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“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth. 2Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place. 4Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. 5Instead, turn to the place the Lord your God chooses from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there.

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 33:52you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places.
• Judges 2:2You are not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed me. What have you done?
• 2 Chronicles 31:1When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own possession.
• 1 Kings 15:13He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for until then the Israelites were burning incense to it. It was called Nehushtan.
• 2 Kings 23:14He broke the sacred pillars into pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, then filled their places with human bones.
• 2 Chronicles 14:3He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles.
• 2 Chronicles 19:3However, some good is found in you, for you have eradicated the Asherah poles from the land and have determined in your heart to seek God.”
• 2 Chronicles 34:3In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved images, and the cast images.
• Jeremiah 17:2while their children remember their altars and their Asherah poles, by the green trees on the high hills —
• Micah 5:14I will pull up the Asherah poles from among you and demolish your cities.
• Exodus 23:13“Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
• Psalms 16:4The sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not speak their names with my lips.
• Hosea 2:17For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.
• 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.
• Revelation 13:1And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its 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