64 Bible Verses about Reformation

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If with all your heart you [are] turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of [the] Philistines."

Then Jacob said to his household and to all who [were] with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that [are] in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments.

"So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you [are] living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh." And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods,read more.
for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites who live [in] the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he [is] our God." But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve Yahweh, for he [is] a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you." And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve Yahweh." And Joshua said to the people, "You [are] witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "[We are] witnesses." He said, "Remove the foreign gods that [are] in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel." And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice."

Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, "Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in the proper arrangement, and take a second bull and offer [it as] a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you will cut down. Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him; and because he was too afraid of his {father's family} and the men of the city to do [it during] the day, he did [it during] night.

Then Jehu assembled all of the people and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will worship him greatly. So then, summon to me all of the prophets of Baal and all of his servants and his priests; no man should fail to come, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come shall not live!" Now Jehu was acting with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal. Then Jehu said, "Sanctify a [solemn] assembly for Baal!" So they proclaimed [it].read more.
Jehu sent [word] through all of Israel, and all of the servants of Baal came; there did not remain a man who did not come. They came to the house of Baal so that the house of Baal was filled from {wall to wall}. He said to the one who [was] over the wardrobe, "Bring out clothing for all of the servants of Baal." So he brought the clothing out for them. Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Recab came [to] the temple of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, "Search and see that there is none of the servants of Yahweh here with you; only those who serve Baal." They came to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he said, "The man who lets [anyone] escape from the men who I am {entrusting to you}, {he will pay with his life}!" It happened that when he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the royal guard and to the officers, "Come and kill them; let no man go free!" So {they put them to the sword}, and the royal guard and the officers threw them out, then they went up to the citadel of the temple of Baal. They brought out the stone pillars of the temple of Baal and burned {them}. So they broke down the stone pillars of Baal and destroyed the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine until this day.

Then Jehoiada {made} a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that the people should be as a people for Yahweh, and [also a covenant] between the king and the people. Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, and its altars and its images they broke completely into pieces. Mattan the priest of Baal they killed in front of the altars. Then the priest put guards over the house of Yahweh.

And Jehoiada {made} a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down. And they smashed his altars and his images, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

Nevertheless some good things have been found in regard to you, for you burned the Asherahs out of the land and set your heart to seek God."

And he removed the foreign gods and the carved image from the house of Yahweh and all the altars which he built on the mountain of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city.

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

He put away the male shrine prostitutes from the land, and he removed all of the idols that his ancestors made. Also, he had Maacah his mother removed from the office of queen mother, [as] she had made a repulsive image for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her repulsive image and burned it in the Wadi Kidron.

And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the vile idols from all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was in front of the portico of Yahweh.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those sojourning with them, from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for many had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh his God [was] with him. And they were gathered [at] Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And they sacrificed to Yahweh on that day from the war booty they brought back: seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.read more.
And they entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their inmost being, but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women. And they took an oath to Yahweh with a great voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with horns. And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with all their heart. And they sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and Yahweh gave rest to them all around.

He removed the high places, and he smashed the stone pillars; he cut down the poles of Asherah worship and demolished the bronze serpent which Moses had made, for up to those days the {Israelites} were offering incense to it and called it Nehushtan.

And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh {to the very last one}. Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property [and] to their cities.

In the first year of his kingship, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh and strengthened them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and he gathered them into the eastern square. And he said to them, "Hear me, O Levites! Sanctify yourselves now, and sanctify the house of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, and bring out the defilement from the sanctuary.read more.
For our ancestors acted unfaithfully and did evil in the sight of Yahweh our God, and have forsaken him and turned away their faces from the dwelling place of Yahweh. {They have turned their backs} [on it]. They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. And they did not burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the sanctuary to the God of Israel.

Now {it is in my heart} to {make} a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger might turn away from him. Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him to serve him and to be his servants and incense burners."

Then Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, to come to the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. Now the king and his princes, and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to make the Passover feast in the second month-- but they were not able to make it at that time, for the priests had not consecrated themselves {in sufficient numbers}, and the people had not been assembled in Jerusalem--read more.
and the plan seemed right in the eyes of the king and in the eyes of all the assembly. So they let the decree stand, {to make a proclamation} throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, to come to make a Passover feast to Yahweh the God of Israel. And the runners went with the letter from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah according to the command of the king, saying, "O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. Do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who acted unfaithfully before Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them as a desolation, as you see. Now, do not stiffen your neck as your fathers, but give a hand to Yahweh and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve Yahweh your God that his fierce anger may turn away from you. For when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your children [will find] compassion before their captors and return to this land, for Yahweh your God [is] gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him." And it happened [that] the runners were passing from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and up to Zebulun, but they were laughing at them and mocking them. Only men from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also upon Judah, to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and the princes concerning the word of Yahweh. So many people gathered in Jerusalem to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; [it was] a very great assembly. And they rose up and removed the altars that [were] in Jerusalem. And they removed all the incense altars and threw [them] away in the Wadi Kidron. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were disgraced, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of Yahweh. Then they stood at their positions according to custom, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests were sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites. For [there were] many in the assembly who did not consecrate themselves, so the Levites [were] over the killing of the Passover sacrifices for all who [were] not clean, to consecrate [them] to Yahweh. For a majority of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. But they ate the Passover sacrifice {otherwise than prescribed}, but Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, "May the good Yahweh make atonement unto everyone whose heart is set to seek God, Yahweh the God of his ancestors, though not according to the cleansing for the sanctuary." And Yahweh listened to Hezekiah, and he healed the people. And the {Israelites} who were found in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy. And the Levites and the priests were offering praise to Yahweh day by day, with powerful instruments to Yahweh. And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites {who were skilled at service} to Yahweh. So they ate the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. Then the whole assembly decided to make seven more days [of feasting], so they made seven [more] days with joy, for Hezekiah the king of Judah had {provided} one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the princes {provided} one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly. And many priests consecrated themselves. And the whole assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, all the assembly who had come from the land of Israel, and those living in Judah rejoiced. And there was great joy in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was nothing such as this in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy dwelling place in the heavens.

And Hezekiah appointed working groups of the priests and the Levites, each according to their divisions, {according to the service for priests and Levites}, for burnt offerings, for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the camps of Yahweh. And the gift of the king [was] out of his own possessions for the burnt offerings--the burnt offerings for the morning and the evening and for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and appointed feasts, as is written in the law of Yahweh. Then he said to the people, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to give a gift for the priests and the Levites, so that they might be strong in the law of Yahweh.read more.
And the word spread. The Israelites gave abundantly [from] the firstfruits of grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all [kinds of] grains from the field. And they brought tithes of everything in abundance. Then the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps [upon] heaps. In the third month the heaps began to pile up, and in the seventh month they ceased. When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel. And Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, saying, "Since the offerings began to be brought to the house of Yahweh, [we have] eaten and been satisfied, and have much to spare, for Yahweh has blessed his people. Now [see] this abundant remainder!" And Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of Yahweh, and they were prepared. Then they brought the offerings and tithes and holy objects faithfully. And over them [as] leader [was] Conaniah the Levite. And Shimei his brother [was] second [in rank]. And Jehiel, Azaziah, Nathan, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah [were] chief officers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei, his brother, by appointment of King Hezekiah. And Azaraiah [was] leader of the house of God. Now Kore the son of Imlah, the Levite, the gatekeeper of the east gate [was] over the freewill offerings of God, to give offerings to Yahweh and the most holy things. And at his hand [were] Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests [and] {entrusted} to give to their brothers by working groups, according to the eldest [to] the youngest, besides their enrollment by genealogy, to males from three years old and upward, to all who came into the house of Yahweh, {as each day required} for their service in their posts according to their working groups. And the enrollment of the priests [was] according to the house of their fathers, and the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, according to their posts by their working groups. And [they were] enrolled with all their little ones, their wives, their sons, and their daughters for the whole assembly because of their faithfulness. And they sanctified themselves in holiness. And for the descendants of Aaron, the priests, [who were] in the fields of the pasturelands of their cities, {in each and every one of their cities} [were] men who were designated by name to give shares to every male among the priests and to everyone enrolled among the Levites.

