16 Thus saith the Lord, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, all the words of the book which the king of Judah read.

17 Because they have forsaken me, and burn incense to other gods, to provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, my wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.

18 And to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, say, 'Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, concerning the words which you have heard,

19 Inasmuch as thy heart was softened, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou hast heard what I have spoken against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they shall be an object of terror and curse, and thou hast torn thy garments, and hast wept before me, I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore behold, I will add thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be laid in thy tomb in peace, and thine eyes shall not see all the calamity which I shall bring upon this place. And they brought an answer to the king.

Chapter 23

1 And the king sent, and they gathered together to him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.

2 And the king went to the house of the Lord, and all the Jews, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, and read aloud to them all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

3 Then the king stood on an elevated place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart and with all his soul, to fulfill the words of this covenant which are written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

4 И повелел царь Хелкии первосвященнику и вторым священникам и стоящим на страже у порога вынести из храма Господня все вещи, сделанные для Ваала и для Астарты и для всего воинства небесного, и сжег их за Иерусалимом в долине Кедрон, и велел прах их отнести в Вефиль.

5 И отставил жрецов, которых поставили цари Иудейские, чтобы совершать курения на высотах в городах Иудейских и окрестностях Иерусалима, — и которые кадили Ваалу, солнцу, и луне, и созвездиям, и всему воинству небесному;

6 и вынес Астарту из дома Господня за Иерусалим к потоку Кедрону, и сжег ее у потока Кедрона, и истер ее в прах, и бросил прах ее на кладбище общенародное;

7 и разрушил домы блудилищные, которые были при храме Господнем, где женщины ткали одежды для Астарты;

8 и вывел всех жрецов из городов Иудейских, и осквернил высоты, на которых совершали курения жрецы, от Гевы до Вирсавии, и разрушил высоты пред воротами, — ту, которая у входа в ворота Иисуса градоначальника, и ту, которая на левой стороне у городских ворот.