2 Kings 23:12

2 Kings 23:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
• New International Version (NIV)He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron.

Context of 2 Kings 23:12

10Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire as an offering to Molech. 11He removed from the entrance of the Lord’s Temple the horse statues that the former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan-melech the eunuch, an officer of the court. The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun. Josiah 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. 13The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites. 14He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.

2 Kings 23:12 word by word

וְאֶֽת־הַֽמִּזְבְּח֡וֹת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הַגָּג֩ עֲלִיַּ֨ת אָחָ֜ז אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֣וּ׀ מַלְכֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה וְאֶת־הַֽמִּזְבְּחוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֣ה מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה בִּשְׁתֵּ֛י חַצְר֥וֹת בֵּית־יְהוָ֖ה נָתַ֣ץ הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיָּ֣רָץ מִשָּׁ֔ם וְהִשְׁלִ֥יךְ אֶת־עֲפָרָ֖ם אֶל־נַ֥חַל קִדְרֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• on the topגָּגgâg · roofH1406
• of the upper chamberעֲלִיָּה‛ălîyâh · upper roomH5944
• of Ahazאָחָז'âchâz · AhazH271
• which the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• which Manassehמְנַשֶּׁהmenashsheh · ManassehH4519
• in the twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• courtsחָצֵרchâtsêr · courtH2691
• of the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• beat downנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
• downרוּץrûts · to run: piecesH7323
• from thence, and castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
• the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• of them into the brookנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
• Kidronקִדְרוֹןqidrôn · KidronH6939

Cross-references for 2 Kings 23:12

• Deuteronomy 22:8“When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof.
• Jeremiah 19:13Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah’s kings, will become like Topheth—all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.’”
• Zephaniah 1:5For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too.
• 2 Kings 21:5He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
• 2 Chronicles 33:5He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple.
• 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 Kings 23:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12On the top of the upper chamber - Altars built on the flat roof of the house. Such altars were erected to the sun, moon, stars, etc.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. 12the upper chamber of Ahaz: People used rooftop altars for star worship (Jeremiah 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5) and Baal rituals (Jeremiah 32:29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz--Altars were reared on the flat roofs of houses, where the worshippers of "the host of heaven" burnt incense (Zep 1:5; Jr 19:13). Ahaz had reared altars for this purpose on the oleah, or upper chamber of his palace, and Manasseh on some portion of the roof of the temple. Josiah demolished both of these structures.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 23:12

• Altar
• Cedron
• House
• Iconoclasm
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Josiah
• Kidron
• Prophecy

In the dictionaries

• Ahaz
• Judah
• Manasseh
• Altar
• Dwellings
• Jeremiah
• Josiah
• Kings, The Books of
• Pentateuch
• Chemosh

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