2 Kings 23:5

5 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 to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.

2 Kings 23:5 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
English Standard Version (ESV)
5 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 and all the host of the heavens.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5 He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens.
The Message Bible (MSG)
5 He fired the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had hired to supervise the local sex-and-religion shrines in the towns of Judah and neighborhoods of Jerusalem. In a stroke he swept the country clean of the polluting stench of the round-the-clock worship of Baal, sun and moon, stars - all the so-called cosmic powers.
American Standard Version (ASV)
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
5 He got rid of the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Judah and all around Jerusalem. They had been sacrificing to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the zodiac, and the entire army of heaven.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
5 Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places in the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
5 He got rid of the priests who served other gods. The kings of Judah had appointed them to burn incense. They burned the incense on the high places of the towns of Judah. And they burned it on the high places around Jerusalem. They burned incense to honor Baal and the sun and moon. They burned it to honor all of the stars.

2 Kings 23:5 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 23:5

And he put down the idolatrous priests
The Cemarim, so called, because they wore black clothes, as Kimchi and others, whereas the priests of the Lord were clothed in white linen, (See Gill on Zephaniah 1:4).

whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high
places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about
Jerusalem;
for though those high places were destroyed by Hezekiah, they were rebuilt by Manasseh his son, and priests put in them to officiate there, whom Josiah now deposed, ( 2 Kings 21:3 ) ,

them also that burnt incense unto Baal;
in the same high places; these were the priests, and the others in the preceding clause are thought to be ministers unto them:

to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets;
the five planets besides the sun and moon, as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus; or to the twelve celestial signs in the firmament, as some F20; though Theodoret takes it to be a single star, the evening star:

and to all the host of heaven;
or even to the host of heaven, all the stars thereof: this part of worship,

burning incense,
which was peculiar to the most high God, yet was frequently made by idolaters to their deities; and from the word F21 by which it is here and elsewhere expressed may "nectar" be derived, so much spoken of by the Heathen poets as of a sweet smell F23, and as delicious to their gods; and so Porphyry F24 represents the gods as living on smoke, vapours, and perfumes; and frankincense is said, by Diodorus Siculus F25, to be most grateful to them, and beloved by them; this therefore is a much better derivation of the word "nectar" than what Suidas F26 gives, that is, as if it was "nectar", because it makes those young that drink it; or than the account Athenaeus F1 gives of it, that it is a wine in Babylon so called.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 77. 3.
F21 (rjq) "suffitum fecit. Et diis acceptus--" Nidor. Ovid. Metamorph. 1. 12, fab. 4.
F23 Theocrit. Idyll. xvii. ver. 29.
F24 De Abstinentia, l. 2. c. 42. Celsus apud Origen. l. 8. p. 417.
F25 Biblioth. l. 2. p. 132.
F26 In voce (nektareou) .
F1 Deipnosophist. l. 1.

2 Kings 23:5 In-Context

3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD—to follow the LORD and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove 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.
5 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 to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.
6 He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people.
7 He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the LORD, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S 2 Kings 16:4
  • 2. 2 Kings 21:3; Jeremiah 8:2
  • 3. Jeremiah 43:13
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