¶ And the king¹ sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great²: and he read³ in their ears all the words of the book⁴ of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.

And the king stood⁵ by a pillar, and made a covenant⁶ before the LORD, to walk⁷ after the LORD, and to keep his commandments⁸ and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart⁹ and all¹⁰ their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

¶ And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order¹¹, and the keepers¹² of the door, to bring¹³ forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal¹⁴, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron¹⁵, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.

And he put down¹⁷ 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 round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets¹⁸, and to all the host¹⁹ of heaven.

And he brought out the grove²⁰ from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned²¹ it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves²² of the children²³ of the people.

And he brake down the houses of the sodomites²⁴, that were by the house of the LORD, where²⁵ the women wove hangings²⁶ for the grove.

And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from²⁷ Geba²⁸ to Beersheba²⁹, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

Nevertheless the priests³⁰ of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did³¹ eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.

¶ And he defiled Topheth³², which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make³⁴ his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun³⁵, at the entering in of the house of the LORD³⁶, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain³⁷, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

And the altars that were on the top³⁸ of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh³⁹ had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence,⁴⁰ and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption⁴¹, which Solomon⁴² the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth⁴³ the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh⁴⁴ the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom⁴⁵ the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

And he brake⁴⁷ in pieces the images⁴⁸, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.

Moreover the altar⁴⁹ that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped⁵⁰ it small to powder, and burned the grove.

And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned⁵¹ them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed⁵² these words.

Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre⁵³ of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.

And he said, Let him alone⁵⁴; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

And all the houses⁵⁵ also of the high places that were in the cities⁵⁶ of Samaria, which the kings⁵⁷ of Israel had made to provoke the LORD⁵⁸ to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.

¶ And he slew⁵⁹ all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned⁶⁰ men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.

And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep⁶¹ the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written⁶² in the book of this covenant.

Surely⁶³ there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings⁶⁴ of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;

But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.

Moreover⁶⁵ the workers⁶⁶ with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images⁶⁷, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might⁶⁸ perform the words of the law which were written in the book⁶⁹ that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

¶ And like unto him⁷⁰ was there no king before him, that turned⁷¹ to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according⁷² to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

Notwithstanding⁷³ the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations⁷⁴ that Manasseh had provoked him withal.

And the LORD said, I will remove⁷⁵ Judah also out of my sight⁷⁶, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name⁷⁷ shall be there.

Now the rest⁷⁸ of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

⁷⁹In his days Pharaohnechoh⁸⁰ king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates⁸¹: and king Josiah went⁸² against him; and he slew him⁸³ at Megiddo⁸⁴, when he had seen him.

¶ And his servants⁸⁷ carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people⁸⁸ of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.

¶ Jehoahaz⁸⁹ was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

⁹¹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.

And Pharaohnechoh put him⁹² in bands at Riblah⁹³ in the land of Hamath⁹⁴, that he might not reign⁹⁵ in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim⁹⁶ the son⁹⁷ of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned⁹⁸ his name to Jehoiakim⁹⁹, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came¹⁰⁰ to Egypt, and died there.

And Jehoiakim gave the silver¹⁰¹ and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed¹⁰² 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, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaohnechoh.

Jehoiakim¹⁰³ was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah¹⁰⁴.

And he did¹⁰⁵ that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that¹⁰⁶ his fathers had done.