It happened in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent [word to] Shaphan the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the secretary of the temple of Yahweh, saying, "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and let them count the money being brought to the temple of Yahweh which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people, and let them give it into the hand of those appointed doers of the work at the temple of Yahweh. Let them give it to the doers of the work who [are] at the temple of Yahweh to repair the breach of the temple:read more.
to the skilled craftsmen, to the builders, to the masons, and to buy timber and hewing stones to repair the temple. Only the money being given to them is not to be accounted for by them, for they [are] dealing with honesty."

Now in the eighteenth year of his reign [after] he purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the commander of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of Yahweh his God. And they came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave the money that was brought for the house of God, which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had gathered from the hand of Manasseh, Ephraim, and from the whole remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they delivered [it] into the hand of the workmen who were appointed in the house of Yahweh, and they [in turn] gave it to those doing the work who [were] at work in the house of Yahweh, to repair [and] restore the house.read more.
And they dispensed [it] to the skilled craftsmen and the builders to buy stone [for] hewing and timber for the seams and for binding the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed. And the men did the work faithfully. Over them as supervisors [were] appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites. And [other] Levites, all who were skilled in instruments of song, [were] over the porters and were directing all who worked {on each task}. And some of the Levites [were] scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.

Then the {king} commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the second priests, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all of the objects made for Baal and for the Asherah and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and then he carried their ashes to Bethel He removed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained [to] burn incense on the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem and who offered incense to, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. He brought out the Asherah image from the temple of Yahweh outside of Jerusalem to the Wadi of the Kidron and burnt it {there}; then he pulverized [it] to dust and threw its dust upon the tombs of the children of the people.read more.
He tore down the shrines of the male shrine prostitutes which were in the temple of Yahweh, where the women were weaving shrines for the Asherah. Then he brought all of the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests from Geba up to Beersheba burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on the left of each gate of the city. However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their relatives. He defiled the Topheth which [is] in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, {to prevent} anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech. He kept the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun from coming to the temple of Yawheh at the side room of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, which [was] in the court; and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire. The altars which [were] on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh, the king tore down and ran from there and threw their ashes into the Wadi Kidron. The high places which [were] east of Jerusalem, which [were] on the south of the Mountain of Destruction which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the detestable thing of the {Ammonites}, the king defiled. He also broke into pieces the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah poles and covered their sites [with] human bones. Moreover, the altar which [was] in Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin, had built, even that altar and the high place, [Josiah] tore down. Then he burned down the high place and crushed [the] pole of Asherah worship to dust and burned it with fire. When Josiah turned and saw the tombs which [were] there on the hill, he sent and took the bones from the tombs and burned [them] on the altar. [Thus] he defiled them according to the word of Yahweh that the man of God had proclaimed who had proclaimed these things. Then he said, "What [is] this gravestone that I [am] seeing?" The men of the city said to him, "[This is the] tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel." So Josiah said, "Let him rest and let no man move his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria. Moreover, all of the shrines of the high places which [were] in the towns of Samaria which the kings of Israel had made to provoke [Yahweh], Josiah removed, and he did to them like all of the deeds he had done in Bethel Then he slaughtered all of the priests of the high places who [were] there, on the altars, and he burned the bones of the humans on them. Then he returned [to] Jerusalem. Then the king commanded all of the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as has been written on the scroll of this covenant. For they had not kept this Passover from the days of the judges who had judged over Israel {or} [during] the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept for Yahweh in Jerusalem. Moreover, the mediums and the spiritists, the household gods and the idols, and all of the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah removed in order to establish the words of the law written on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found [in] the temple of Yahweh.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he [was] still a boy, he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. And in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherahs, the idols, and the images. And he destroyed before him the altars for the Baals, and he cut down the incense stands above them. And the Asherahs, the idols, and the images he smashed. And he ground [them] to powder and sprinkled [the dust] over the burial sites of those who sacrificed to them. And he burned the bones of the priests on the altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.read more.
And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, he broke down the altars and the Asherahs and crushed the idols, grinding [them] to dust, and he cut down all the incense stands in all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

