English Standard Version
2 Kings 23:2
2And 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And 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.
Context of 2 Kings 23:2
1Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 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. 3And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. 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 19:11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
- 1 Samuel 5:9But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.
- 1 Samuel 30:2and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.
- 2 Chronicles 15:13but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
- Esther 1:5And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
- Job 3:19The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.
- Psalms 115:13he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.
- Acts 26:22To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass:
- Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
- Deuteronomy 31:10And Moses commanded them, "At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths,
- 2 Chronicles 17:9And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
- Nehemiah 8:1And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.
- Nehemiah 9:3And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.
- Nehemiah 13:1On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
- 2 Kings 22:8And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
- Deuteronomy 31:26"Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries