23
神の律法に従うヨシヤ王
1-2そこで王は、使者をユダとエルサレムの長老や指導者たちに送り、自分といっしょに神殿へ上るよう命じました。ユダとエルサレムに住む祭司と預言者全員、それに身分の高い者も低い者もみな、神殿に集まりました。王は、神殿で発見された『契約（律法）の書』を一同に読み聞かせました。 3王は正面の柱のわきに立っていました。朗読が終わると彼らは、主に従い、契約の書に命じられているすべての戒めを守ることを厳粛に誓いました。
4そのあと、王は大祭司ヒルキヤをはじめ祭司たち、および神殿の警護に当たる者に命じて、バアルやアシェラ、太陽や月や星を礼拝するための備品・装具をすべて取り壊し、それらをエルサレム郊外のキデロンの野で焼き、灰はベテルへ運ばせました。 5次に、先のユダの王たちが任命した異教の祭司たちを処刑しました。彼らは、ユダの全地とエルサレム周辺の高台にある礼拝所で香をたき、バアルや太陽、月、星、天体に対しても香をたいていたのです。 6さらに王は、アシェラ像を神殿から取り除き、エルサレム郊外のキデロン川に運んで焼き、粉々に砕いて灰とし、その灰を共同墓地にまきました。 7さらに、神殿の回りにあった男娼の家も取り壊しました。それらの家で、女たちがアシェラ像のために布を織っていたからです。
8王は、ユダの町々に住む、主に仕える祭司たちをエルサレムに連れ戻しました。そして、北はゲバから南はベエル・シェバに至るまでの高台の礼拝所を、全部たたき壊しました。次に、エルサレム市長ヨシュアの邸宅の入口にあった礼拝所も取り壊しました。その邸宅は、町の門を入って左側にありました。 9高台の祭司たちは、ほかの祭司たちと共に食事はしたものの、エルサレムにある主の祭壇で供え物をささげる役には就きませんでした。
10それから王は、だれも二度と、自分の息子や娘をモレクのいけにえとしてささげることがないように、ベン・ヒノムの谷にあるトフェテの祭壇を取り壊しました。 11また、神殿の入口に近い、宦官ネタン・メレクの部屋の隣にある馬と戦車の像を壊しました。それは、先のユダの王たちが太陽神に献納したものだったからです。 12さらに、ユダの王たちが宮殿のアハズの部屋の屋上に造った祭壇と、マナセが神殿の二つの庭に造った祭壇も粉々にし、キデロンの谷にまきました。
13それから王は、エルサレムの東、破壊の山の南にある丘の上の礼拝所を取り除きました。それは、ソロモンがシドン人の悪の女神アシュタロテ、モアブの悪神ケモシュ、アモン人の悪神ミルコムのために建てたものです。 14ヨシヤ王は石の柱を粉々に砕き、忌むべきアシェラ像を切り倒し、それらのあった場所に人骨をまき散らして汚れた所にしました。
15さらに、イスラエルに罪を犯させたヤロブアム一世の築いた、ベテルにある祭壇や礼拝所を壊し、石の柱を粉々に砕き、アシェラ像を焼き払いました。
16ヨシヤ王は、山麓に墓があるのを見つけました。そこで家来に命じて、その墓から骨を取り出し、それをベテルの祭壇の上で焼かせて、祭壇を汚れたものとしました。こうして、かつて預言者がヤロブアムの祭壇はこうなる、と言っていたとおりになったのです。
17王は、「あそこに見える石碑は何か」と尋ねました。すると、町の人々は答えました。「ユダから出て来て、あなたが今ベテルの祭壇に対してなさったことを預言した、預言者の墓（Ⅰ列王記13章参照）です。」
18王は言いました。「そうか。では、そのままにしておきなさい。だれも彼の骨にさわってはならない。」
それで人々は、彼の骨も、サマリヤから来たあの預言者の骨も焼きませんでした。
19ヨシヤ王はサマリヤの高台の礼拝所をすべて取り払い、ベテルでしたように粉々にしました。それらはみな、イスラエルの王たちが建て、主の激しい怒りを買ったものでした。 20王はまた、異教の神々に仕える祭司たちを彼ら自身の祭壇の上で殺し、その祭壇を汚れたものとするため、その上で人の骨を焼きました。こうして、彼はエルサレムへ帰って行ったのです。
21王は民に、『契約の書』にあるとおり、過越の儀式を執り行うよう命じました。 22イスラエルを士師が治めていた時以来、過越の祭りが祝われたことはありませんでした。イスラエルとユダの諸王のどの時代にも例がありません。 23この過越の祭りは、ヨシヤ王の第十八年、エルサレムで行われました。
24ヨシヤ王はまた、霊媒や口寄せ、それにエルサレムとユダの全地にある、ありとあらゆる偶像を一掃しました。祭司ヒルキヤが神殿で発見した書物にある律法のことばを、忠実に守ろうとしたからです。 25ヨシヤのように完全に主に立ち返り、モーセのすべての律法を守った王は、彼のほかにはいませんでした。
26それにもかかわらず、マナセ王の悪行がもたらしたユダへの主の激しい怒りは収まりませんでした。 27主は言われました。「わたしは、イスラエルを退けたようにユダも退ける。わたしが選んだ町エルサレムも、わたしが自分のものだと言った神殿も捨てる。」
28ヨシヤ王のその他の業績は、『ユダ諸王の年代記』に記録されています。 29そのころ、エジプトの王ネコが、アッシリヤの王のもとに行こうとユーフラテス川に向かっていました。ヨシヤはネコを迎え撃つために出陣しましたが、メギドで彼に見つかり、殺されました。 30ヨシヤの家来たちは遺体を戦車でエルサレムに運び、彼の墓地に葬りました。民は、ヨシヤ王の子エホアハズを新しい王に選びました。
ユダの王エホアハズ
31-32ユダの新しい王エホアハズは二十三歳で即位し、エルサレムで三か月間王位にありました。母はリブナ出身のエレミヤの娘ハムタルで、彼は先王たちにならって主の前に悪を行いました。
33ファラオ・ネコは、エホアハズが王になることに反対でした。そのため、彼をハマテにあるリブラに幽閉し、ユダに銀百タラント（三千四百キログラム）と金一タラント（三十四キログラム）の科料を課しました。 34そしてヨシヤの子エルヤキムをエルサレムで王位につけ、名をエホヤキムと改めさせました。一方、エホアハズはエジプトへ連れて行かれ、そこで死にました。 35エホヤキム王は、エジプトのファラオが要求する銀を差し出すために、国民に重税を課さなければなりませんでした。
ユダの王エホヤキム
36-37ユダの新しい王エホヤキムは二十五歳で即位し、エルサレムで十一年治めました。母はルマ出身のペダヤの娘ゼブダで、彼もまた先王たちにならって主の前に悪を行いました。
1And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 2And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.23.2 both…: Heb. from small even unto great
3¶ And the king stood by a pillar, and made a 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.
4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the 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 the ashes of them unto Beth-el. 5And he put down the 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.23.5 put…: Heb. caused to cease23.5 idolatrous…: Heb. Chemarim23.5 planets: or, twelve signs or, constellations 6And he brought out the 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 graves of the children of the people. 7And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.23.7 hangings: Heb. houses 8And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city. 9Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. 10And he defiled 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. 11And he took away the 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 Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.23.11 chamberlain: or, eunuch, or, officer 12And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.23.12 brake…: or, ran from thence 13And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the 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.23.13 the mount…: that is, the mount of Olives 14And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.23.14 images: Heb. statues
15¶ Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, 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. 16And 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 man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el. 18And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.23.18 bones alone: Heb. bones to escape 19And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. 20And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.23.20 slew: or, sacrificed
21¶ And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. 22Surely there was not holden 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; 23But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.
24¶ Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.23.24 images: or, teraphim
25And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
26¶ Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.23.26 provocations: Heb. angers 27And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. 28Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
29¶ In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. 30And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.
31¶ Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.23.31 Jehoahaz: also called, Shallum 32And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33And Pharaoh-nechoh put him in bands 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.23.33 that…: or, because he reigned23.33 put the…: Heb. set a fine upon the land 34And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there. 35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-nechoh.
36¶ Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
