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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

Then the king[a] commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the second priests, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all of the objects made for Baal and for the Asherah and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and then he carried their ashes to Bethel. He removed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem and who offered incense to, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. He brought out the Asherah image from the temple of Yahweh outside of Jerusalem to the Wadi of the Kidron and burnt it there;[b] then he pulverized it to dust and threw its dust upon the tombs of the children of the people. He tore down the shrines of the male shrine prostitutes which were in the temple of Yahweh, where the women were weaving shrines for the Asherah. Then he brought all of the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests from Geba up to Beersheba burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on the left of each gate of the city. However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their relatives. 10 He defiled the Topheth which is in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, to prevent[c] anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech. 11 He kept the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun from coming to the temple of Yawheh at the side room of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, which was in the court; and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire. 12 The altars which were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the temple of Yahweh, the king tore down and ran from there and threw their ashes into the Wadi Kidron. 13 The high places which were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mountain of Destruction which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the detestable thing of the Ammonites,[d] the king defiled. 14 He also broke into pieces the stone pillars and cut down the Asherah poles and covered their sites with human bones.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:4 That is, Josiah
  2. 2 Kings 23:6 Literally “at the wadi of the Kidron”
  3. 2 Kings 23:10 Literally “so that not”
  4. 2 Kings 23:13 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”