the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible
2 Kings 23:20
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
And all the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.
And he sacrifised all the priestes of the high places that were there, euen vpon the aulters, and burnt mens bones vpon them, and returned to Hierusalem.
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.
And he slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were there by the altars, and burned the bones of man upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah killed all the priests of the high places that were in Samaria. He killed the priests on those altars and burned men's bones on the altars so that they could never be used again. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places who were there, upon the altars, and burned the bones of men upon them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
He killed all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, vpon the altars, and burnt mens bones vpon them, and returned to Ierusalem.
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.
And all ye prestes of the hye places that were there, offred he vp vpon the altares, and so brent he mens bones theron, and came agayne to Ierusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
And all the priests of the high places there he put to death on the altars, burning the bones of the dead on them; and then he went back to Jerusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned man's bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places, that [were] there upon the altars, and burnt men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
He killed the priests who served at them and burned their bones on the altars. After all that, Josiah went back to Jerusalem.
He put to death all the priests of those high places on the altars there, then burned human bones on them. Finally he returned to Yerushalayim.
And he sacrificed upon the altars all the priests of the high places that were there, and burned men's bones upon them. And he returned to Jerusalem.
And he sacrificed all the Priests of the hie places, that were there vpon the altars, and burnt mens bones vpon them, & returned to Ierusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places, who burned incense upon the altars and burned mens bones upon them, and he returned to Jerusalem.
All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars, and burned human bones on them [to desecrate the places forever]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
He killed all the Kohanim of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to Yerushalayim.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
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.
And he killed on the altar all the religious leaders of the high places who were there. He burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places who were there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places that were there on the altars, and burnt the bones of men upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
and he sacrificed all the priests of the high places, who were there, by the altars, and burned human bones thereupon, - and returned to Jerusalem.
And he slew all the priests of the high places, that were there, upon the altars; and he burnt men’s bones upon them: and returned to Jerusalem.
Then he slaughtered all of the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and he burned the bones of the humans on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
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.
And he slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were there on the altars, and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem.
He killed all the priests of those places of worship; he killed them on the altars and burned human bones on the altars. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
He killed all the pagan priests on the altars where they served, and he burned human bones on every altar. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
He slaughtered on the altars all the priests of the high places who were there, and he burned human bones on the altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
And he killide alle the preestis of hiye thingis, that weren there on the auteris, and he brente mennus boonus on tho auteris; and he turnede ayen to Jerusalem;
And he slayeth all the priests of the high places who [are] there by the altars, and burneth the bones of man upon them, and turneth back to Jerusalem.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
he slew: or, he sacrificed, 2 Kings 10:25, 2 Kings 11:18, Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 13:5, 1 Kings 13:2, 1 Kings 18:40, Isaiah 34:6, Zechariah 13:2, Zechariah 13:3
burned: 2 Chronicles 34:5
Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:30 - I will destroy 2 Kings 9:28 - General 2 Kings 10:11 - his priests Jeremiah 7:31 - the high Jeremiah 8:1 - General
Cross-References
Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham,
Ephron answered Abraham,
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
my father made me swear an oath when he said, 'I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.' Now let me go and bury my father, and then return."
They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
"No," replied the king, "I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
And Manasseh rested with his fathers and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. And his son Amon became king in his place.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there,.... The idolatrous priests who sacrificed to Baal, and other Heathen deities; for as for others that burnt incense in high places, yet to the true God, those he spared, though they were not suffered to officiate at the altar of God: the others he slew
upon the altars; where they sacrificed:
and burnt men's bones upon them: the bones of the priests, and worshippers of idols, as he had done at Bethel:
and returned to Jerusalem; after he had gone through the land, both of Judah and Israel, and abolished idolatrous worship everywhere.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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 âpriests of the second order,â 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 ashes of the idolatrous objects burned in the first instance in the âfields of Kidronâ (i. e., in the part of the valley which lies northeast of the city, a part much broader than that between the Temple Hill and the Mount of Olives) were actually taken to Bethel, as to an accursed place, and one just beyond the borders of Judah; while those of other objects burned afterward were not carried so far, the trouble being great and the need not absolute, but were thrown into the Kidron 2 Kings 23:12, when there happened to be water to carry them away, or scattered on graves which were already unclean 2 Kings 23:6. Compare 1 Kings 15:13.