And Josiah removed all the detestable things from the whole land that belonged to the {Israelites} and obligated all who were found in Israel to serve Yahweh their God. All his days they did not turn aside from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

When the king heard the words of the scroll of the Torah, he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Acbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying, "Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this scroll [that was] found. For the wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us [is] great because our ancestors did not listen to the words of this scroll to do according to all that is written concerning us!"read more.
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah the son of Harhas, the keeper of the robes. Now she [was] living in Jerusalem in the second district. Then they spoke to her, and she said to them, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, 'Say to the man who sent you to me, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Look I am bringing evil to this place and upon its inhabitants, [according to] all of the words of that scroll that the king of Judah has read because they have abandoned me and they have burned incense to other gods, provoking me to anger with all of the works of their hands. My wrath shall be kindled against this place and not be quenched.'" And to the king of Judah who sent all of you to inquire of Yahweh, thus you shall say to him, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, '[Concerning] the words that you have heard, because you have a responsive heart, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants to become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before my face, I have also heard, declares Yahweh. Therefore look, I am gathering you to your ancestors, and you shall be gathered to your tombs in peace. Your eyes will not see all of the disaster that I am bringing onto this place.'" '" Then they {reported the word} to the king.

And when the king heard the words of the law, he tore his garments, and the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying, "Go! Seek Yahweh on my behalf and on behalf of those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words of the scroll that was found, for the anger of Yahweh that [was] poured out on us [is] great, because our ancestors have not kept the word of Yahweh, to do all that is written in this scroll."read more.
Then Hilkiah and those whom the king [had sent] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments. (Now she was living in Jerusalem in the second district.) And they spoke to her concerning this. And she said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: 'Say to the man who sent you all to me: "Thus says Yahweh: 'Behold, I am bringing disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants--all the curses written in the scroll that were read before the king of Judah-- because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. And my wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched.' But to the king of Judah who sent you to seek Yahweh, thus shall you say to him: 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: [As for] the words which you heard, because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and against its inhabitants and you humbled yourself before me and tore your garments and wept before me, now I also have heard,' {declares} Yahweh. 'Behold, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see any of the disaster that I am bringing upon this place.'" '"

So the king sent [word], and all of the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him. Then the king went up [to] the temple of Yahweh, and all of the men of Judah and all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem [were] with him, [including] the priests, the prophets, and all of the people from smallest to greatest; and in their {hearing} he read all of the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been found in the temple of Yahweh. Then the king stood by the pillar, and he {made} a covenant before Yahweh, to go after Yahweh and to keep his commands and his warnings and his statutes, with all of [his] heart and with his all of his soul, to keep the words of this covenant written on this scroll. Then all of the people {joined} in the covenant.

Then they sent [word] to the king, and he gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of Yahweh with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with the priests and the Levites--all the people from great to small--and they read in their ears all the words of the scroll of the covenant that was found in the house of Yahweh. And the king stood at his position. And he made the covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commands and statutes and regulations with all his heart and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that [were] written on this scroll.read more.
Then he obligated all who were found in Jerusalem and in Benjamin, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would do according to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

Then the king stood by the pillar, and he {made} a covenant before Yahweh, to go after Yahweh and to keep his commands and his warnings and his statutes, with all of [his] heart and with his all of his soul, to keep the words of this covenant written on this scroll. Then all of the people {joined} in the covenant.

