Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 34:33
And Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required everyone in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes King Josiah acting after securing a covenant agreement in Jerusalem and Benjamin. He removes idolatrous practices from all Israelite territories and mandates universal service to the LORD.
The words — תּוֹעֵב֗וֹת (to.'e.Vot) = abominations, referring to the detestable idolatrous practices Josiah eradicated. יֹֽאשִׁיָּ֜הוּ (yo.shi.Ya.hu) = Josiah, the king who enforced the religious reform.
The thread — The narrative links Josiah’s comprehensive reform to the faithful period under Joshua (Joshua 24:31) and contrasts it with Solomon’s earlier tolerance of detestable idols (1 Kings 11:5). The text also recalls Josiah’s initial personal pursuit of God (2 Chronicles 34:3).
Why it lands — The text records a complete, sustained removal of idolatry and a mandate for exclusive service to the LORD. It demands that readers recognize consistent covenant adherence as the standard for national religious life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his father David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images.
- Joshua 24:31 Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.
- 1 Kings 11:5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
- 2 Kings 23:4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests second in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven. And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
- Jeremiah 3:10 Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
- Hosea 6:4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.