2 Kings 23:5
He put down ... - or, âHe caused to cease the idolatrous priestsâ (margin); i. e., he stopped them. The word translated âidolatrous priestsâ (see the margin) is a rare one, occurring only here and in marginal references. Here and in Zephaniah it is contrasted with ××× koÌheÌn, another class of high-place priests. The ××× koÌheÌn were probably âLevitical,â the ××× kaÌheÌm ânon-Levitical priests of the highplaces.â ××× kaÌheÌm appears to have been a foreign term, perhaps derived from the Syriac cumro, which means a priest of any kind.
Whom the kings of Judah had ordained - The consecration of non-Levitical priests by the kings of Judah (compare 1 Kings 12:31) had not been previously mentioned; but it is quite in accordance with the other proceedings of Manasseh and Amon.
The planets - See the marginal note, i. e., the âsigns of the Zodiac.â Compare Job 38:32 margin. The word in the original probably means primarily âhousesâ or âstations,â which was the name applied by the Babylonians to their divisions of the Zodiac.
2 Kings 23:6
The ashes, being polluted and polluting, were thrown upon graves, because there no one could come into contact with them, since graves were avoided as unclean places.
2 Kings 23:7
By the house of the Lord - This did not arise from intentional desecration, but from the fact that the practices in question were a part of the idolatrous ceremonial, being regarded as pleasing to the gods, and, indeed, as positive acts of worship (compare the marginal reference).
The âwomenâ were probably the priestesses attached to the worship of Astarte, which was intimately connected with that of the Asherah or âgrove.â Among their occupations one was the weaving of coverings (literally âhousesâ margin) for the Asherah, which seem to have been of various colors (marginal reference).
2 Kings 23:8
Josiah removed the Levitical priests, who had officiated at the various high-places, from the scenes of their idolatries, and brought them to Jerusalem, where their conduct might be watched.
From Geba to Beer-sheba - i. e., from the extreme north to the extreme south of the kingdom of Judah. On Geba see the marginal reference note. The high-place of Beer-sheba had obtained an evil celebrity Amos 5:5; Amos 8:14.
The high places of the gates ... - Render, âHe brake down the high-places of the gates, both that which was at the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city (1 Kings 22:26 note), and also that which was on a manâs left hand at the gate of the city.â According to this, there were only two âhigh-places of the gatesâ (or idolatrous shrines erected in the city at gate-towers) at Jerusalem. The âgate of Joshua is conjectured to have been a gate in the inner wall; and the âgate of the city,â the Valley-gate (modern âJaffa-gateâ).
2 Kings 23:9
Nevertheless - Connect this verse with the first clause of 2 Kings 23:8. The priests were treated as if they had been disqualified from serving at the altar by a bodily blemish Leviticus 21:21-23. They were not secularised, but remained in the priestly order and received a maintenance from the ecclesiastical revenues. Contrast with this treatment Josiahâs severity toward the priests of the high-places in Samaria, who were sacrificed upon their own altars 2 Kings 23:20. Probably the high-place worship in Judaea had continued in the main a worship of Yahweh with idolatrous rites, while in Samaria it had degenerated into an actual worship of other gods.
2 Kings 23:10
The word Topheth, or Topher - variously derived from toph, âa drumâ or âtabour,â because the cries of the sacrificed children were drowned by the noise of such instruments; or, from a root taph or toph, meaning âto burnâ - was a spot in the valley of Hinnom (marginal reference note). The later Jewish kings, Manasseh and Amon (or, perhaps, Ahaz, 2 Chronicles 28:3), had given it over to the Moloch priests for their worship; and here, ever since, the Moloch service had maintained its ground and flourished (marginal references).
2 Kings 23:11
The custom of dedicating a chariot and horses to the Sun is a Persian practice. There are no traces of it in Assyria; and it is extremely curious to find that it was known to the Jews as early as the reign of Manasseh. The idea of regarding the Sun as a charioteer who drove his horses daily across the sky, so familiar to the Greeks and Romans, may not improbably have been imported from Asia, and may have been at the root of the custom in question. The chariot, or chariots, of the Sun appear to have been used, chiefly if not solely, for sacred processions. They were white, and were drawn probably by white horses. The kings of Judah who gave them were Manasseh and Amon certainly; perhaps Ahaz; perhaps even earlier monarchs, as Joash and Amaziah.
