2Ki 23:1
23:1 And the king {a} sent, and they gathered unto him all the
     elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

     (a) Because he saw the great plagues of God that were
         threatened, he knew no more speedy way to avoid them,
         than to turn to God by repentance which cannot come but
         from faith, and faith by hearing the word of God.

2Ki 23:3
23:3 And the king stood by {b} a pillar, and made a {c} covenant
     before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his
     commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all
     [their] heart and all [their] soul, to perform the words of
     this covenant that were written in this book. And all the
     people stood to the covenant.

     (b) Where the king had his place, @2Ki 11:14.
     (c) As Joshua did, @Jos 24:22,25.

2Ki 23:4
23:4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the {d}
     priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door,
     to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the
     vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for
     all the host of heaven: and he burned them without
     Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried {e} the
     ashes of them unto Bethel.

     (d) Meaning, they who were next in dignity to the high
         priest.
     (e) In contempt of the altar Jeroboam had built there to
         sacrifice to his calves.

2Ki 23:5
23:5 And he put down the {f} idolatrous priests, whom the kings
     of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in
     the cities of Judah, and in the places round about
     Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the
     sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the
     host of heaven.

     (f) Or Chemarims, meaning the priests of Baal who were
         called Chemarims either because they wore black
         garments or else were smoked with burning incense to
         idols.

2Ki 23:6
23:6 And he brought out the {g} grove from the house of the
     LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned
     it at the brook Kidron, and stamped [it] small to powder,
     and cast the powder thereof upon the {h} graves of the
     children of the people.

     (g) He removed the grove which idolaters for devotion had
         planted near the temple, contrary to the commandment of
         the Lord, @De 16:21, or as some read, the
         similitude of a grove which was hung in the temple.
     (h) Both in contempt of the idols and reproach of them who
         had worshipped them in their lives.

2Ki 23:9
23:9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places {i} came not up
     to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of
     the unleavened bread among their brethren.

     (i) Because they who had forsaken the Lord to serve idols,
         were not fit to minister in the service of the Lord for
         the instruction of others.

2Ki 23:10
23:10 And he defiled {k} Topheth, which [is] in the valley of
      the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or
      his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

      (k) Which was a valley near to Jerusalem, and signifies a
          tabret because they smote on the tabret while their
          children were burning, that their cry should not be
          heard, @Le 18:21, after which Josiah commanded
          trash to be cast in contempt of it.

2Ki 23:11
23:11 And he took away the {l} horses that the kings of Judah
      had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of
      the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain,
      which [was] in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the
      sun with fire.

      (l) The idolatrous kings had dedicated horses and chariots
          to the sun, either to carry about the image of it as
          the heathen did, or else to sacrifice them as a most
          agreeable sacrifice.

2Ki 23:13
23:13 And the high places that [were] before Jerusalem, which
      [were] on the right hand of the {m} mount of corruption,
      which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth
      the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the
      abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the
      abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

      (m) That was the mount of olives, so called because it was
          full of idols.

2Ki 23:15
23:15 Moreover {n} the altar that [was] at Bethel, [and] the
      high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made
      Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high
      place he brake down, and burned the high place, [and]
      stamped [it] small to powder, and burned the grove.

      (n) Which Jeroboam had built in Israel,
          @1Ki 12:28,29.

2Ki 23:16
23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that
      [were] there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones
      out of the sepulchres, and burned [them] upon the altar,
      and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which
      the {o} man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.

      (o) According to the prophecy of Iddo, @1Ki 13:2.

2Ki 23:18
23:18 And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So
      they let his bones alone, with the bones of the {p}
      prophet that came out of Samaria.

      (p) Meaning, the prophet who came after him, and caused
          him to eat contrary to the command of the Lord, who
          were both buried in the same grave, @1Ki 13:31.

2Ki 23:22
23:22 Surely there was not holden {q} 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;

      (q) For the multitude and zeal of the people with the
          great preparation.

2Ki 23:26
23:26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the {r}
      fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was
      kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations
      that Manasseh had provoked him withal.

      (r) Because of the wicked heart of the people, who would
          not turn to him by repentance.

2Ki 23:29
23:29 In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against
      the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king
      Josiah {s} went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo,
      when he had seen him.

      (s) Because Pharaoh passed through his country, he was
          afraid Pharaoh would have done him harm and would have
          stopped him, yet he did not consult the Lord, and
          therefore was slain.

2Ki 23:32
23:32 And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD,
      according to all that his {t} fathers had done.

      (t) Meaning, the wicked kings before.

2Ki 23:33
23:33 And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands {u} at Riblah in the
      land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and
      put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver,
      and a talent of gold.

      (u) Which was Antiochia in Syria, also called Hamath.



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