¹⁸ All the people of the land went to the temple^(A) of Baal and tore it down. They smashed^(B) the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest^(C) of Baal in front of the altars.

Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord.

³ Break down their altars, smash^(A) their sacred stones and burn^(B) their Asherah^(C) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names^(D) from those places.

⁴ He removed^(A) the high places,^(B) smashed the sacred stones^(C) and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake^(D) Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.^[a])

²⁶ They brought the sacred stone^(A) out of the temple of Baal and burned it.

⁴⁰ Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley^(A) and slaughtered^(B) there.

⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death^(A) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn^(B) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil^(C) from among you.

² “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(A) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”^(B) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets^(C) and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^(D) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(E)

⁷ he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder^(A) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.