2 Kings 23:20

2 Kings 23:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
• New Living Translation (NLT)He executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.

Context of 2 Kings 23:20

18“Leave it alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone disturb his bones.” So they spared his bones and those of the prophet who had come from Samaria. 19Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the Lord’s anger. Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem. 21The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed.

2 Kings 23:20 word by word

וַ֠יִּזְבַּח אֶת־כָּל־כֹּהֲנֵ֨י הַבָּמ֤וֹת אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם֙ עַל־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת וַיִּשְׂרֹ֛ף אֶת־עַצְמ֥וֹת אָדָ֖ם עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וַיָּ֖שָׁב יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he slewזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• all the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• of the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• there upon the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and burnedשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
• men’sאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• bonesעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · boneH6106
• upon them, and returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389

Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:20

• 2 Kings 10:25As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal.
• 2 Kings 11:18All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars. Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord.
• Exodus 22:20“Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.
• Deuteronomy 13:5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
• 1 Kings 13:2By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’ ”
• 1 Kings 18:40Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
• Isaiah 34:6The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
• Zechariah 13:2“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
• 2 Chronicles 34:5He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 23:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Slew all the priests - The lives of these, as corrupters of the people, were forfeited to the law.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. 15-24Verses 15-24 Josiah's zeal extended to the cities of Israel within his reach. He carefully preserved the sepulchre of that man of God, who came from Judah to foretell the throwing down of Jeroboam's altar. When they had cleared the country of the old leaven of idolatry, then they applied themselves to the keeping of the feast. There was not holden such a passover in any of the foregoing reigns. The revival of a long-neglected ordinance, filled them with…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20Samaria … high places: Josiah's religious reforms reached the former northern kingdom (see also 2 Chronicles 34:6–7). Josiah's ability to make these changes shows his power and Assyria's decline (see study note on 2 Kings 23:29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2015-20. Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, &c.--Not satisfied with the removal of every vestige of idolatry from his own dominion, this zealous iconoclast made a tour of inspection through the cities of Samaria and all the territory formerly occupied by the ten tribes, destroying the altars and temples of the high places, consigning the Asherim to the flames, putting to death the priests of the high places, and showing his horror at idolatry by…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 23:20

• Beth-El
• Calf
• Cremation
• Iconoclasm
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Josiah
• Prophecy
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Jeremiah
• Josiah
• Kings, The Books of
• Pentateuch
• Chemosh
• God
• High Place
• Jeremiah (2)
• Kings, Books of

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