God’s Word Translation
2 Kings 23:7
7He tore down the houses of the male temple prostitutes who were in the Lord’s temple, where women did weaving for 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of 2 Kings 23:7
5He got rid of the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Judah and all around Jerusalem. They had been sacrificing to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the zodiac, and the entire army of heaven. 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. He tore down the houses of the male temple prostitutes who were in the Lord’s temple, where women did weaving for Asherah. 8He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah from Geba to Beersheba and made the places where those priests sacrificed unclean. He tore down the worship site at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the gate named after the mayor of the city. (The worship site was to the left of anyone going through the city gate.) 9The priests of the illegal worship sites had never gone to the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem. Instead, they ate their unleavened bread among the other worshipers.
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 19:4Before they had gone to bed, all the young and old male citizens of Sodom surrounded the house.
- 1 Kings 14:24There were even male prostitutes in the temples of idols throughout the land. The people of Judah did all the disgusting practices done by the nations that the Lord had forced out of the Israelites’ way.
- 1 Kings 15:12He forced the male temple prostitutes out of the land and got rid of the idols his father had made.
- 1 Kings 22:46He rid the land of the male temple prostitutes who were left there from the time of his father Asa.
- 2 Chronicles 34:33Josiah got rid of all the disgusting idols throughout Israelite territory. He made all people found in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they didn’t stop following the Lord God of their ancestors.
- Romans 1:26For this reason God allowed their shameful passions to control them. Their women have exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
- Exodus 35:25All the women who were skilled in spinning yarn brought violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and fine linen, which they had made by hand.
- Ezekiel 8:14He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s temple. Women were sitting there and crying for the god Tammuz.
- Ezekiel 16:16You took some of your clothes and made your worship sites colorful. This is where you acted like a prostitute. Such things shouldn’t happen. They shouldn’t occur.
- Hosea 2:13I will punish her for all the times she burned incense as an offering to other gods—the Baals. She put on her rings and jewelry, and she chased after her lovers. She 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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