And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests (A)of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for (B)Baal, for (C)Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. (D)He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations (E)and all the host of the heavens. And he brought out (F)the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, (G)and burned it at the brook Kidron (H)and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves (I)of the common people. And he broke down the houses of (J)the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, (K)where the women wove hangings for (L)the Asherah. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from (M)Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. (N)However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled (O)Topheth, which is (P)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, (Q)that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to (R)Molech.[a] 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.[b] And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars (S)on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars (T)that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces[c] and cast the dust of them (U)into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of (V)the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (W)Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for (X)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for (Y)Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the (Z)pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:10 Hebrew might cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire for Molech
  2. 2 Kings 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  3. 2 Kings 23:12 Hebrew pieces from there

Josiah’s Reforms

Then the king commanded Hilkiah(A) the high priest and the priests of the second rank(B) and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host.(C) He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.(D) Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places(E) in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host.(F) He brought out the Asherah pole(G) from the Lord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley,(H) beat it to dust,(I) and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.[a](J) He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes(K) that were in the Lord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries[b] for Asherah.(L)

Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places(M) from Geba(N) to Beer-sheba,(O) where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate). The priests of the high places, however, did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem; instead, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.(P)

10 He defiled Topheth,(Q) which is in the Valley of Hinnom,(R) so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fire(S) to Molech.(T) 11 He did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They had been at the entrance of the Lord’s temple in the precincts by the chamber of Nathan-melech the court official, and he burned up the chariots of the sun.(U)

12 The king tore down the altars that were on the roof(V)—Ahaz’s upper chamber(W) that the kings of Judah had made—and the altars that Manasseh had made(X) in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. Then he smashed them[c] there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also defiled the high places that were across from Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the detestable idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.(Y) 14 He broke the sacred pillars into pieces,(Z) cut down the Asherah poles,(AA) then filled their places with human bones.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:6 Lit the sons of the people
  2. 2 Kings 23:7 Or clothing
  3. 2 Kings 23:12 Text emended; MT reads he ran from