Christian Standard Bible
2 Kings 23:2
2Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets — all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord’s temple.
2 Kings 23:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.
Context of 2 Kings 23:2
1So the king sent messengers, and they gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets — all the people from the youngest to the oldest. He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord’s temple. 3Next, the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep his commands, his decrees, and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to the covenant. 4Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah and the priests of the second rank and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
Read all of 2 Kings 232 Kings 23:2 word by word
וַיַּ֣עַל הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ בֵּית־יְהוָ֡ה וְכָל־אִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָה֩ וְכָל־יֹשְׁבֵ֨י יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם אִתּ֗וֹ וְהַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ וְהַנְּבִיאִ֔ים וְכָל־הָעָ֖ם לְמִקָּטֹ֣ן וְעַד־גָּד֑וֹל וַיִּקְרָ֣א בְאָזְנֵיהֶ֗ם אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵי֙ סֵ֣פֶר הַבְּרִ֔ית הַנִּמְצָ֖א בְּבֵ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- went upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- into the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and all the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- and all the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- of Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- with him, and the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- and the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- and all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- both smallקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
- and greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
- and he readקָרָאqârâ' · to call: read outH7121
- in their earsאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · ear: hearingH241
- all the wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- of the bookסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: bookH5612
- of the covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- which was foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:2
- Genesis 19:11They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they were unable to find the entrance.
- 1 Samuel 5:9After they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.
- 1 Samuel 30:2They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it from youngest to oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.
- 2 Chronicles 15:13Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman.
- Esther 1:5At the end of this time, the king held a week-long banquet in the garden courtyard of the royal palace for all the people, from the greatest to the least, who were present in the fortress of Susa.
- Job 3:19Both small and great are there, and the slave is set free from his master.
- Psalms 115:13he will bless those who fear the Lord — small and great alike.
- Acts 26:22To this very day, I have had help from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would take place —
- Revelation 20:12I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
- Deuteronomy 31:10Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Shelters,
- 2 Chronicles 17:9They taught throughout Judah, having the book of the Lord’s instruction with them. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.
- Nehemiah 8:1all the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel.
- Nehemiah 9:3While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the Lord their God.
- Nehemiah 13:1At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
- 2 Kings 22:8The high priest Hilkiah told the court secretary Shaphan, “I have found the book of the law in the Lord’s temple,” and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
- Deuteronomy 31:26“Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The king went up into the house of the Lord - Here is another very singular circumstance. The high priest, scribes, priest, and prophets, are gathered together, with all the elders of the people, and the king himself reads the book of the covenant which had been lately found! It is strange that either the high priest, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, or some other of the prophets, who were certainly there present, did not read the sacred book! It is likely that the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The prophets - The suggestion to regard this word an error of the pen for “Levites,” which occurs in Chronicles (marginal reference), is unnecessary. For though Zephaniah, Urijah, and Jeremiah are all that we can name as belonging to the order at the time, there is no reason to doubt that Judaea contained others whom we cannot name. “Schools of the prophets” were as common in Judah as in Israel. He read - The present passage is strong evidence that the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2Following the instructions in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 31:10–13) and the example of Joshua (Joshua 8:34–35), Josiah called all the people to listen to the reading of the entire Book of the Covenant.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-32Ki 23:1-3. Josiah Causes the Law to Be Read. 1-3. the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders--This pious and patriotic king, not content with the promise of his own security, felt, after Huldah's response, an increased desire to avert the threatened calamities from his kingdom and people. Knowing the richness of the divine clemency and grace to the penitent, he convened the elders of the people, and placing himself at their head…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 23:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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