2 Kings 23:1–4

Covenant Renewal

23So the king sent messengers, ^jand they gathered all the elders ^kof Jerusalem and Judah to him. 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. As they listened, he read all the words of the book of the covenant ^lthat had been found in the Lord’s temple. ^m3Next, the king stood by the pillar ^noand made a covenant ^pin the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his mind and with all his heart, ^qand to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to ^rthe covenant. ^s

Josiah’s Reforms

⁴Then the king commanded Hilkiah ^tthe high priest and the priests of the second rank ^uand the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host. ^vHe burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. ^w