2 Raja-raja 10:11

10:11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.

2 Raja-raja 10:19

10:19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. ¹  None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives.” But Jehu was tricking them ²  so he could destroy the servants of Baal.

2 Raja-raja 10:24

10:24 They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, “If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives!” ³ 

2 Raja-raja 11:4-5

11:4 In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned ⁴  the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians ⁵  and the royal bodyguard. ⁶  He met with them ⁷  in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement ⁸  with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord’s temple. Then he showed them the king’s son. 11:5 He ordered them, “This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace.

2 Raja-raja 11:9-10

11:9 The officers of the units of hundreds did just as ⁹  Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported ¹⁰  to Jehoiada the priest. 11:10 The priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and the shields that were kept in the Lord’s temple.

2 Raja-raja 11:12

11:12 Jehoiada ¹¹  led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. ¹²  They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. ¹³  They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”

2 Raja-raja 11:15

11:15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, ¹⁴  “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. ¹⁵  Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. ¹⁶ 

2 Raja-raja 11:17-19

11:17 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord. ¹⁷  11:18 All the people of the land went and demolished ¹⁸  the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols ¹⁹  to bits. ²⁰  They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest ²¹  then placed guards at the Lord’s temple. 11:19 He took the officers of the units of hundreds, the Carians, the royal bodyguard, and all the people of land, and together they led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Gate of the Royal Bodyguard, ²²  and the king ²³  sat down on the royal throne.

2 Raja-raja 12:2

12:2 Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the Lord approved, ²⁴  just as ²⁵  Jehoiada the priest taught him.

2 Raja-raja 12:4-10

12:4 Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal ²⁶  all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, ²⁷  the silver received from those who have made vows, ²⁸  and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple. ²⁹  12:5 The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.” ³⁰ 

12:6 By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple. 12:7 So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.” ³¹  12:8 The priests agreed ³²  not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs. ³³ 

12:9 Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of ³⁴  the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple. 12:10 When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary ³⁵  and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up. ³⁶ 

2 Raja-raja 12:16

12:16 (The silver collected in conjunction with reparation offerings and sin offerings was not brought to the Lord’s temple; it belonged to the priests.)

2 Raja-raja 16:10-11

16:10 When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. ³⁷  King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. ³⁸  16:11 Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. ³⁹  Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. ⁴⁰ 

2 Raja-raja 16:15-16

16:15 King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar ⁴¹  offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of Israel, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.” ⁴²  16:16 So Uriah the priest did exactly as ⁴³  King Ahaz ordered.

2 Raja-raja 17:27-28

17:27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you ⁴⁴  deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ⁴⁵  17:28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. ⁴⁶  He taught them how to worship ⁴⁷  the Lord.

2 Raja-raja 17:32

17:32 At the same time they worshiped ⁴⁸  the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. ⁴⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 19:2

19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, ⁵⁰  clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:

2 Raja-raja 22:3-4

22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders: ⁵¹  22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down ⁵²  the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door.

2 Raja-raja 22:8-10

22:8 Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it. 22:9 Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, ⁵³  “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple ⁵⁴  and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.” 22:10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king.

2 Raja-raja 22:12

22:12 The king ordered Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant,

2 Raja-raja 22:14

22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shullam son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the supervisor of the wardrobe. ⁵⁵  (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh ⁵⁶  district.) They stated their business, ⁵⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 23:1-2

The King Institutes Religious Reform

23:1 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁵⁸  23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud ⁵⁹  all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple.

2 Raja-raja 23:4-5

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ⁶⁰  and the guards ⁶¹  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ⁶²  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ⁶³  The king ⁶⁴  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ⁶⁵  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁶⁶  23:5 He eliminated ⁶⁷  the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ⁶⁸  on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ⁶⁹  to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

2 Raja-raja 23:8-9

23:8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined ⁷⁰  the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. ⁷¹  He tore down the high place of the goat idols ⁷²  situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate. 23:9 (Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.) ⁷³ 

2 Raja-raja 23:20

23:20 He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

2 Raja-raja 23:24

23:24 Josiah also got rid of ⁷⁴  the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits, ⁷⁵  the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images, ⁷⁶  and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law ⁷⁷  recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple.

2 Raja-raja 25:18

25:18 The captain of the royal guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah, the priest who was second in rank, and the three doorkeepers.

[10:19]  ¹ tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”

[10:19]  ² tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”

[10:24]  ³ tn Heb “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, [it will be] his life in place of his life.”

[11:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Jehoiada sent and took.”

[11:4]  ⁵ sn The Carians were apparently a bodyguard, probably comprised of foreigners. See HALOT 497 s.v. כָּרִי and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 126.

[11:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the runners.”

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “he brought them to himself.”

[11:4]  ⁸ tn Or “covenant.”

[11:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to all that.”

[11:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “came.”

[11:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain. See the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 128. Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant. See HALOT 790-91 s.v. עֵדוּת.

[11:12]  ¹³ tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”

[11:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text also has, “and said to them.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[11:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “ranks.”

[11:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.’”

