For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel did, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
Parallel Translations
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For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel did, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served them.
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For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
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For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 21:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made molten images for themselves, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served Baal.
- 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because in those days the children of Israel burned incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan.
- Deuteronomy 17:3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded,
- 1 Kings 16:31-33 As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. He raised up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did more yet to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
- Deuteronomy 4:19 and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
- 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
- 1 Kings 18:26 They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.
- 2 Kings 8:18 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did Ahab’s house; for he married Ahab’s daughter. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
- 2 Kings 8:27 He walked in the way of Ahab’s house, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, as did Ahab’s house; for he was the son-in-law of Ahab’s house.
- 2 Kings 10:18-20 Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all of his worshipers, and all of his priests. Let no one be absent; for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is absent, he shall not live.” But Jehu did deceptively, intending to destroy the worshipers of Baal. Jehu said, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal!” So they proclaimed it.
- 2 Kings 18:22 But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Yahweh our God;’ isn’t that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?’
- 2 Kings 23:4-5 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.
- 2 Chronicles 32:12 Hasn’t the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall worship before one altar, and you shall burn incense on it?’
- 2 Chronicles 33:3-5 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. He built altars in Yahweh’s house, of which Yahweh said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house.
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images.
- Job 31:26 if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
- Micah 6:16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of Ahab’s house. You walk in their counsels, that I may make you a ruin, and her inhabitants a hissing; And you will bear the reproach of my people.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 21:3 For he built up again the high…
2Ki 21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
Ver. 3. He built up again the high places, &c.] Which he, perhaps, was persuaded to believe to be the old religion, and therefore by all means to be restored. The Papist’s plea: τα γαρ καινα κενα..
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And he reared up altars for Baal.] Like his grandfather Ahaz, {2Ch 28:2} into whom Manasseh degenerateth; as if there had been no intervention of a Hezekiah. So we have seen the kernel of a well-fruited plant degenerate into that crab or willow which gave the original to his stock.
And made a grove.] Ahab-like, from whom, by wicked Athaliah, he was lineally descended. Sic partus sequitur ventrem.
And worshipped all the host of heaven.] Forgetting what had been done for his father by that host, when the sun, for his sake, went ten degrees backward: and so making good the import of his name Manasseh, which signifieth Forgetfulness.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The host of heaven; the stars, which the Gentiles…
The host of heaven; the stars, which the Gentiles had transformed into gods. See Poole "Deu 4:19".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For he built up again the high places which…
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed,.... The temples and altars upon them, see Kg2 18:4,
and he reared up altars for Baal; in the high places he rebuilt:
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and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel: which was either an idol itself, or a shade of trees where idols were placed; or rather Asherah, rendered "a grove", is the same with Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, the figure of which he made and worshipped; for groves were not so soon and easily planted, raised, and made; so the same in Kg1 16:33.
and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them: the sun, moon, and stars, particularly the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain He built, &c. - Trampling on the dust and…
He built, &c. - Trampling on the dust and affronting the memory of his worthy father. All the host of heaven - The sun, moon and stars.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. Made a grove] He made Asherah, the…
Verse 3. Made a grove] He made Asherah, the Babylonian Melitta or Roman Venus. See 2Kg 17:10, and the observations at the end of that chapter; and see here on 2Kg 21:7.
Worshipped all the host of heaven] All the stars and planets, but particularly the sun and the moon.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 21:3-5. He built up again the high places…
2Ki 21:3-5. He built up again the high places — Trampling upon the dust of his worthy father, and affronting his memory. And worshipped all the host of heaven — The sun, moon, and stars, which the Gentiles had transformed into gods. He built altars — To the gods of the neighbouring nations, and to the host of heaven; in the house of the Lord — Not only in Jerusalem, where the Lord had recorded his name, but even in the courts of the temple itself, both in that where the priests and Levites performed their services, and in that wherein the people worshipped. Thus, when the faithful worshippers of God came to the place he had appointed, to do their duty to him, to their great grief and terror, they found the altars of other gods ready to receive their offerings.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The first step in the re-establishment of idolatry seems…
The first step in the re-establishment of idolatry seems to have been the restoration of the high places where Yahweh was professedly worshipped 2Ki 18:22, but with idolatrous rites 1Ki 14:23. The next was to re-introduce the favorite idolatry of Israel, Baal-worship, which had formerly flourished in Judaea under Athaliah 2Ki 11:18, and Ahaz 2Ch 28:2. After this, Manasseh seems to have especially affected Sabaism, which had been previously unknown in Judaea (compare 2Ki 17:16 and note).
