2 Kings 23:4-20

Reforms under Josiah

4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and ¹the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, ²to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and ³he burned them outside * Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel

5 He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the ⁴host of heaven.

6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD outside * Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ⁵ground it to dust, and ⁶threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

7 He also broke down the houses of the ⁷male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the LORD, where * ⁸the women were weaving 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 ⁹Geba to Beersheba; and he broke 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 one's left at the city gate.

9 Nevertheless ¹⁰the 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 ¹¹He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, ¹²that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for ¹³Molech.

11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the ¹⁴sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 ¹⁵The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and ¹⁶the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down; and he smashed them there and ¹⁷threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

13 The high places which were before * Jerusalem, which were on the right of ¹⁸the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for ¹⁹Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for ²⁰Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon, the king defiled.

14 ²¹He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and ²²filled their places with human bones

15 Furthermore, ²³the altar that was at Bethel and the ²⁴high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down. Then he ²⁵demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.

16 Now when Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it ²⁶according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.

17 Then he said, "What is this monument that I see?" And the men of the city told him, "²⁷It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel."

18 He said, "Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed ²⁸with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

19 Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were ²⁹in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking the LORD; and he did to them just * as he had done in Bethel

20 All the priests of the high places who were there ³⁰he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.

2 Kings 23:4-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 23

This chapter treats of Josiah's reading the book of the law, and of him and the people renewing the covenant with God, 2Ki 23:1-3, and of his removing idols and idolatry in every shape, and witchcraft, out of the land, which he did in the sincerity of his heart, 2Ki 23:4-25, yet the wrath of God was still determined upon the land, 2Ki 23:26-28 and Josiah was taken away by an untimely death, 2Ki 23:29,30 and was succeeded by two sons of his, one after another, whose reigns were wicked, 2Ki 23:31-37.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 25:18; Jeremiah 52:24
• 2. 2 Kings 21:3, 7; 2 Chronicles 33:3
• 3. 2 Kings 23:15
• 4. 2 Kings 21:3
• 5. 2 Kings 23:15
• 6. 2 Chronicles 34:4
• 7. 1 Kings 14:24; 1 Kings 15:12
• 8. Exodus 35:25, 26; Ezekiel 16:16
• 9. Joshua 21:17; 1 Kings 15:22
• 10. Ezekiel 44:10-14
• 11. Isaiah 30:33; Jeremiah 7:31, 32; Jeremiah 19:4-6
• 12. Leviticus 18:21
• 13. 1 Kings 11:7
• 14. Deuteronomy 4:19; Job 31:26; Ezekiel 8:16
• 15. Jeremiah 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5
• 16. 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Chronicles 33:5
• 17. 2 Kings 23:4, 6
• 18. 1 Kings 11:7
• 19. 1 Kings 11:5
• 20. Numbers 21:29
• 21. Deuteronomy 7:5, 25
• 22. 2 Kings 23:16
• 23. 1 Kings 13:1
• 24. 1 Kings 12:28-33
• 25. 2 Kings 23:6
• 26. 1 Kings 13:2
• 27. 1 Kin 13:1, 30, 31
• 28. 1 Kings 13:11, 31
• 29. 2 Chronicles 34:6, 7
• 30. 2 Kings 10:25; 2 Kings 11:18

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "keepers of the threshold"
• [b]. I.e. a wooden symbol of a female deity, and so throughout the ch
• [c]. Lit "sons of the people"
• [d]. Or "tents;" lit "houses"
• [e]. I.e. place of burning
• [f]. Or "ran from there"
• [g]. So the Gr; Heb "burned the high place"
• [h]. Lit "let his bones escape with"
• [i]. So with ancient versions
• [j]. Lit "according to all the acts"