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

The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers(A) to remove(B) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense(C) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.(D) He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley(E) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder(F) and scattered the dust over the graves(G) of the common people.(H) He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes(I) that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba(J) to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. Although the priests of the high places did not serve(K) at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

10 He desecrated Topheth,(L) which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(M) so no one could use it to sacrifice their son(N) or daughter in the fire to Molek. 11 He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah(O) had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court[a] near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.(P)

12 He pulled down(Q) the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof(R) near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts(S) of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.(T) 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon(U) king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable(V) god of the people of Ammon.(W) 14 Josiah smashed(X) the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.