Amplified Bible
2 Kings 23:20
20All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them [to desecrate the places forever]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
2 Kings 23:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
- New International Version (NIV)Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
Context of 2 Kings 23:20
18He said, “Let him alone; let no one disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking the Lord [to anger]; and he did to them just as he had done [to those] in Bethel. All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them [to desecrate the places forever]. Then he returned to Jerusalem. 21Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this book of the covenant.” 22Indeed, such a Passover as this had not been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.
Read all of 2 Kings 232 Kings 23:20 word by word
וַ֠יִּזְבַּח אֶת־כָּל־כֹּהֲנֵ֨י הַבָּמ֤וֹת אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם֙ עַל־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת וַיִּשְׂרֹ֛ף אֶת־עַצְמ֥וֹת אָדָ֖ם עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וַיָּ֖שָׁב יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he slewזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
- all the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- of the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
- there upon the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- and burnedשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- men’sאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- bonesעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · boneH6106
- upon them, and returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- to Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:20
- 2 Kings 10:25Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guards and to the royal officers, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out.” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw their bodies out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal.
- 2 Kings 11:18Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down. They utterly smashed his altar and his images to pieces, and they put Mattan the priest of Baal to death in front of the altars. And [Jehoiada] the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.
- Exodus 22:20“He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be put under a ban (designated) for destruction (execution).
- Deuteronomy 13:5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to draw you away from the way in which the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
- 1 Kings 13:2The man cried out against the [idolatrous] altar by the word of the Lord, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice [the bodies of] the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ”
- 1 Kings 18:40Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and [as God’s law required] killed them there.
- Isaiah 34:6The sword of the Lord is filled with blood [from sacrifices], It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah (Edom’s capital city) And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
- Zechariah 13:2“In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
- 2 Chronicles 34:5Then Josiah burned the bones of the [pagan] priests on their altars and purged and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Slew all the priests - The lives of these, as corrupters of the people, were forfeited to the law.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. 15-24Verses 15-24 Josiah's zeal extended to the cities of Israel within his reach. He carefully preserved the sepulchre of that man of God, who came from Judah to foretell the throwing down of Jeroboam's altar. When they had cleared the country of the old leaven of idolatry, then they applied themselves to the keeping of the feast. There was not holden such a passover in any of the foregoing reigns. The revival of a long-neglected ordinance, filled them with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20Samaria … high places: Josiah's religious reforms reached the former northern kingdom (see also 2 Chronicles 34:6–7). Josiah's ability to make these changes shows his power and Assyria's decline (see study note on 2 Kings 23:29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2015-20. Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, &c.--Not satisfied with the removal of every vestige of idolatry from his own dominion, this zealous iconoclast made a tour of inspection through the cities of Samaria and all the territory formerly occupied by the ten tribes, destroying the altars and temples of the high places, consigning the Asherim to the flames, putting to death the priests of the high places, and showing his horror at idolatry by…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 23:20
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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