2 Chronicles 14:3

2 Chronicles 14:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
• New International Version (NIV)He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim
• New King James Version (NKJV)for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.

Context of 2 Chronicles 14:3

1Abijah died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. Abijah's son Asa became king after him. The country had peace for ten years while Asa was king. 2Asa did things that pleased the Lord his God. He removed the altars and other places where people worshipped foreign gods. He broke the stone pillars and he cut down the Asherah poles. 4Asa commanded the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He told them to obey God's law and his commands. 5He removed the altars on the hills. He also removed the altars in all Judah's cities where people burned incense. There was peace in his kingdom while he ruled.

2 Chronicles 14:3 word by word

וַיָּ֛סַר אֶת־מִזְבְּח֥וֹת הַנֵּכָ֖ר וְהַבָּמ֑וֹת וַיְשַׁבֵּר֙ אֶת־הַמַּצֵּב֔וֹת וַיְגַדַּ֖ע אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For he took awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• of the strangeנֵכָרnêkâr · foreignH5236
• and the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• and brake downשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• the imagesמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
• and cut downגָּדַעgâda‛ · to cut down/offH1438
• the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 14:3

• Deuteronomy 7:5This is what you must do to the people of those nations: Break their altars and their stone pillars into pieces. Cut down their Asherah poles. Burn their idols with fire.
• 1 Kings 11:7On a hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a place to worship false gods. He worshipped Chemosh, the wicked god of the Moabite people, and Molech, the wicked god of the Ammonite people.
• 1 Kings 14:22The people of Judah did things that the Lord said were evil. Their sins caused the Lord to be very angry. They did worse things than their ancestors had done.
• 2 Chronicles 15:17Asa did not remove the altars on all the hills in Israel, but he served the Lord faithfully for his whole life.
• Leviticus 26:30The Lord will destroy the places where they worship false gods. He will destroy their very bad incense altars. He will put their dead bodies round their idols. He will hate them.
• 1 Kings 15:12He removed the male prostitutes from the altars on the hills. He sent them out of Judah. He removed all the useless idols that his ancestors had made.
• 2 Chronicles 34:4He told his men to knock down the altars where people worshipped the idols of Baal. He broke into pieces the altars for incense that were near the other altars. He destroyed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images. He broke them all into very small pieces. He threw the bits over the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices to those false gods.
• Exodus 34:13Instead, you must knock down their altars. Destroy the special stones that are their idols. Cut down their Asherah poles.
• 2 Kings 23:14Josiah broke the stone pillars that people worshipped into small pieces. He cut down the Asherah poles. He covered the ground where they had been with human bones.
• Judges 6:25On the same night, the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Take your father's bull from among his animals. Also take a second bull, one that is seven years old. Use them to pull down your father's altar to Baal. Also cut down the Asherah pole that is there.
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the altars on the hills. He knocked down the stone pillars that people worshipped and he cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made. Until then, the Israelites had burned incense as an offering to it. It was called Nehushtan.
• 2 Kings 23:6He also removed the Asherah pole from the Lord's temple. He took it outside Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley. He burned it there. He made its ashes into dust. He threw the dust over the graves of ordinary people.

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 14:3

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-5At the start of his reign, Asa removed the foreign altars in Judah (2 Chronicles 14:5). However, he did not remove the pagan shrines from Israel (2 Chronicles 15:17). These shrines were likely in the northern kingdom cities that Asa inherited from Abijah. Idolatry by other groups in the land troubled Judah throughout its history. This pagan activity might have increased again toward the end of Asa’s reign, over thirty years later.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. brake down the images--of Baal (see on 2Ch 34:4; Le 26:30). cut down the groves--rather, "Asherim."Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 14:3

• Groves
• High Places
• Iconoclasm
• Revivals
• Rulers
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Strange Gods
• Idol
• Quiet
• Asa
• Chronicles, Books of
• Criticism
• Gods
• High Place
• Sacrifice

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 14

• 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