New Living Translation
2 Kings 23:2
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.
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
1Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 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. 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. 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.
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 19:11Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.
- 1 Samuel 5:9But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.
- 1 Samuel 30:2They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.
- 2 Chronicles 15:13They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman.
- Esther 1:5When it was all over, the king gave a banquet for all the people, from the greatest to the least, who were in the fortress of Susa. It lasted for seven days and was held in the courtyard of the palace garden.
- Job 3:19Rich and poor are both there, and the slave is free from his master.
- Psalms 115:13He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly.
- Acts 26:22But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen—
- Revelation 20:12I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.
- Deuteronomy 31:10Then Moses gave them this command: “At the end of every seventh year, the Year of Release, during the Festival of Shelters,
- 2 Chronicles 17:9They took copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.
- Nehemiah 8:1all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.
- Nehemiah 9:3They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.
- Nehemiah 13:1On that same day, as the Book of Moses was being read to the people, the passage was found that said no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God.
- 2 Kings 22:8Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it.
- Deuteronomy 31:26“Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel.
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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