Tree of Life Version
2 Kings 23:20
20All the priests of the high places there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he went back 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.
Context of 2 Kings 23:20
18“Let him rest,” he said. “Let no one disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed along with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria to provoke. He did to them just as he had done in Bethel. All the priests of the high places there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. 21Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to Adonai your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22For no Passover like this had been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel or in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.
Read all of 2 Kings 232 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 10:25Then it came to pass, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in, strike them down—let none get out.” So they struck them down with the edge of the sword, and the guard and the captains threw them out. Then they proceeded to the inner room of the temple of Baal,
- 2 Kings 11:18Next, all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke his altars and his images into pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. Moreover, the kohen appointed officers over the House of Adonai.
- Exodus 22:20“You must not exploit or oppress an outsider, for you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 13:5Adonai your God you will follow and Him you will fear. His mitzvot you will keep, to His voice you will listen, Him you will serve and to Him you will cling.
- 1 Kings 13:2He cried out against the altar with the word of Adonai and said: “O altar, altar, thus says Adonai, behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and upon you will he sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”
- 1 Kings 18:40Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Let not a single one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slew them there.
- Isaiah 34:6The sword of Adonai is filled with blood, gorged with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, the fat of kidneys of rams. For Adonai has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
- Zechariah 13:2It will happen in that day”—it is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot—“that I will erase the names of the idols from the land and they will no longer be remembered. Furthermore, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
- 2 Chronicles 34:5Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars—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
In the dictionaries
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
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