Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
Josiah first taught his people the words of the covenant before binding them to it, a king who honored God by honoring instruction. He read the book himself so they would see his own heart moved, then asked them to stand and covenant to serve the Lord with all their strength, and they could not for shame refuse.
AI summary
Commenting on 2 Chronicles 34:29-33
The phrase 'he caused all to stand' means simply that he made them stand and act according to God's covenant, not that he formally entered them into it, the grammar will not bear the stronger reading. What matters is that the people of Jerusalem and Benjamin were brought to perform the covenant's terms together.
AI summary
Commenting on 2 Chronicles 34:29-32