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

1When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. 2Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. 4He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. 5Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace.

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 7:5This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols.
• 1 Kings 11:7On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.
• 1 Kings 14:22During Rehoboam’s reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, provoking his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors.
• 2 Chronicles 15:17Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life.
• Leviticus 26:30I will destroy your pagan shrines and knock down your places of worship. I will leave your lifeless corpses piled on top of your lifeless idols, and I will despise you.
• 1 Kings 15:12He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.
• 2 Chronicles 34:4He ordered that the altars of Baal be demolished and that the incense altars which stood above them be broken down. He also made sure that the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images were smashed and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
• Exodus 34:13Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles.
• 2 Kings 23:14He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.
• Judges 6:25That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it.
• 2 Kings 18:4He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.
• 2 Kings 23:6The king removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s Temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the 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