Reforms under Josiah

Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, (A)the priests of the second order, and the [a]doorkeepers (B)to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the utensils that had been made for Baal, for [b]Asherah, and for all the heavenly [c]lights; and (C)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley, and carried their ashes to Bethel. Then he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the remaining (D)heavenly [d]lights. He also brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and (E)ground it to dust, and (F)threw its dust on the graves of the [e]common people.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:4 Lit keepers of the threshold
  2. 2 Kings 23:4 I.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity, and so throughout the ch
  3. 2 Kings 23:4 Lit host
  4. 2 Kings 23:5 Lit host
  5. 2 Kings 23:6 Lit sons of the people

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the (A)priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring (B)out of the temple of the Lord all the articles that were made for Baal, for [a]Asherah, and for all [b]the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the [c]constellations, and to (C)all the host of heaven. And he brought out the (D)wooden[d] image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to (E)ashes, and threw its ashes on (F)the graves of the common people.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:4 A Canaanite goddess
  2. 2 Kings 23:4 The gods of the Assyrians
  3. 2 Kings 23:5 Of the Zodiac
  4. 2 Kings 23:6 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess