2 Kings 23:4-14
New American Standard Bible
Reforms under Josiah
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, (A)the priests of the second order, and the [a]doorkeepers (B)to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the utensils that had been made for Baal, for [b]Asherah, and for all the heavenly [c]lights; and (C)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 Then he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on 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, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the remaining (D)heavenly [d]lights. 6 He also brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord 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 [e]common people. 7 And he tore down the cubicles of the (G)male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where (H)the women were weaving [f]hangings for the Asherah. 8 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 that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the city gate. 9 Nevertheless (J)the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 (K)He also defiled [g]Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, (L)so that no one would make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for (M)Molech. 11 And he did away with the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the (N)sun, at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was at the [h]covered courtyard; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The king also tore down (O)the altars that 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 courtyards of the house of the Lord; and he [i]smashed them there and (Q)threw their dust into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were opposite Jerusalem, which were on the right of (R)the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for (S)Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for (T)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon. 14 (U)He also smashed to pieces the memorial stones and cut down the [j]Asherim, and (V)filled their places with human bones.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 23:4 Lit keepers of the threshold
- 2 Kings 23:4 I.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity, and so throughout the ch
- 2 Kings 23:4 Lit host
- 2 Kings 23:5 Lit host
- 2 Kings 23:6 Lit sons of the people
- 2 Kings 23:7 Or dresses
- 2 Kings 23:10 I.e., place of burning
- 2 Kings 23:11 Meaning of the Heb uncertain
- 2 Kings 23:12 Or ran from there
- 2 Kings 23:14 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
2 Kings 23:4-14
Christian Standard Bible
Josiah’s Reforms
4 Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah(A) and the priests of the second rank(B) and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s sanctuary all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and all the stars in the sky.(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 all the stars in the sky.(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 city 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 Ben Hinnom Valley,(R) so that no one could sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire[c](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 eunuch. He also burned the chariots of the sun.(U)
12 The king tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had made on the roof(V) of Ahaz’s upper chamber.(W) He also tore down the altars that Manasseh had made(X) in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. Then he smashed them[d] 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 abhorrent idol of the Sidonians; for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab; and for Milcom, the detestable idol 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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