2 Chronicles 34:6

King James Version (KJV)

And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

The cities of Manasseh - Even those who were under the government of the Israelitish king permitted their idols and places of idolatry to be hewn down and destroyed: after the truth was declared and acknowledged, the spade and the axe were employed to complete the reformation.

Was this helpful?

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

The power of Assyria being now (629-624 B.C.) greatly weakened, if not completely broken, Josiah aimed not merely at a religious reformation, but at a restoration of the kingdom to its ancient limits (see the 2 Kings 23:19 note).

With their mattocks … - Or “in their desolate places” (compare Psalm 109:10). Another reading gives the sense, “he proved their house round about.”

Was this helpful?