And the sons of Israel did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city.

and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did that the Lord had taken into exile before them; and they did evil things, provoking the Lord.

But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.

They also feared the Lord and appointed from their entire population priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places.

He removed the high places and smashed the memorial stones to pieces, and cut down the Asherah. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel had been burning incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.

However, if you say to me, ‘We have trusted in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?

For he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, just as Ahab king of Israel had done, and he worshiped all the heavenly lights and served them.

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 heavenly lights.

Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from 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.

Nevertheless 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.

And the king defiled the high places that were opposite Jerusalem, which were on the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon.

Then Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had constructed, provoking the Lord to anger; and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel.

And he slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were there on the altars, and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.

He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and the calves which he had made.

for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the memorial stones, cut down the Asherim,

He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him.

But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.

He took great pride in the ways of the Lord, and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.

The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

Furthermore, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful, and led Judah astray.

He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger.

Idols Are Destroyed

Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession.

Is it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn incense”?

For he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down; he also set up altars for the Baals and made Asherim, and he worshiped all the heavenly lights and served them.