2 Kings 22:20

‘Therefore I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD delivers this message through the prophetess Huldah to King Josiah immediately after Josiah humbles himself, tears his clothes, and weeps upon hearing the judgment pronounced against Judah.

The words — The Hebrew לָכֵן (la/khen) means "therefore," anchoring the promise to Josiah’s prior repentance. The verb אֹסִפְךָ ('o.sif/kha) translates "I will gather you," paired with קִבְרֹתֶיךָ (kiv.ro.tei/cha) for "your graves," stating plainly that Josiah will die before the coming disaster.

The thread — This phrasing mirrors 1 Chronicles 17:11 where God promises David he will "go to be with your fathers," and reflects Isaiah 57:1’s note that the righteous are taken away before impending calamity.

Why it lands — The text states Josiah will be gathered to his grave in peace and will not see the calamity God brings on the place, requiring the reader to accept that divine intervention is triggered by genuine humility rather than outward piety.

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

לָכֵן֩la./Khen<to>/ therefore הִנְנִ֨יhi./Nihere/ I אֹֽסִפְךָ֜'o.sif./Kha[will] gather/ you עַל־'al-to אֲבֹתֶ֗יךָ'a.vo.Tei./khaancestors/ your וְנֶאֱסַפְתָּ֣ve./ne.'e.saf.Taand/ you will be gathered אֶל־'el-to קִבְרֹתֶיךָ֮kiv.ro.tei./Chagrave<s>/ your בְּשָׁלוֹם֒be./sha.lOmin/ peace וְלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not תִרְאֶ֣ינָהtir.'Ei.nahthey will look עֵינֶ֔יךָ'ei.Nei./khaeyes/ your בְּכֹל֙be./Kholon/ all הָֽרָעָ֔הha./ra.'Ahthe/ distress אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which אֲנִ֥י'a.NiI מֵבִ֖יאme.Vi'[will] bring עַל־'al-on הַמָּק֣וֹםha./ma.Komthe/ place הַזֶּ֑הha./Zeh<the>/ this וַיָּשִׁ֥יבוּva/i.ya.Shi.vuand/ they brought back אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַמֶּ֖לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king דָּבָֽר׃da.Varword

King James Version

Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

Cross-references

Psalms 37:37 Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil.
1 Chronicles 17:11 And when your days are fulfilled and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.
Genesis 25:8 And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
Jeremiah 22:15 Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
2 Kings 23:29 During Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.
Jeremiah 22:10 Do not weep for him who is dead; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for him who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
2 Chronicles 34:28 ‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its people.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.