24. Josiah destroyed the mediums, wizards, the house gods, the idols, and all the horrible things people worshiped in Judah and Jerusalem. He did this to obey the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the Lord’S Temple.
25. There had never been a king like Josiah before. Josiah turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his strength. No king had followed all the Law of Moses like Josiah. And there has never been another king like Josiah since that time.
26. But the Lord did not stop being angry with the people of Judah. He was still angry with them for everything that Manasseh had done.
27. The Lord said, “I forced the Israelites to leave their land. I will do the same to Judah. I will take Judah out of my sight. I will not accept Jerusalem. Yes, I chose that city. I was talking about Jerusalem when I said, ‘My name will be there.’ But I will destroy the Temple that is in that place.”
28. All the other things that Josiah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah.
29. While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt, went to fight against the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. Josiah went out to meet Neco at Megiddo. Pharaoh saw Josiah and killed him.
30. Josiah’s officers put his body in a chariot and carried him from Megiddo to Jerusalem. They buried Josiah in his own grave. Then the common people took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz and anointed him. They made Jehoahaz the new king.
31. Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. He ruled three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.
32. Jehoahaz did what the Lord said was wrong. He did all the same things that his ancestors had done.
33. Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Jehoahaz could not rule in Jerusalem. Pharaoh Neco forced Judah to pay 7500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold.
34. Pharaoh Neco made Josiah’s son Eliakim the new king. Eliakim took the place of Josiah his father. Pharaoh Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh Neco took Jehoahaz away to Egypt where he died.
35. Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh. But Jehoiakim made the common people pay taxes and used that money to give to Pharaoh Neco. So everyone paid their share of silver and gold, and King Jehoiakim gave the money to Pharaoh Neco.
36. Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah.
37. Jehoiakim did what the Lord said was wrong. He did all the same things his ancestors had done.