And the king stood at his position. And he made the covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commands and statutes and regulations with all his heart and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that [were] written on this scroll. Then he obligated all who were found in Jerusalem and in Benjamin, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would do according to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.

Then the king commanded all of the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as has been written on the scroll of this covenant. For they had not kept this Passover from the days of the judges who had judged over Israel {or} [during] the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept for Yahweh in Jerusalem.

Josiah kept the Passover to Yahweh in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover [sacrifice] on the fourteenth day of the first month. And he set the priests at their posts and encouraged them in the service of the house of Yahweh. And he said to the Levites who [were] teaching all Israel, who were sanctified to Yahweh, "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. There is no [need] to carry it on [your] shoulders. Now serve Yahweh your God and his people Israel.read more.
And prepare yourselves according to {your families}, according to your working groups, according to the decree of David king of Israel and according to the decree of Solomon his son. And stand in the sanctuary according to the clans of {your families} for your brothers, the {lay people}, and a part of the {family} of the Levites. And slaughter the Passover [lamb] and consecrate yourself and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of Yahweh by the hand of Moses. Then Josiah provided for the {lay people} sheep, lambs, and young goats, all for the Passover for all who were found [there], to the sum of thirty thousand, along with three thousand bulls. These [were] the possession of the king. And his officials contributed a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, commanders of the house of God, gave to the priests two thousand six hundred Passover [lambs] and three hundred bulls. Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jehozabad, commanders of the Levites, contributed to the Levites five thousand Passover [lambs] and five hundred bulls. And when the work had been completed, the priests stood at their positions and the Levites in their working groups according to the command of the king. And they slaughtered the Passover [lamb], and the priests sprinkled [the blood] from their hand, and the Levites flayed [the sacrifices]. And they set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the clans of the {families} for the {lay people}, to offer to Yahweh according to what is written in the scroll of Moses. And thus they did with the bulls. Then they roasted the Passover [lamb] in the fire according to the ordinance. And they boiled the holy offerings in pots, in kettles, and in dishes and brought it quickly to the {lay people}. And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, [were busy] with offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. And the singers, the descendants of Asaph, [were] at their stations according to the decree of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, the seer of the king. And the gatekeepers [were] at {each gate}. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites had made preparations for them. So all the service of Yahweh was prepared on that day to keep the Passover and to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh, according to the command of King Josiah. And the Israelites who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. And there was no Passover like it kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. And none of the kings of Israel kept a Passover like that which Josiah and the priests and the Levites, and all of Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, kept. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, "We ourselves have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, and even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all of these women and their offspring, according to the advice of my lord and those who tremble at the commandment of our God. Let it be done according to the law.

After finishing these things the officials approached me saying, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated from the people of the lands with their detestable things, and from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For they have taken from their daughters for themselves and their sons. So the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the officials and prefects were foremost in this sin. When I heard this I tore my garment and my robe, and I pulled the hair out from my head and beard, and I sat appalled.read more.
Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the sin of the returned exiles were gathered around me and I sat appalled until the evening offering. At the evening offering I got up from my mourning posture and, with my garment and robe torn, I fell down on my knees and I spread out my palms to Yahweh my God and said, "My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God. For our sins have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors until this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our sins we ourselves, our kings, and our priests have been handed into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to utter shame, as it is this day. But now for a brief moment mercy has been shown by Yahweh our God, who left behind for us a remnant, and given us security in his holy place--for our God to brighten our eyes and to give us brief relief in our bondage. For we are slaves and in our bondage our God did not forsake us, and he has extended to us loyal love in the presence of the kings of Persia, to give to us deliverance [and] to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem. "And now our God what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by the hand of your servants the prophets saying, 'The land that you are entering to possess is a land of impurity with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their detestable things which they have filled from end to end with their uncleanness. Therefore, do not give your daughters to their sons, and do not take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek their peace and prosperity so that forever you may be strong and eat the good of the land and may give it as an inheritance to your sons.' After all that has come upon us for our evil practices and for our great guilt--you, our God, have held back less than our guilt [deserved] and you have given us a remainder such as this. Shall we again break your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who practice these detestable things? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us with no remnant or remainder? Yahweh, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have been left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this."

