2 Kings 23:4-5

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ¹  and the guards ²  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ³  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ⁴  The king ⁵  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ⁶  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁷  23:5 He eliminated ⁸  the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ⁹  on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ¹⁰  to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

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 ¹¹  all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple.

2 Kings 1:4

1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.

[23:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.

[23:4]  ² tn Or “doorkeepers.”

[23:4]  ³ tn Heb “for.”

[23:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).

[23:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.

[23:4]  ⁷ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[23:5]  ⁸ tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”

[23:5]  ⁹ tn Or “burn incense.”

[23:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “burned incense.”

[23:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “read in their ears.”