English Standard Version
2 Chronicles 34:4
4And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
2 Chronicles 34:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
- New International Version (NIV)Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He ordered that the altars of Baal be demolished and that the incense altars which stood above them be broken down. He also made sure that the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images were smashed and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
Context of 2 Chronicles 34:4
2And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around,
Read all of 2 Chronicles 342 Chronicles 34:4 word by word
וַיְנַתְּצ֣וּ לְפָנָ֗יו אֵ֚ת מִזְבְּח֣וֹת הַבְּעָלִ֔ים וְהַֽחַמָּנִ֛ים אֲשֶׁר־לְמַ֥עְלָה מֵעֲלֵיהֶ֖ם גִּדֵּ֑עַ וְ֠הָאֲשֵׁרִים וְהַפְּסִלִ֤ים וְהַמַּסֵּכוֹת֙ שִׁבַּ֣ר וְהֵדַ֔ק וַיִּזְרֹק֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַקְּבָרִ֔ים הַזֹּבְחִ֖ים לָהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they brake downנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
- the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- of Baalimבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
- in his presenceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- and the imagesחַמָּןchammân · pillarH2553
- on high above themמַ֫עַלma‛al · aboveH4605
- he cut downגָּדַעgâda‛ · to cut down/offH1438
- and the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- and the carved imagesפָּסִילpesîyl · idolH6456
- and the molten imagesמַסֵּכָהmassêkâh · molten metalH4541
- he brake in piecesשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
- and made dustדָּקַקdâqaq · to crushH1854
- and strowedזָרַקzâraq · to scatterH2236
- uponפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
- the gravesקֶ֫בֶרqeber qibrâh · graveH6913
- of them that had sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 34:4
- 2 Chronicles 33:3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
- Exodus 23:24you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.
- Leviticus 26:30And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you.
- Deuteronomy 7:5But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.
- 2 Chronicles 14:5He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him.
- 2 Kings 23:4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel.
- 2 Chronicles 34:7he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
- Exodus 32:20He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
- Deuteronomy 9:21Then I took the sinful thing, the calf that you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. And I threw the dust of it into the brook that ran down from the mountain.
- 2 Kings 23:12And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
- Psalms 18:42I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
- Isaiah 27:9Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
- 2 Kings 10:26and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it.
Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 34:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The altars of Baalim - How often have these been broken down, and how soon set up again! We see that the religion of a land is as the religion of its king. If the king were idolatrous, up went the altars, on them were placed the statues, and the smoke of incense ascended in ceaseless clouds to the honor of that which is vanity, and nothing to the world; on the other hand, when the king was truly religious, down went the idolatrous altars, broken in pieces…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The images - Margin, sun-images. See Leviticus 26:30 note.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them--He treated the graves themselves as guilty of the crimes of those who were lying in them [Bertheau].Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Chronicles 34:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 34
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries