2 Kings 23:16

Verse

And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things.

American Standard Version (1901)

And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Jehovah which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

Bible in Basic English

Then Josiah, turning round, saw on the mountain the places of the dead, and he sent and had the bones taken out of their places and burned on the altar, so making it unclean, as the Lord had said by the man of God when Jeroboam was in his place by the altar on that feast-day. And he, turning his eyes to the resting-place of the man of God who had given word of these things, said:

Douay-Rheims 1899

And as Josias turned himself, he saw there the sepulchres that were in the mount: and he sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burnt them upon the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the Lord, which the man of God spoke, who had foretold these things.

Free Bible Version

As Josiah looked around he saw some tombs there on the hill. He had the bones taken from the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, just as the Lord had said through the man of God who had prophesied these things.

Geneva Bible 1599

And as Iosiah turned himselfe, he spied the graues, that were in the mount, and sent and tooke the bones out of the graues, and burnt them vpon the altar and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord, that the man of God proclaimed, which cryed the same wordes.

King James (Authorized) Version

And 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.

Translation for Translators

Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill. He commanded his men to take the bones out of those tombs and burn them on the altar. By doing that, he desecrated the altar. That was what a prophet had predicted many years before when Jeroboam #1 was standing close to that altar at a festival. Then Josiah looked up and saw the tomb of the prophet who had predicted that.

Unlocked Literal Bible

As Josiah looked over the area, he noticed the graves that were on the hillside. He sent men to take the bones from the graves; then he burned them on the altar, which defiled it. This was according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God had spoken, the man who spoke of these things beforehand.

Noah Webster Bible

And as Josiah turned himself, he espied the sepulchers that were there on the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, 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.

World English Bible

As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to Yahweh’s word which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

Young's Literal Translation

And Josiah turneth, and seeth the graves that [are] there in the mount, and sendeth and taketh the bones out of the graves, and burneth [them] on the altar, and defileth it, according to the word of Jehovah that the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

Context

Josiah Destroys Idolatry

¹⁵He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole. ¹⁶And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things.

Sermons

False Religion and Its Doom.

Horatius Bonar

Summary

In this verse, King Josiah is seen as fulfilling the prophecy of the man of God from Judah, who foretold the destruction of the altar at Bethel and the defilement of the high places. Josiah's actions demonstrate his commitment to purifying the land from idolatry and restoring true worship to the Lord. This event serves as a reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and the importance of repentance and obedience to His commands. Josiah's zeal for God's law and his efforts to eradicate idol worship set an example for future generations to follow in seeking righteousness and faithfulness to God.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

And as Josiah turned himself - This verse is much more complete in the Septuagint, and in the Hexaplar Syriac version at Paris. I shall give the whole, making a distinction where, in those versions, any thing is added: "And 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 burnt them upon the altar, and polluted it: according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed [when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the feast. And turning about, he cast his eyes on the sepulcher of the man of God] who proclaimed these words." See Kg1 13:2 (note), where these things were predicted, and see the notes there.