Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
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
To stand to it - It is likely that he caused them all to arise when he read the terms of the covenant, and thus testify their approbation of the covenant itself, and their resolution to observe it faithfully and perseveringly.
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