[11:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and [between] the king and [between] the people, to become a people for the Lord, and between the king and [between] the people.” The final words of the verse (“and between the king and [between] the people”) are probably accidentally repeated from earlier in the verse. They do not appear in the parallel account in 2 Chr 23:16. If retained, they probably point to an agreement governing how the king and people should relate to one another.

[11:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “tore down.”

[11:18]  ¹⁹ tn Or “images.”

[11:18]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew construction translated “smashed…to bits” is emphatic. The adverbial infinitive absolute (הֵיטֵב [hetev], “well”) accompanying the Piel form of the verb שָׁבַר (shavar), “break,” suggests thorough demolition.

[11:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “the priest.” Jehoiada’s name is added for clarification.

[11:19]  ²² tn Heb “the Gate of the Runners of the House of the King.”

[11:19]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and Jehoash did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord all his days.”

[12:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “that which.” Jehoiada taught the king the Lord’s will.

[12:4]  ²⁶ tn The words “I place at your disposal” are added in the translation for clarification.

[12:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the silver of passing over a man.” The precise meaning of the phrase is debated, but עָבַר (’avar), “pass over,” probably refers here to counting, suggesting the reference is to a census conducted for taxation purposes. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.

[12:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the silver of persons, his valuation.” The precise meaning of the phrase is uncertain, but parallels in Lev 27 suggest that personal vows are referred to here. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.

[12:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring to the house of the Lord.”

[12:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurer, and let them repair the damage of the temple, with respect to all the damage that is found there.” The word מַכָּר (makar), translated here “treasurer,” occurs only in this passage. Some suggest it means “merchant” or “benefactor.” Its usage in Ugaritic texts, where it appears in a list of temple officials, suggests that it refers in this context to individuals who were in charge of disbursing temple funds.

[12:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “Now, do not take silver from your treasurers, because for the damages to the temple you must give it.”

[12:8]  ³² tn Outside of this passage the verb אוּת (’ut) appears only in Gen 34:15-22.

[12:8]  ³³ tn Heb “and not to repair the damages to the temple.” This does not mean that the priests were no longer interested in repairing the temple. As the following context makes clear, the priests decided to hire skilled workers to repair the damage to the temple, rather than trying to make the repairs themselves.

[12:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “on the right side of the altar as a man enters.”

[12:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the king’s scribe.”

[12:10]  ³⁶ tn Heb “went up and tied [it] and counted the silver that was found in the house of the Lord.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to make better sense in English, since it seems more logical to count the money before bagging it (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[16:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in Damascus.”

[16:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”

[16:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”

[16:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”

[16:15]  ⁴¹ tn That is, the newly constructed altar.

[16:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “for me to seek.” The precise meaning of בָּקַר (baqar), “seek,” is uncertain in this context. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189.

[16:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[17:27]  ⁴⁴ tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.

[17:27]  ⁴⁵ tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.

[17:28]  ⁴⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[17:28]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “fear.”

[17:32]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “feared.”

[17:32]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and they appointed for themselves from their whole people priests for the high places and they were serving for them in the house[s] of the high places.”

[19:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “elders of the priests.”

[22:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “with these orders, saying.”

[22:4]  ⁵² tc The MT has וְיַתֵּם (vÿyattem), “and let them add up” (Hiphil of תָּמָם [tammam], “be complete”), but the appearance of הִתִּיכוּ (hitikhu), “they melted down” (Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh], “pour out”) in v. 9 suggests that the verb form should be emended to וְיַתֵּךְ (vÿyattekh), “and let him melt down” (a Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh]). For a discussion of this and other options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 281.

[22:9]  ⁵³ tn Heb “returned the king a word and said.”

[22:9]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “that was found in the house.”

[22:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “the keeper of the clothes.”

[22:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “second.” For a discussion of the possible location of this district, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 283.

[22:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and they spoke to her.”

[23:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and the king sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him.”

[23:1]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[23:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “read in their ears.”

[23:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.

[23:4]  ⁶¹ tn Or “doorkeepers.”

[23:4]  ⁶² tn Heb “for.”

[23:4]  ⁶³ tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).

[23:4]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:4]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.

[23:4]  ⁶⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[23:5]  ⁶⁷ tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”

[23:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “burn incense.”

[23:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “burned incense.”

[23:8]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “defiled; desecrated,” that is, “made ritually unclean and unusable.”

[23:8]  ⁷¹ sn These towns marked Judah’s northern and southern borders, respectively, at the time of Josiah.

[23:8]  ⁷² tc The Hebrew text reads “the high places of the gates,” which is problematic in that the rest of the verse speaks of a specific gate. The translation assumes an emendation to בָּמוֹת הַשְּׁעָרִים (bamot hashÿ’arim), “the high place of the goats” (that is, goat idols). Worship of such images is referred to in Lev 17:7 and 2 Chr 11:15. For a discussion of the textual issue, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 286-87.

[23:9]  ⁷³ tn Heb “their brothers.”

[23:24]  ⁷⁴ tn Here בִּעֵר (bi’er) is not the well attested verb “burn,” but the less common homonym meaning “devastate, sweep away, remove.” See HALOT 146 s.v. בער.

[23:24]  ⁷⁵ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 21:6.

[23:24]  ⁷⁶ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

[23:24]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “carrying out the words of the law.”