Amplified Bible
2 Chronicles 31:1
1Now when all of this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and smashed the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones) in pieces, cut down the Asherim (wooden symbols of a female deity), and tore down the high places and the altars [of idolatry] throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons (descendants) of Israel returned to their own cities, each to his own property.
2 Chronicles 31:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.
- New International Version (NIV)When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and broke down the high places and the altars throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Israel returned to their cities, every man to his possession.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.
Context of 2 Chronicles 31:1
Now when all of this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and smashed the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones) in pieces, cut down the Asherim (wooden symbols of a female deity), and tore down the high places and the altars [of idolatry] throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons (descendants) of Israel returned to their own cities, each to his own property. 2And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests, and the Levites by their divisions, each in accordance with his service, both the priests and Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord. 3Hezekiah also appointed the king’s [personal] portion of his goods: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the New Moons and for the appointed feasts, as it is written in the Law of the Lord.
Read all of 2 Chronicles 312 Chronicles 31:1 word by word
וּכְכַלּ֣וֹת כָּל־זֹ֗את יָצְא֨וּ כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל הַֽנִּמְצְאִים֮ לְעָרֵ֣י יְהוּדָה֒ וַיְשַׁבְּר֣וּ הַמַּצֵּב֣וֹת וַיְגַדְּע֣וּ הָאֲשֵׁרִ֡ים וַיְנַתְּצ֣וּ אֶת־הַ֠בָּמוֹת וְאֶת־הַֽמִּזְבְּחֹ֞ת מִכָּל־יְהוּדָ֧ה וּבִנְיָמִ֛ן וּבְאֶפְרַ֥יִם וּמְנַשֶּׁ֖ה עַד־לְכַלֵּ֑ה וַיָּשׁ֜וּבוּ כָּל־בְּנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אִ֥ישׁ לַאֲחֻזָּת֖וֹ לְעָרֵיהֶֽם׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now when all this was finishedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: finishH3615
- all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- that were presentמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- to the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- and brakeשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
- the imagesמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
- and cut downגָּדַעgâda‛ · to cut down/offH1438
- the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- and threw downנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
- the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
- and the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- and Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
- in Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- also and Manassehמְנַשֶּׁהmenashsheh · ManassehH4519
- until they had utterly destroyedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- them all. Then all the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- every manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- to his possessionאֲחֻזָּה'ăchûzzâh · possessionH272
Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 31:1
- 2 Chronicles 30:1Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and to Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast to the Lord God of Israel.
- 1 Kings 18:38Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and even the stones and the dust; it also licked up the water in the trench.
- 2 Kings 23:2The king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house (temple) of the Lord.
- Genesis 19:15When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, “Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”
- Esther 4:16“Go, gather all the Jews that are present in Susa, and observe a fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids also will fast in the same way. Then I will go in to [see] the king [without being summoned], which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
- 2 Chronicles 14:3He 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].
- 2 Chronicles 23:17Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down, and they smashed its altars and its images to pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
- 2 Chronicles 32:12Has the same Hezekiah not taken away his [Baal’s] high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “You shall worship before [only] one altar and burn incense on it”?
- 2 Chronicles 34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images.
- Exodus 23:24You shall not bow down to worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do [anything] in accordance with their practices. You shall completely overthrow them and break down their [sacred] pillars and images [of pagan worship].
- 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.
- 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 Chronicles 30:14They took action and removed the [pagan] altars which were in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars and threw them into the Brook Kidron [the dumping place for the ashes of such repulsive things].
- 2 Chronicles 34:6In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their surrounding ruins,
- 2 Kings 17:2He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who came before him.
- 2 Kings 23:15Further, the altar that was at Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.
Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 31:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Brake the images in pieces - This species of reformation was not only carried on through Judah, but they carried it into Israel; whether through a transport of religious zeal, or whether with the consent of Hoshea the Israelitish king, we cannot tell.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Jerusalem had been cleansed 2 Chronicles 30:14; now the land had to be purged. Hezekiah therefore gave his sanction to a popular movement directed as much against the “high places” which had been maintained since the times of the patriarchs, as against the remnants of the Baal-worship, or the innovations of Ahaz. See 2 Kings 18:4 note. The invasion of the northern kingdom “Ephraim and Manasseh” by a tumultuous crowd from the southern one, and the success…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Hezekiah destroys idolatry. --After the passover, the people of Israel applied with vigour to destroy the monuments of idolatry. Public ordinances should stir us up to cleanse our hearts, our houses, and shops, from the filth of sin, and the idolatry of covetousness, and to excite others to do the same. The after-improvement of solemn ordinances, is of the greatest importance to personal, family, and public religion. When they had tasted the sweetness of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1After purifying and rededicating the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and its people, Hezekiah started the third stage of his reform. He removed pagan worship objects from all of Judah and the northern territories.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-102Ch 31:1-10. The People Forward in Destroying Idolatry. 1. all Israel ... present went out to the cities of Judah--The solemnities of this paschal season left a deep and salutary impression on the minds of the assembled worshippers; attachment to the ancient institutions of their country was extensively revived; ardor in the service of God animated every bosom; and under the impulse of the devout feelings inspired by the occasion, they took measures at…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Chronicles 31:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 31
- 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
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