Deuteronomy 12:3

Deuteronomy 12:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
• New International Version (NIV)Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place.

Context of Deuteronomy 12:3

1“These are the statutes and judgments (precepts) which you shall be careful to do in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. 2You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and the hills and under every green [leafy] tree. You shall tear down their altars and smash their [idolatrous] pillars and burn their Asherim in the fire; you shall cut down the carved and sculpted images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. 4You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. 5But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to establish His Name there for His dwelling [place], and there you shall come [to worship Him].

Deuteronomy 12:3 word by word

וְנִתַּצְתֶּ֣ם אֶת־מִזְבּחֹתָ֗ם וְשִׁבַּרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־מַצֵּ֣בֹתָ֔ם וַאֲשֵֽׁרֵיהֶם֙ תִּשְׂרְפ֣וּן בָּאֵ֔שׁ וּפְסִילֵ֥י אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֖ם תְּגַדֵּע֑וּן וְאִבַּדְתֶּ֣ם אֶת־שְׁמָ֔ם מִן־הַמָּק֖וֹם הַהֽוּא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And ye shall overthrowנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
• their altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and breakשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• their pillarsמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
• and burnשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
• their grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
• with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• and ye shall hew downגָּדַעgâda‛ · to cut down/offH1438
• the graven imagesפָּסִילpesîyl · idolH6456
• of their godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and destroyאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• the namesשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• of them out of that placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:3

• 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,
• Judges 2:2and as for you, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this that you have done?
• 2 Chronicles 31:1Now 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.
• 1 Kings 15:13He also deposed his [great-grand]mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid (obscene, vulgar) image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her horrid image, and burned it by the Brook Kidron.
• 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 23:14He 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 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 19:3But there are some good things found in you, for you have removed the Asherim (idols) from the land and you have set your heart to seek God [with all your soul’s desire].”
• 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.
• Jeremiah 17:2As they remember their children, So they remember [in detail] their [pagan] altars and their Asherim Beside green trees on the high hills.
• Micah 5:14I will root out your Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) from among you And destroy your cities [which are the centers of pagan worship].
• Exodus 23:13Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; do not mention the name of other gods [either in a blessing or in a curse]; do not let such speech be heard [coming] from your mouth.
• Psalms 16:4The sorrows [pain and suffering] of those who have chosen another god will be multiplied [because of their idolatry]; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
• Hosea 2:17For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will no longer be mentioned or remembered by their names.
• 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.
• Revelation 13:1And the dragon (Satan) stood on the sandy shore of the sea. Then I saw a [vicious] beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten royal crowns (diadems), and on his heads were blasphemous names.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Ye shall overthrow their altars - Where unholy sacrifices have been offered; and break their pillars, probably meaning statues and representations of their gods cut out of stone; and burn their groves, such as those about the temple of Ashtaroth, the Canaanitish Venus, whose impure rites were practiced in different parts of the enclosures or groves round her temples; and ye shall hew down the graven images, probably implying all images carved out of wood…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Their groves - Render their idols of wood: and see the Deuteronomy 7:5 note.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3sacred pillars: See study note on 7:5. Asherah poles: They dedicated these wooden poles to the mother goddess, Asherah. They were the feminine counterpart to the sacred pillar. wipe out their names: Destroying all idols and traces of pagan worship would lead to the names of these gods being forgotten. Future generations would not know about them (see also study note on 7:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. And ye shall overthrow their altars--piles of turf or small stones. and break their pillars--Before the art of sculpture was known, the statues of idols were only rude blocks of colored stones.Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:3

• Iconoclasm
• Pillar

In the dictionaries

• High place
• Idolatry
• Lust
• Rest
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Deuteronomy
• Exodus, the Book of
• Fire
• Genesis

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings