2 Kings 23:4-14
1599 Geneva Bible
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high [a]Priest, and the Priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven, and he burnt them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried [b]the powder of them into Bethel.
5 And he put down the [c]Chemarims, whom the kings of Judah had founded to burn incense in the high places, and in the cities of Judah and about Jerusalem, and also them that burnt incense unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
6 And he brought out the [d]grove from the Temple of the Lord, without Jerusalem unto the valley of Kidron, and burnt it in the valley Kidron, and stamped it to powder, and cast the dust thereof upon the [e]graves of the children of the people.
7 And he brake down the houses of the Sodomites, that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
8 Also he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the Priests had burnt incense, even from Geba to Beersheba, and destroyed the high places of the gates, that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which was at the left hand of the gate of the city.
9 Nevertheless the Priests of the high places [f]came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, save only they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 He defiled also [g]Topheth, which was in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man should make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech.
11 He put down also the [h]horses that the Kings of Judah had given to the sun at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nethan-Melech the eunuch, which was ruler of the suburbs, and burnt the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the altars that were on the top of the chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord did the king break down, and hasted thence, and cast the dust of them in the [i]brook Kidron.
13 Moreover the King defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, and on the right hand of the [j]mount of corruption (which (A)Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the idol of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the idol of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon)
14 And he brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 23:4 Meaning, them which were next in dignity to the high Priest.
- 2 Kings 23:4 In contempt of that altar, which Jeroboam had there built to sacrifice to his calves.
- 2 Kings 23:5 Meaning, the priests of Baal, which were called Chemarims, either because they wore black garments, or else were smoked with burning incense to idols.
- 2 Kings 23:6 He removed the grove which idolaters for devotion had planted near unto the Temple, contrary to the commandment of the Lord, Deut. 16:21, or as some read, the similitude of a grove which was hung in the Temple.
- 2 Kings 23:6 Both in contempt of the idols and reproach of them which had worshipped them in their lives.
- 2 Kings 23:9 Because that those that had forsaken the Lord to serve idols, were not meet to minister in the service of the Lord for the instruction of others.
- 2 Kings 23:10 Which was a valley near to Jerusalem, and signifieth a taboret, because they smote on the taboret while their children were burning, that their cry should not be heard, Lev. 18:21, where after Josiah commanded carrions to be cast in contempt thereof.
- 2 Kings 23:11 The idolatrous kings had dedicated horses and chariots to the sun, either to carry the image thereof about as the heathen did, or else to sacrifice them as a sacrifice most agreeable.
- 2 Kings 23:12 Or, valley.
- 2 Kings 23:13 That was the mount of olives, so called because it was full of idols.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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