New Living Translation
2 Chronicles 34:4
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.
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 was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. 3During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David. Then in the twelfth year he began to purify Judah and Jerusalem, destroying all the pagan shrines, the Asherah poles, and the carved idols and cast images. He 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. 5He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their own altars, and so he purified Judah and Jerusalem. 6He did the same thing in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, and in the regions all 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 pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
- Exodus 23:24You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2 Chronicles 14:5Asa 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 Kings 23:4Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the Temple gatekeepers to remove from the Lord’s Temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel.
- 2 Chronicles 34:7He destroyed the pagan altars and the Asherah poles, and he crushed the idols into dust. He cut down all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem.
- Exodus 32:20He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.
- Deuteronomy 9:21I took your sin—the calf you had made—and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
- 2 Kings 23:12Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. He smashed them to bits and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley.
- Psalms 18:42I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt.
- Isaiah 27:9The Lord did this to purge Israel’s wickedness, to take away all her sin. As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust. No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.
- 2 Kings 10:26They dragged out the sacred pillar used in the worship 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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