2 Kings 23:4-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Josiah’s Reforms
4 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) 5 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) 6 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) 7 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)
8 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). 9 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 23:6 Lit the sons of the people
- 2 Kings 23:7 Or clothing
- 2 Kings 23:12 Text emended; MT reads he ran from
2 Kings 23:4-14
New Living Translation
4 Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the Lord’s Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel. 5 He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens. 6 The king removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the people. 7 He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of the Lord, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole.
8 Josiah brought to Jerusalem all the priests who were living in other towns of Judah. He also defiled the pagan shrines, where they had offered sacrifices—all the way from Geba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city. 9 The priests who had served at the pagan shrines were not allowed to serve at[a] the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests.
10 Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire[b] as an offering to Molech. 11 He removed from the entrance of the Lord’s Temple the horse statues that the former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch, an officer of the court.[c] The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.
12 Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. He smashed them to bits[d] and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech,[e] the vile god of the Ammonites. 14 He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.
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