2 Kings 23:6

23:6 He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. ¹  He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard. ² 

2 Kings 23:2

23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud ³  all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple.

2 Kings 1:7

1:7 The king ⁴  asked them, “Describe the appearance ⁵  of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.”

2 Kings 1:15

1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down ⁶  with him to the king.

¹ tn Heb “and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.”

² tc Heb “on the grave of the sons of the people.” Some Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses read the plural “graves.”

³ tn Heb “read in their ears.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “What was the manner…?”

⁶ sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.