They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images in pieces, made dust of them, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
Parallel Translations
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They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images in pieces, made dust of them, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
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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.
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And they broke down the altars of the Baalim in his presence; and the sun-images, that were on high above them, he hewed down; and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 34:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 32:20 He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
- Leviticus 26:30 I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you.
- 2 Kings 23:4-6 The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of Yahweh’s temple all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky. He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.
- Exodus 23:24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor follow their practices, but you shall utterly overthrow them and demolish their pillars.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 But you shall deal with them like this: you shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved images with fire.
- Deuteronomy 7:25 You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it; for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
- Deuteronomy 9:21 I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain.
- 2 Kings 10:26-27 They brought out the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day.
- 2 Kings 23:11-12 He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of Yahweh’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of Yahweh’s house, and beat them down from there, and cast their dust into the brook Kidron.
- 2 Chronicles 14:5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images; and the kingdom was quiet before him.
- 2 Chronicles 33:3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he raised up altars for the Baals, made Asheroth, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
- 2 Chronicles 34:7 He broke down the altars, and beat the Asherah poles and the engraved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, then returned to Jerusalem.
- Psalms 18:42 Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind. I cast them out as the mire of the streets.
- Isaiah 27:9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherah poles and the incense altars shall rise no more.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which showeth that he would see the reformation with…
Which showeth that he would see the reformation with his own eyes.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 34:4 And they brake down the altars of…
2Ch 34:4 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.
Ver. 4. In his presence.] He would see it done; that so it might be thoroughly done.
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He cut down … he brake in pieces, &c.] Notanda est congeries verborum, saith Lavater. Five or six several words are here used, to show how he mauled them, and made mortar of them, as we say; such was his holy indignation, zeal, and revenge.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he burnt the bones of the priests upon…
And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars,.... On which they sacrificed, in detestation of their idolatry, and to deter from it; and this he did according to the prophecy of him, above three hundred and fifty years before:
and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem; from idolatry, and all the monuments of it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. The altars of Baalim] How often have…
Verse 4. The 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 honour 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 were the images, and the sacrificial smoke ascended only to the true God: in all these cases the people were as one man with the king.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The images - Margin, sun-images. See Lev 26:30 note.
The images - Margin, sun-images. See Lev 26:30 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Idols. Heb. chammanim, (H.) "statues of the sun." The…
Idols. Heb. chammanim, (H.) "statues of the sun." The term often denotes those open enclosures, where sacred fire was kept in honour of the sun. C. --- Sept. "the heights above them." Syriac, "he destroyed the altars, idols, tigers, and temples, (5) the bracelets, little bells, and all the trees which had been consecrated to idols." Arabic, "the altars, idols, and leopards."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them--He…
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].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. Baalim] R.V. the Baalim; cp. 2Ch_33:3 (note).
4. Baalim] R.V. the Baalim; cp. 2Ch_33:3 (note).
the images] R.V. the sun-images (so 2Ch_34:7 for “the idols”). See 2Ki_23:11.
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he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images] R.V. he hewed down; and the Asherim, and the graven images.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) Of Baalim.—Of the Baals. 2Ki_23:4-5, “the Baal.”
(4) Of Baalim.—Of the Baals. 2Ki_23:4-5, “the Baal.”
In his presence.—Comp. 2Ki_23:16, from which it appears that Josiah personally superintended the work of demolition.
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The images.—Sun statues (2Ch_14:4).
That were on high above them, he cut down.—Or, that were above, from off them he hewed.
The molten images.—Rather, the maççebuth, or sacred pillars. (See 2Ki_23:14.)
Made dust of them.—2Ki_23:6 (of an Asherah).
And showed . . . unto them.—Literally, and sprinkled upon the face of the graves that used to sacrifice unto them, as if the graves were guilty. 2Ki_23:6 relates this of the temple Asherah only.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Note references in Lev_26:1, Lev_26:30. The images, that were…
Note references in Lev_26:1, Lev_26:30. The images, that were on high above them; i.e., as Revised Version, the sun-images ( The word and name occur only eight times in Leviticus as just quoted; in our Second Book of Chronicles three times; in Isaiah twice; and in Ezekiel twice. The groves; i.e. the Asherim; again as last verse. The carved images; Revised Version, graven images; Hebrew, This word is found twenty-two times, occurring in Deuteronomy, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Micah. The molten images; Hebrew, twOkSeMh. This word also occurs just twenty-two times, from Exodus downwards. Made dust of them and strewed it. (so Exo_32:20 2Ki_23:6)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 in his presence
in his presence
"in Josiah's presence"
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he cut apart ... He broke ... He scattered ... He burned
Josiah would have commanded his workers to do these things. AT: "he had them cut apart ... He commanded them to break ... He had them scatter ... He commanded them to burn" (See: Metonymy)
dust
very small pieces that could be carried away by the wind
He burned the bones of their priests on their altars
This means that the bones of the priests who offered sacrifices on the altars to the false gods were burned on the altars that the priests had previously made sacrifices on.
he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem
This speaks of Josiah causing Judah and Jerusalem to be acceptable to Yahweh as if he made them physically clean. AT: "he caused Judah and Jerusalem to be acceptable again to Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
altar
Baal
incense
grave
sacrifice
priest
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.