English Standard Version
2 Kings 23:7
7And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
2 Kings 23:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
- New International Version (NIV)He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the Temple of the Lord, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah pole.
Context of 2 Kings 23:7
5And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
Read all of 2 Kings 232 Kings 23:7 word by word
וַיִּתֹּץ֙ אֶת־בָּתֵּ֣י הַקְּדֵשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּבֵ֣ית יְהוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר הַנָּשִׁ֗ים אֹרְג֥וֹת שָׁ֛ם בָּתִּ֖ים לָאֲשֵׁרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he brake downנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
- the housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- of the sodomitesקָדֵשׁqâdêsh · male cult prostituteH6945
- by the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- where the womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- woveאָרַג'ârag · to weaveH707
- hangingsבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: containerH1004
- for the groveאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:7
- Genesis 19:4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.
- 1 Kings 14:24and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
- 1 Kings 15:12He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
- 1 Kings 22:46And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa.
- 2 Chronicles 34:33And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.
- Romans 1:26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
- Exodus 35:25And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.
- Ezekiel 8:14Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
- Ezekiel 16:16You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.
- Hosea 2:13And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 23:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The houses of the sodomites - We have already often met with these קדשים kedeshim or consecrated persons. The word implies all kinds of prostitutes, as well as abusers of themselves with mankind. Wove hangings for the grove - For Asherah; curtains or tent coverings for the places where the rites of the impure goddess were performed. See at the end of 2 Kings 21:26; (note).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. 4-14Verses 4-14 What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel, where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-place was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-7Josiah removed the priests who led idol worship. He also destroyed the living places of the cult prostitutes. These practices had been allowed by Manasseh and Amon. They continued the prostitution that came from Canaanite religion (see 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46). Shockingly, this was practiced inside the temple itself.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. brake down the houses of the sodomites--not solid houses, but tents, called elsewhere [2Ki 17:30] Succoth-benoth, "the booths of the young women," who were devoted to the service of Asherah, for which they made embroidered hangings, and in which they gave themselves to unbridled revelry and lust. Or the hangings might be for Asherah itself, as it is a popular superstition in the East to hang pieces of cloth on trees.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 23:7
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries