2 Kings 23:4

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, 1  and the guards 2  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of 3  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. 4  The king 5  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces 6  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 7 

2 Kings 23:25

23:25 No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses. 8 

1 tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.

2 tn Or “doorkeepers.”

3 tn Heb “for.”

4 tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).

5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

6 tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.

7 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

8 tn Heb “and like him there was not a king before him who returned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his being according to all the law of Moses, and after him none arose like him.”

sn The description of Josiah’s devotion as involving his whole “heart, soul, and being” echoes the language of Deut 6:5.