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

18King Josiah said, ‘Do not do anything to his grave. Do not remove his bones.’ So they did not do anything with the bones of the man of God. They also left the bones of the old prophet who had come from Samaria. 19King Josiah removed the altars on the hills in all the towns of Samaria. The kings of Israel had built those altars and that had made the Lord angry. Josiah destroyed all of them, in the same way that he destroyed the altar at Bethel. He punished with death all the priests who served false gods at those altars. He killed them on their own altars. He burned human bones on all the altars. After he had done that, he went back to Jerusalem. 21Then the king commanded all the people, ‘The Book of God's Covenant teaches about the Passover festival. Now you must eat that Passover meal to give honour to the Lord your God.’ 22Since the time when the judges ruled Israel, the Israelites had not had a Passover festival like that. They had never had it during the time when kings ruled Judah and Israel.

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 Jehu had finished offering the sacrifices, he said to the guards and the soldiers, ‘Go into the temple and kill all Baal's servants. Do not let any of them escape.’ So the guards and soldiers used their swords to cut all the people down. They threw the dead bodies out of the temple. Then they went into the inside room of the temple.
• 2 Kings 11:18Then people everywhere in the country went to the temple of Baal. They destroyed it. They completely knocked down its altars and idols. They killed Baal's priest, Mattan, in front of Baal's altars. Then Jehoiada the priest put guards to keep the Lord's temple safe.
• Exodus 22:20You must completely destroy anyone who offers a sacrifice to a false god. You must only offer sacrifices to the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 13:5You must punish that false prophet with death. He has told you to turn against the Lord your God. The Lord rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. But the false prophet has tried to turn you away from the way of life that the Lord your God has commanded. So you must remove all evil things like that from among you.
• 1 Kings 13:2When he arrived at Bethel, he shouted the message that the Lord had given to him. He said, ‘Altar! Altar! This is what the Lord says to you: “Listen! One day, a son will be born in David's family. His name will be Josiah. On this altar, he will burn as sacrifices the priests who offer sacrifices on the hills. He will burn the bones of dead people on you!” ’
• 1 Kings 18:40Then Elijah said, ‘Take hold of Baal's prophets! Do not let any of them run away!’ So they caught them. Then Elijah took the prophets down to the Kishon Valley. There, he punished them with death.
• Isaiah 34:6The Lord's sword has blood all over it! It is the blood of young sheep and goats. It has the fat of meat on it. It is the fat from sheep's kidneys. Yes! The Lord is killing animals for a sacrifice in Bozrah. He will kill many people in Edom.
• Zechariah 13:2The Lord Almighty says, ‘On that day, I will remove the names of false gods from the country. Everyone will forget them. I will remove all the false prophets. And I will remove the bad spirit that is not holy.
• 2 Chronicles 34:5Josiah took the bones of the priests who had made sacrifices to the false gods. He burned the priests' bones on their own altars. That is how Josiah made Judah and Jerusalem clean again.

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