2 Chronicles 14:3

2 Chronicles 14:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
• New International Version (NIV)He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim
• New King James Version (NKJV)for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.

Context of 2 Chronicles 14:3

1So Abijah slept with his fathers [in death], and they buried him in the City of David; and Asa his son became king in his place. The land was at peace for ten years during his days. 2Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and high places and tore down the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones), and cut to pieces the Asherim [the symbols of the goddess Asherah]. 4And he commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers [to inquire of and for Him and seek Him as a vital necessity], and to observe the law [given to Moses] and the commandment. 5Asa also removed the [idolatrous] high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom was at rest and undisturbed under his reign.

2 Chronicles 14:3 word by word

וַיָּ֛סַר אֶת־מִזְבְּח֥וֹת הַנֵּכָ֖ר וְהַבָּמ֑וֹת וַיְשַׁבֵּר֙ אֶת־הַמַּצֵּב֔וֹת וַיְגַדַּ֖ע אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For he took awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• of the strangeנֵכָרnêkâr · foreignH5236
• and the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• and brake downשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• the imagesמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
• and cut downגָּדַעgâda‛ · to cut down/offH1438
• the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 14:3

• Deuteronomy 7:5But this is how you shall deal with them: you shall tear down their altars and smash to pieces their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah), and burn their carved or sculpted images in the fire.
• 1 Kings 11:7Then Solomon built a high place for [worshiping] Chemosh the horror (detestable idol) of Moab, on the hill which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the horror (detestable idol) of the sons of Ammon.
• 1 Kings 14:22And [the people of] Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. They provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with their sins which they had committed.
• 2 Chronicles 15:17But the high places [of pagan worship] were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.
• Leviticus 26:30I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies upon the [crushed] bodies of your idols, and My soul will detest you [with deep and unutterable loathing].
• 1 Kings 15:12He expelled the male cult prostitutes (sodomites) from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers [Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijam] had made.
• 2 Chronicles 34:4They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were high above them; he also smashed the Asherim and the carved images and the cast images to pieces, and ground them to dust and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
• Exodus 34:13But you shall tear down and destroy their [pagan] altars, smash in pieces their [sacred] pillars (obelisks, images) and cut down their Asherim
• 2 Kings 23:14He broke in pieces the sacred pillars (cultic memorial stones, images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with human bones [to desecrate the places forever].
• Judges 6:25Now on that same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the high places [of pagan worship], broke down the images (memorial stones) and cut down the Asherim. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the Israelites had burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan [a bronze sculpture].
• 2 Kings 23:6Josiah brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, and burned it there, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it].

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 14:3

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-5At the start of his reign, Asa removed the foreign altars in Judah (2 Chronicles 14:5). However, he did not remove the pagan shrines from Israel (2 Chronicles 15:17). These shrines were likely in the northern kingdom cities that Asa inherited from Abijah. Idolatry by other groups in the land troubled Judah throughout its history. This pagan activity might have increased again toward the end of Asa’s reign, over thirty years later.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. brake down the images--of Baal (see on 2Ch 34:4; Le 26:30). cut down the groves--rather, "Asherim."Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 14:3

• Groves
• High Places
• Iconoclasm
• Revivals
• Rulers
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Strange Gods
• Idol
• Quiet
• Asa
• Chronicles, Books of
• Criticism
• Gods
• High Place
• Sacrifice

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings