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Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and (A)the priests of the second order and the [a]doorkeepers, (B)to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, for [b]Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and (C)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who burn incense in 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 and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the (D)host of heaven. And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh 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 [c]common people. He also tore down the houses of the (G)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of Yahweh, where (H)the women were weaving [d]hangings for the Asherah. Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from (I)Geba to Beersheba; and he tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the ruler of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. Nevertheless (J)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 (K)He also defiled [e]Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, (L)that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for (M)Molech. 11 And he did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the (N)sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 (O)Also, the altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and (P)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, the king tore down; and he [f]crushed them there and (Q)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 And the high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of (R)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (S)Ashtoreth the detestable idol of the Sidonians, and for (T)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled. 14 (U)And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and (V)filled their places with human bones.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:4 Lit keepers of the threshold
  2. 2 Kings 23:4 A wooden symbol of a female deity, so in ch
  3. 2 Kings 23:6 Lit sons of the people
  4. 2 Kings 23:7 Or tents; lit houses
  5. 2 Kings 23:10 Lit place of burning
  6. 2 Kings 23:12 Or ran from there

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