The Divided Kingdom

And the altars that are on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, that the kings of Judah made, and the altars that Manasseh made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, hath the king broken down, and removeth thence, and hath cast their dust unto the brook Kidron.

And the high places that are on the front of Jerusalem, that are on the right of the mount of corruption, that Solomon king of Israel had built to Ashtoreth abomination of the Zidonians, and Chemosh abomination of Moab, and to Milcom abomination of the sons of Ammon, hath the king defiled.

And he hath broken in pieces the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines, and filleth their place with bones of men;

and also the altar that is in Beth-El, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat made, by which he made Israel sin, both that altar and the high place he hath broken down, and doth burn the high place--he hath beat it small to dust, and hath burnt the shrine.

And Josiah turneth, and seeth the graves that are there in the mount, and sendeth and taketh the bones out of the graves, and burneth them on the altar, and defileth it, according to the word of Jehovah that the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

And he saith, `What is this sign that I see?' and the men of the city say unto him, `The grave of the man of God who hath come from Judah, and proclaimeth these things that thou hast done concerning the altar of Beth-El.'

And he saith, `Let him alone, let no man touch his bones;' and they let his bones escape, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.

And also all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, that the kings of Israel made to provoke to anger, hath Josiah turned aside, and doth to them according to all the deeds that he did in Beth-El.

And he slayeth all the priests of the high places who are there by the altars, and burneth the bones of man upon them, and turneth back to Jerusalem.

And the king commandeth the whole of the people, saying, `Make ye a passover to Jehovah your God, as it is written on this book of the covenant.'

Surely there hath not been made like this passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, even all the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Judah;

but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, hath this passover been made to Jehovah in Jerusalem.

And also, those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah, and in Jerusalem, hath Josiah put away, in order to establish the words of the law that are written on the book that Hilkiah the priest hath found in the house of Jehovah.

And like him there hath not been before him a king who turned back unto Jehovah with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses, and after him there hath none risen like him.

Only, Jehovah hath not turned back from the fierceness of His great anger with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh provoked him,

and Jehovah saith, `Also Judah I turn aside from my presence, as I turned Israel aside, and I have rejected this city that I have chosen--Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name is there.'

And the rest of the matters of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?

In his days hath Pharaoh-Nechoh king of Egypt come up against the king of Asshur, by the river Phrat, and king Josiah goeth out to meet him, and he putteth him to death in Megiddo, when he seeth him.

And his servants cause him to ride dying from Megiddo, and bring him in to Jerusalem, and bury him in his own grave, and the people of the land take Jehoahaz son of Josiah, and anoint him, and cause him to reign instead of his father.

A son of twenty and three years is Jehoahaz in his reigning, and three months he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah,

and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers did,

and Pharaoh-Nechoh bindeth him in Riblah, in the land of Hamath, from reigning in Jerusalem, and he putteth a fine on the land--a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

And Pharaoh-Nechoh causeth Eliakim son of Josiah to reign instead of Josiah his father, and turneth his name to Jehoiakim, and Jehoahaz he hath taken away, and he cometh in to Egypt, and dieth there.

And the silver and the gold hath Jehoiakim given to Pharaoh; only he valued the land to give the silver by the command of Pharaoh; from each, according to his valuation, he exacted the silver and the gold, from the people of the land, to give to Pharaoh-Nechoh.

A son of twenty and five years is Jehoiakim in his reigning, and eleven years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother is Zebudah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah,