New English Translation
2 Chronicles 34:4
4He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down, and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of 2 Chronicles 34:4
2He did what the Lord approved and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; he did not deviate to the right or the left. 3In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images. He ordered the altars of the Baals to be torn down, and broke the incense altars that were above them. He smashed the Asherah poles, idols and images, crushed them up and sprinkled the dust over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. 5He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their altars; he purified Judah and Jerusalem. 6In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them,
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 33:3He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky and worshiped them.
- Exodus 23:24“You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones to pieces.
- Leviticus 26:30I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. I will abhor you.
- Deuteronomy 7:5Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols.
- 2 Chronicles 14:5He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.
- 2 Kings 23:4The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, and the guards to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. The king burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.
- 2 Chronicles 34:7he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
- Exodus 32:20He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
- Deuteronomy 9:21As for your sinful thing that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down, ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
- 2 Kings 23:12The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them up and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley.
- Psalms 18:42I grind them as fine windblown dust; I beat them underfoot like clay in the streets.
- Isaiah 27:9So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: They will make all the stones of the altars like crushed limestone, and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand.
- 2 Kings 10:26They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple 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
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Commentaries