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 lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king. In Asa’s time the land had peace for ten years. 2Asa did what the Lord his God considered good and right. He got rid of the altars of foreign gods, broke down the sacred stones, and cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. 4He told the people of Judah to dedicate their lives to serving the Lord God of their ancestors and follow his teachings and commands. 5He got rid of the illegal places of worship and the altars for incense in all the cities of Judah. The kingdom was at peace during his reign.

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 7:5But this is what you must do to these people: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols.
• 1 Kings 11:7Then Solomon built an illegal worship site on the hill east of Jerusalem for Chemosh (the disgusting idol of Moab) and for Molech (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites).
• 1 Kings 14:22The people of Judah did what the Lord considered evil. Their sins made him more angry than anything their ancestors had done.
• 2 Chronicles 15:17Although the illegal worship sites in Israel were not taken down, Asa remained committed ⌞to the Lord⌟ his entire life.
• Leviticus 26:30I will destroy your worship sites, cut down your incense altars, and pile your dead bodies on top of your dead idols. I will look at you with disgust.
• 1 Kings 15:12He forced the male temple prostitutes out of the land and got rid of the idols his father had made.
• 2 Chronicles 34:4He had the altars of the various Baal gods torn down. He cut down the incense altars that were above them. He destroyed the Asherah poles, carved idols, and metal idols. He ground them into powder and scattered the powder over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them.
• Exodus 34:13But tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, and cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.
• 2 Kings 23:14Josiah crushed the sacred stones, cut down the poles dedicated to Asherah, and filled their places with human bones.
• Judges 6:25That same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take a bull from your father’s herd, a bull that is seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar dedicated to the god Baal and cut down the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah that is next to it.
• 2 Kings 18:4He got rid of the illegal places of worship, crushed the sacred stones, and cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. He even crushed the bronze snake that Moses had made because up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. They called it Nehushtan.
• 2 Kings 23:6He took the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah from the temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it in the Kidron Valley, ground it to dust, and threw its ashes on the tombs of the common 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