H1121H4602H582 24Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. "Don't be afraid of them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you," he promised.H1436H7650H582H559H3372H5650H3778H3427H776H5647H4428H894H3190 25But in midautumn of that year, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.H7637H2320H3458H1121H5418H1121H476H2233H4410H935H6235H582H5221H1436H4191H3064H3778H4709 26Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them.H5971H6996H1419H8269H2428H6965H935H4714H3372H6440H3778 27In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil-merodach ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2 of that year.H7651H7970H8141H1546H3078H4428H3063H8147H6240H2320H7651H6242H2320H192H4428H894H8141H4427H5375H7218H3078H4428H3063H1004H3608 28He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon.H1696H2896H5414H3678H3678H4428H894 29He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king's presence for the rest of his life.H8132H3608H899H398H3899H8548H6440H3117H2416 30So the Babylonian king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived.H737H8548H737H5414H4428H3117H3117H1697H3117H3117H2416
108[A song. A psalm of David.] My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!H7892H4210H1732H430H3820H3559H7891H2167H3519 2Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song.H5782H5035H3658H5782H7837 3I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations.H3034H3068H5971H2167H3816 4For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.H2617H1419H8064H571H7834 5Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.H7311H430H8064H3519H776 6Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power.H3039H2502H3467H3225H6030 7God has promised this by his holiness. “I will divide up Shechem with joy. I will measure out the valley of Succoth.H430H1696H6944H5937H2505H7927H4058H6010H5523 8Gilead is mine, and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.H1568H4519H669H4581H7218H3063H2710 9But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia.”H4124H7366H5518H123H7993H5275H6429H7321 10Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom?H2986H4013H5892H5148H123 11Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies?H430H2186H430H3318H6635 12Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.H3051H5833H6862H7723H8668H120 13With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.H430H6213H2428H947H6862
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to serve at the LORD's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests.H3548