Then Ezra stood up and made the chief priests, Levites, and all of Israel swear to do according to what was said. So they swore this oath. Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat food nor drink water because he was mourning over the sin of the exiles. And they sent a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to all the {returned exiles} to assemble in Jerusalem.read more.
Anyone who did not come within three days, by decision of the officials and elders, all of his possessions would be devoted to God, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of exiles. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the public square of the house of God trembling because of this matter and from the rains. Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have broke faith and married foreign women, increasing the guilt of Israel. Now make a confession to Yahweh the God of your ancestors and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women." Then all the assembly answered with a great voice and said, "It is so. We must do according to your words. But the people are many, and it is the time of rain; we are unable to stand outside. The task is not for one day or two, for we greatly rebelled in this matter. Please let our leaders stand for the whole assembly, and let all that are in our cities who have married foreign women come at set times, and with them the elders of and judges of each city, until the fierce wrath of our God because of this matter is averted from us." Only Jehonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah stood against this, and the Levites Meshullam and Shabbethai supported them. The {returned exiles} did so. Ezra the priest selected men, the heads of the {families} according to the house of their fathers, all of them by name. They sat down to examine the matter on the first day of the tenth month. They finished [investigating] all the men who married foreign women by the first day of the first month.

Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke Ashdodite and could not speak Judean, but [only] the tongues of other nations. So I quarreled with them and cursed them and beat some of their men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath by God: "Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.read more.
Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin. Should we listen to you all and do this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"

Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God--the one related to Tobiah-- prepared for [Tobiah] a large chamber where they had formerly put the grain offering, the frankincense, the [temple] objects, tithes of grain, wine, and oil commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests. During all of this, I was not in Jerusalem because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. At the end of [some] days I asked permission from the king [to leave].read more.
So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God. It was very displeasing for me, and I threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber. And I spoke [in order], and they cleansed the chambers. Then I returned the objects of the house of God--the grain offering and the frankincense. And then I came to learn that the food of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, the doers of the work, had gone back each to his field. So I quarreled with the prefects, and I said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them and set them at their station. So all of Judah brought the tithe of grain, new wine, and olive oil into the storehouses. I appointed as treasurer over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pedaiah from the Levites, and as their hand Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful. [The responsibility given] to them was to distribute to their brothers.

In those days I saw in Judah [people] treading the wine press on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps [of grain] and loading them on donkeys along with wine, grapes and figs, and every kind of burden and bringing [it all] to Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath. And I warned them at that time against selling food.

Tyrian men who lived in [Jerusalem] brought fish and every kind of merchandise and sold [it] on the Sabbath to the descendants of Judah and in Jerusalem. So I quarreled with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the day of the Sabbath? Did not your ancestors do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city [too]? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!"read more.
So when it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and said that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my young men over the gates [to prevent] any {goods} being brought in on the day of the Sabbath. So the merchants and the sellers of merchandise spent the night outside of Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, "Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do [it again], I will lay hands against you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. And then I told two Levites that they must purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to consecrate the day of the Sabbath. Remember this also, my God, and take pity on me according to the greatness of your loyal love.

So Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. Only Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat [by] which he caused Israel to sin; [namely,] the calf-shaped idols of gold which [were in] Bethel and Dan.

But the high places he did not remove. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was completely with Yahweh all of his days.

But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was fully devoted all his days.

and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, yet not as his father or his mother, as he removed the stone pillars of Baal that his father had made. But he did cling to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin, and he did not depart from it.

