2 Kings 23:20

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

18So he said, “Let him rest. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to anger the Lord. Josiah did the same things to them that he had done at Bethel. He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of those high places, and he burned human bones on the altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem. 21The king commanded all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God as written in the book of the covenant.” 22No such Passover had ever been observed from the time of the judges who judged Israel through the entire time of the kings of Israel and Judah.

2 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 10:25When he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Don’t let anyone out.” So they struck them down with the sword. Then the guards and officers threw the bodies out and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.
• 2 Kings 11:18So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed its altars and images to pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars. Then Jehoiada the priest appointed guards for the Lord’s temple.
• Exodus 22:20“Whoever sacrifices to any gods, except the Lord alone, is to be set apart for destruction.
• Deuteronomy 13:5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.
• 1 Kings 13:2The man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord: “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says, ‘A son will be born to the house of David, named Josiah, and he will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who are burning incense on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’”
• 1 Kings 18:40Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there.
• Isaiah 34:6The Lord’s sword is covered with blood. 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, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
• Zechariah 13:2On that day” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — “I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
• 2 Chronicles 34:5He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he 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

• Beth-El
• Calf
• Cremation
• Iconoclasm
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Josiah
• Prophecy
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Jeremiah
• Josiah
• Kings, The Books of
• Pentateuch
• Chemosh
• God
• High Place
• Jeremiah (2)
• Kings, Books of

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