Worshipped all the host of heaven - Sabaism, or pure star-worship, without images, and without astrological superstitions, included a reverence for the sun, the moon, the chief stars, and the twelve signs of the Zodiac (2Ki 23:5 note). The main worship was by altars, on which incense was burned Jer 19:13. These altars were placed either upon the ground 2Ki 21:5, or upon the house-tops 2Ki 23:12; Zep 1:5. The sun was worshipped with the face toward the east Eze 8:16; chariots and horses were dedicated to him 2Ki 23:11. The star-worship of the Jews has far more the character of an Arabian than an Assyrian or Chaldaean cult. It obtained its hold at a time when Assyria and Babylonia had but little communication with Judaea - i. e., during the reign of Manasseh. It crept in probably from the same quarter as the Molech worship, with which it is here (and in 2Ch 33:3-6) conjoined.
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 Groves. Hebrew Ashera, "the grove," or the idol of…
Groves. Hebrew Ashera, "the grove," or the idol of Astarte, (Calmet) as both were worshipped. (Haydock) --- Achab, whom he imitated also in spilling the blood of the saints. (Menochius)
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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. As did Ahab — See notes on 1Ki_16:30-33.
3. As did Ahab — See notes on 1Ki_16:30-33.
Host of heaven — See note on 2Ki_17:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. For he built up again the high places]…
3. For he built up again the high places] The R.V. omits ‘up’. On Hezekiah’s destruction of the high places, see 2Ch_30:14; 2Ch_31:1.
and he reared up altars for Baal] The Chronicler says for ‘the Baalim’, by which is most likely intended the various aspects or attributes under which Baal was worshipped. The LXX. uses the feminine article and says the altars were reared τῇ Βάαλ; which is due to the use of the word בשת bosheth = shame, which is feminine, to avoid the abominated name בעל Baal. The desire to avoid this word is seen in proper names, among which Ishbosheth is put for Eshbaal, the name of a son of Saul (1Ch_8:33; 1Ch_9:39), also Mephibosheth is used instead of Meribbaal (cf. 2Sa_9:6 with 1Ch_8:34) and Jerubbesheth for Jerubbaal (cf. Jdg_6:32 with 2Sa_11:21).
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and made a grove] R.V. an Asherah. The Chronicler here too uses the plural ‘Asheroth’ (A.V. groves). On Asherah, which was probably a wooden image of a goddess so called, see note on 1Ki_14:15 and 2Ki_13:6.
Ahab king of Israel] Who first, at the instigation of Jezebel his wife, introduced the worship of Baal and Asherah into Israel from Phœnicia.
worshipped all the host of heaven] See note on 2Ki_17:16.
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 (3) For he built up again.—The LXX. and Vulg.…
(3) For he built up again.—The LXX. and Vulg. imitate the Hebrew idiom, and he returned and built—i.e., and he rebuilt.
The high places . . . altars for Baal . . . a grove (an Ashçrah).—“The idols, the sun-pillars, the ashçrim, the sacred trees, and all the other pagan or half-pagan symbols, so plainly inconsistent with the prophetic faith, were of the very substance of Israel’s worship in the popular sanctuaries” (Prof. Robertson Smith).
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As did Ahab.—See 1Ki_16:32-33.
Worshipped all the host of heaven.—See Notes on 2Ki_17:16, and comp. 2Ki_23:12. The Babylonian star-worship and astrology, with concomitant superstitions, had been introduced under Ahaz.
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 For he built up again the high places which…
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed. (comp. 2Ki_18:4, 2Ki_18:22) On the high-place worship, see the comment upon 1Ki_14:23. It is quite clear that the people were deeply attached to it, and gladly saw it restored. And he reared up altars for Baal; i.e. he reintroduced the Phoenician Baal-worship, the special abomination of the house of Ahab (1Ki_16:31; 2Ki_8:18, 2Ki_8:27, etc.) which Athaliah had been the first to introduce into Judah, (2Ki_11:18) which Joash had put away, (2Ki_11:18) but which Ahaz (2Ch_28:2) had recalled. And made a grove; literally, an Asherah, or emblem of Astarte (compare the comment on 1Ki_14:23) as did Ahab King of Israel (see 1Ki_16:33) and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. The worship the host of heaven, or the entire multitude of the heavenly bodies, commonly known as Sabaeanism or Ssabianism, was an ancient Babylonian, Arabian, and Syrian practice. It had, perhaps, been introduced among the Jews by Ahaz. (2Ki_23:12) At any rate, it was from the time of Manasseh one of the favorite idolatries of the Jewish people. The stars were believed to guide the destiny of men, and astrology was cultivated as a main part, or even as the essence, of religion. Astrological tracts form an important element in the literature of the Babylonians (see" Records of the Past," vol. 1. pp. 153-163). The chief objects of adoration in this worship were the sun and moon, the five planets, and the signs of the zodiac.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:3-5 Manasseh’s spiritual infidelity included rebuilding local pagan shrines…
21:3-5 Manasseh’s spiritual infidelity included rebuilding local pagan shrines that his father had destroyed (18:3). He also promoted wicked religious practices associated with the worship of Baal and set up an Asherah pole (see 18:3; 1 Kgs 16:32) and reintroduced astral worship. God had judged the northern kingdom for these sins (2 Kgs 17:16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.