Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might, in conformity to all the Law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was no king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; and there was none like him who arose after him.
- KJV And 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.
- BSB Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.
- NKJV Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
- NLT Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
No king before or after Josiah turned to the Lord so wholeheartedly according to the Law of Moses. He stands as the supreme example of a repentant, Word-centered king.
Overview
This remarkable commendation places Josiah above all other kings in wholehearted devotion, echoing the great commandment (Deut. 6:5). Yet his unmatched faithfulness still could not undo the nation's guilt, exposing the limits of even the best human king. The verse stirs longing for the greater King, Jesus, who alone perfectly loves God and saves His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Kgs 18:5He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; so that after him was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him.
- Jer 29:13You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.
- Deut 6:5You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
- 2 Kgs 23:3The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people agreed to the covenant.
- 1 Kgs 8:48if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name;
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
- John 7:19Didn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?”
- Deut 4:29But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- 1 Kgs 2:4Then Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your children are careful of their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you,’ he said, ‘a man on the throne of Israel.’
- 1 Kgs 15:5because David did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, and didn’t turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
- Neh 10:29they joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;
- Mal 4:4“Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 23:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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