⁶ His heart was devoted^(A) to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places^(B) and the Asherah poles^(C) from Judah.^(D)

Psalm 119^[a]

א Aleph

³³ The high places,^(A) however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

¹⁷ Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.

³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God^(A) of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. ⁴ Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles^(B) and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.^{(C) 5} He burned^(D) the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, ⁷ he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder^(E) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

³ There is, however, some good^(A) in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles^(B) and have set your heart on seeking God.^(C)”