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2 Kings 23:21–25

Josiah Restores the Passover

21 And the king commanded all the people, k“Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, las it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 mFor no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, Josiah put away nthe mediums and the necromancers and othe household gods and pthe idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish qthe words of the law that were written in the book rthat Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 sBefore him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

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2 Kings 23:21–25 — The New International Version (NIV)

21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. 22 Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; 23 But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — New Living Translation (NLT)

21 King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as required in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols, and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the Lord’s Temple. 25 Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — New Century Version (NCV)

21 The king commanded all the people, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this Book of the Agreement.” 22 The Passover had not been celebrated like this since the judges led Israel. Nor had one like it happened while there were kings of Israel and kings of Judah. 23 This Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s rule.

24 Josiah destroyed the mediums, fortune-tellers, house gods, and idols. He also destroyed all the hated gods seen in the land of Judah and Jerusalem. This was to obey the words of the teachings written in the book Hilkiah the priest had found in the Temple of the Lord.

25 There was no king like Josiah before or after him. He obeyed the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength, following all the Teachings of Moses.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — American Standard Version (ASV)

21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto Jehovah your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant. 22 Surely there was not kept such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; 23 but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this passover kept to Jehovah in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover them that had 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, did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Jehovah. 25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to Jehovah with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

21 And the king commanded all the people saying, Hold the passover to Jehovah your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant. 22 For there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; 23 but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this passover holden to Jehovah in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover the necromancers and the soothsayers, and the teraphim and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah took away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkijah the priest had found in the house of Jehovah.

25 And before him there had been no king like him that turned to Jehovah with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there his like.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

21 The king ordered all the people to celebrate the Passover for the Lord their God as it is written in this Book of the Promise. 22 The Passover had never been celebrated like this during the time of the judges who governed Israel or during the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, this Passover was celebrated in Jerusalem for the Lord

24 Josiah also got rid of the mediums, psychics, family idols, other idols, and disgusting gods that could be seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to confirm the words of the Teachings written in the book that the priest Hilkiah found in the Lord’s temple. 

25 No king before Josiah had turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength, as directed in Moses’ Teachings. No other ⸤king⸥ was like Josiah. 

2 Kings 23:21–25 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant.” 22 No such Passover had ever been kept from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 In addition, Josiah removed the mediums, the spiritists, household idols, images, and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this in order to carry out the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the Lord’s temple. 25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

21 The king commanded all the people, “Keep the passover to the Lord your God as prescribed in this book of the covenant.” 22 No such passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, even during all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah; 23 but in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover Josiah put away the mediums, wizards, teraphim, idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he established the words of the law that were written in the book that the priest Hilkiah had found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

21 Then the king commanded all of the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as has been written on the scroll of this covenant.” 22 For they had not kept this Passover from the days of the judges who had judged over Israel or during the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept for Yahweh in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, the mediums and the spiritists, the household gods and the idols, and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah removed in order to establish the words of the law written on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the temple of Yahweh. 25 There was not a king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his might according to all of the law of Moses, nor did one arise like him afterwards.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

21 The king gave an order to all of the people. He said, “Celebrate the Passover Feast to honor the Lord your God. Do what is written in this Scroll of the Covenant.”

22 A Passover Feast like that one had not been held for a long time. There hadn’t been any like it since the days of the judges who led Israel. And there hadn’t been any like it during the whole time the kings of Israel and Judah were ruling.

23 King Josiah celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem to honor the Lord. It was in the 18th year of his rule.

24 And that’s not all. Josiah got rid of those who got messages from people who had died. He got rid of those who talked to the spirits of the dead. He got rid of the statues of family gods and the statues of other gods. He got rid of everything else the Lord hates that was in Judah and Jerusalem. He did it to carry out what the law required. That law was written in the scroll the priest Hilkiah had found in the Lord’s temple.

25 There was no king like Josiah either before him or after him. None of them turned to the Lord as he did. He followed the Lord with all his heart and all his soul. He followed him with all his strength. He did everything the Law of Moses required.

2 Kings 23:21–25 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this book of the covenant.”

22 Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah.

23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.


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