Amplified Bible
2 Kings 23:14
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].
2 Kings 23:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
- New International Version (NIV)Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men.
Context of 2 Kings 23:14
12The altars [dedicated to the starry host of heaven] which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the house of the Lord, the king tore down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13The king desecrated the high places which were opposite [east of] Jerusalem, which were on the right (south) of the mount of corruption which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the repulsiveness of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the repulsiveness of Moab, and for Milcom the repulsiveness of the sons (descendants) of Ammon. He 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]. 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. 16And as Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent men and had the bones taken from the graves, and burned them on the altar and [thereby] desecrated it, in accordance with the word of the Lord which the man of God prophesied, who proclaimed these things [about this altar, naming Josiah before he was born].
Read all of 2 Kings 232 Kings 23:14 word by word
וְשִׁבַּר֙ אֶת־הַמַּצֵּב֔וֹת וַיִּכְרֹ֖ת אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִ֑ים וַיְמַלֵּ֥א אֶת־מְקוֹמָ֖ם עַצְמ֥וֹת אָדָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he brake in piecesשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
- the imagesמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
- and cut downכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
- the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- and filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
- their placesמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- with the bonesעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · boneH6106
- of menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:14
- 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].
- Numbers 33:52then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you and destroy all their sculpted images, and destroy all their cast idols and completely eliminate all their [idolatrous] high places,
- 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 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.
- Micah 1:7All her idols shall be broken in pieces, All her earnings [from her idolatry] shall be burned with fire, And all her images I shall make desolate; For from the earnings of a prostitute she collected them, And to the earnings of a prostitute they shall return.
- 2 Kings 23:16And as Josiah turned, he saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent men and had the bones taken from the graves, and burned them on the altar and [thereby] desecrated it, in accordance with the word of the Lord which the man of God prophesied, who proclaimed these things [about this altar, naming Josiah before he was born].
- Numbers 19:16Also, anyone in the open field who touches one who has been killed with a sword or who has died [of natural causes], or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days.
- Jeremiah 8:1“At that time,” says the Lord, “they [the Babylonian army] will bring out from their graves the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 39:12For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.
- Matthew 23:27“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Filled their places with the bones of men - This was allowed to be the utmost defilement to which any thing could be exposed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-20Verses 4-20 A parenthesis giving the earlier reforms of Josiah. 2 Kings 23:4 The priests of the second order - This is a new expression; and probably refers to the ordinary priests, called here “priests of the second order,” in contrast with the high priest, whose dignity was reviving (2 Kings 12:2 note). The vessels - This would include the whole apparatus of worship, altars, images, dresses, utensils, etc., for Baal, etc. (2 Kings 21:3-5 notes). The…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-14Verses 4-14 What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel, where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-place was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1413-14. the high places ... which Solomon ... had builded--(See on 1Ki 11:5). the right hand of the mount of corruption--The Mount of Olives is a hilly range on the east of Jerusalem. This range has three summits, of which the central one is the Mount of Corruption, so called from the idol temples built there, and of course the hill on the right hand denotes the southernmost peak. Josiah is said not to have destroyed, but only defiled, "the high places on…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 23:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23
- 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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