Jehoash did right in the eyes of Yahweh all of his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places were not removed; the people [were] still making sacrifices and offering incense on the high places.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Make your ways and your deeds good and let me dwell with you in this place.

[then if] my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

Wash! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil! Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue [the] oppressed! Defend [the] orphan! Plead for [the] widow!

Seek Yahweh {while he lets himself be found}; call him {while he is} near. Let [the] wicked forsake his way, and [the] man of sin his thoughts. And let him return to Yahweh, that he may take pity on him, and to our God, for he will {forgive manifold}.

"So now then, say, please, to the {people} of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Look, I [am] preparing evil against you, and [I am] planning a plan against you. Please turn back, each one from his evil way, and walk rightly [in] your ways and your deeds." '

Now {therefore} amend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and Yahweh will relent of the disaster that he has spoken over you.

And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, {I have sent them over and over again}, {saying}, 'Turn back please each one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and you must not go after other gods to serve them, {so that you may live} on the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.' But you did not incline your ear and you did not listen to me.

You must say to them: 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return to me," {declares} Yahweh of hosts, "and I will return to you," says Yahweh of hosts.

Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send the Christ appointed for you--Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all [things], about which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times.read more.
Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You will listen to him in everything that he says to you. And it will be [that] every soul who does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed utterly from the people.' And indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and all those who followed [him] have spoken [about] and proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed.' God, [after he] had raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each [of you] back from your wickedness!"

Be on the alert and strengthen the remaining [things] that are about to die, for I have not found your works completed before my God. Therefore remember how you have received and heard, and observe [it], and repent. If therefore you are not on the alert, I will come like a thief, and you will never know [at] what hour I will come against you.

It is reported everywhere [that there] is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind which [does] not [even exist] among the Gentiles, so that someone has the wife of [his] father. And you are inflated with pride, and should you not rather have mourned, so that the one who has done this deed would be removed from your midst? For [although I] am absent in body but present in spirit, I have already passed judgment on the one who has done this in this way, as [if I] were present.read more.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, [when] you are assembled, and my spirit, together with the power of our Lord Jesus, [I have decided] to hand over such a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, in order that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting [is] not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old leaven in order that you may be a new batch of dough, just as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. So then, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old leaven or with the leaven of wickedness and sinfulness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. By no means [did I mean] the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy people and swindlers or idolaters, since then you would have to depart out of the world. But now I have written to you not to associate with any so-called brother, if he is a sexually immoral person or a greedy person or an idolater or an abusive person or a drunkard or a swindler--with such a person not even to eat. For what [is it] to me to judge those outside? Should you not judge those inside? But those outside God will judge. Remove the evil person {from among yourselves}.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do {the works you did at first}. But if you do not, I am coming to you, and I will remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

'I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! Thus, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth! Because you are saying, "I am rich, and have become rich, and I have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked,read more.
I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire, in order that you may become rich, and white clothing, in order that you may be clothed and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and eye salve to smear on your eyes, in order that you may see. As many as I love, I reprove and discipline. Be zealous, therefore, and repent! Behold, I stand at the door and knock! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, indeed I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.

Therefore, putting aside all moral uncleanness and wicked excess, welcome with humility the implanted message which is able to save your souls.

And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may approve what [is] the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.

[that] you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man (in accordance with God), who is created in righteousness and holiness from the truth.

Therefore put to death {what is earthly in you}: sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustful passion, evil desire, and greediness, which is idolatry, because of which the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which also you once lived, when you used to live in them.read more.
But now you also lay aside all [these] things: anger, rage, wickedness, slander, abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, [because you] have taken off the old man together with his deeds, and have put on the new [man] that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created him,

But be doers of the message and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, because if anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at {his own face} in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of [person] he was.read more.
But the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues [to do it], not being a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts, this one will be blessed {in what he does}.

Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [you] sinners, and purify [your] hearts, [you] double-minded! Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloominess.read more.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.