2 Kings 23:20

20 Josiah killed all of the priests of those high places on the altars. He burned human bones on the altars. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

2 Kings 23:20 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:20

And he slew all the priests of the high places that were
there
The idolatrous priests who sacrificed to Baal, and other Heathen deities; for as for others that burnt incense in high places, yet to the true God, those he spared, though they were not suffered to officiate at the altar of God: the others he slew

upon the altars;
where they sacrificed:

and burnt men's bones upon them:
the bones of the priests, and worshippers of idols, as he had done at Bethel:

and returned to Jerusalem;
after he had gone through the land, both of Judah and Israel, and abolished idolatrous worship everywhere.

2 Kings 23:20 In-Context

18 "Leave it alone," Josiah said. "Don't let anyone touch his bones." So they spared his bones. They also spared the bones of the prophet who had come from the northern kingdom of Israel.

19 Josiah did in the rest of the northern kingdom the same things he had done at Bethel. He removed all of the small temples at the high places. He made them "unclean." The kings of Israel had built them in the towns of the northern kingdom. The people in those towns had made the LORD very angry

20 Josiah killed all of the priests of those high places on the altars. He burned human bones on the altars. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

21 The king gave an order to all of the people. He said, "Celebrate the Passover Feast to honor the LORD your God. Do what is written in this Scroll of the Covenant.

22 A Passover Feast like that one had not been held for a long time. There hadn't been any like it since the days of the judges who led Israel. And there hadn't been any like it during the whole time the kings of Israel and Judah were ruling.