In the suburbs - The expression used here פר×ר×× parbaÌrıÌym is of unknown derivation and occurs nowhere else. A somewhat similar word occurs in 1 Chronicles 26:18, namely, פר×ר parbaÌr, which seems to have been a place just outside the western wall of the temple, and therefore a sort of âpurlieuâ or âsuburb.â The פר×ר×× parbaÌrıÌym of this passage may mean the same place or it may signify some other âsuburbâ of the temple.
2 Kings 23:12
The upper chamber of Ahaz - Conjectured to be a chamber erected on the flat roof of one of the gateways which led into the temple court. It was probably built in order that its roof might be used for the worship of the host of heaven, for which house-tops were considered especially appropriate (compare the marginal references).
Brake them down from thence - Rather as in the margin, i. e., he âhasted and cast the dust into Kidron.â
2 Kings 23:13
On the position of these high-places see 1 Kings 11:7 note. As they were allowed to remain under such kings as Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, they were probably among the old high-places where Yahweh had been worshipped blamelessly, or at least without any consciousness of guilt (see 1 Kings 3:2 note). Manasseh or Amon had however restored them to the condition which they had held in the reign of Solomon, and therefore Josiah would condemn them to a special defilement.
The mount of corruption - See the margin. It is suspected that the original name was Har ham-mishcah, âmount of anointing,â and that this was changed afterward, by way of contempt, into Har ham-mashchith, âmount of corruption.â
2 Kings 23:14
The Law attached uncleanness to the âbones of men,â no less than to actual corpses Numbers 19:16. We may gather from this and other passages 2 Kings 23:20; 1 Kings 13:2, that the Jews who rejected the Law were as firm believers in the defilement as those who adhered to the Law.
2 Kings 23:15
And burned the high place - This âhigh placeâ is to be distinguished from the altar and the grove (×ש××¨× 'aÌsheÌraÌh). It may have been a shrine or tabernacle, either standing by itself or else covering the âgroveâ (2 Kings 23:7 note; 1 Kings 14:23 note). As it was âstamped small to powder,â it must have been made either of metal or stone.
2 Kings 23:16
To burn human bones was contrary to all the ordinary Jewish feelings with respect to the sanctity of the sepulchre, and had even been denounced as a sin of a heinous character when committed by a king of Moab Amos 2:1. Joshua did it, because justified by the divine command (marginal reference).
2 Kings 23:17
What title is that? - Rather, âWhat pillar is that?â The word in the original indicates a short stone pillar, which was set up either as a way-mark Jeremiah 31:21, or as a sepulchral monument Genesis 35:20; Ezekiel 39:15.
2 Kings 23:19
The cities of Samaria - The reformation which Josiah effected in Samaria, is narrated in Chronicles. It implies sovereignty to the furthest northern limits of Galilee, and is explained by the general political history of the East during his reign. Between 632-626 B.C. the Scythians ravaged the more northern countries of Armenia, Media, and Cappadocia, and found their way across Mesopotamia to Syria, and thence, made an attempt to invade Egypt. As they were neither the fated enemy of Judah, nor had any hand in bringing that enemy into the country, no mention is made of them in the Historical Books of Scripture. It is only in the prophets that we catch glimpses of the fearful sufferings of the time Zephaniah 2:4-6; Jeremiah 1:13-15; Jeremiah 6:2-5; Ezekiel 38:0; Ezekiel 39:0. The invasion had scarcely gone by, and matters settled into their former position, when the astounding intelligence must have reached Jerusalem that the Assyrian monarchy had fallen; that Nineveh was destroyed, and that her place was to be taken, so far as Syria and Palestine were concerned, by Babylon. This event is fixed about 625 B.C., which seems to be exactly the time during which Josiah was occupied in carrying out his reformation in Samaria. The confusion arising in these provinces from the Scythian invasion and the troubles in Assyria was taken advantage of by Josiah to enlarge his own sovereignty. There is every indication that Josiah did, in fact, unite under his rule all the old âland of Israelâ except the trans-Jordanic region, and regarded himself as subject to Nabopolassar of Babylon.
2 Kings 23:20
Here, as in 2 Kings 23:16, Josiah may have regarded himself as bound to act as he did (marginal reference âbâ). Excepting on account of the prophecy, he would scarcely have slain the priests upon the altars.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 2 Kings 23:20. Slew all the priests — The lives of these, as corrupters of the people, were forfeited to the law.
