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 23:4

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ³  and the guards ⁴  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ⁵  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ⁶  The king ⁷  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ⁸  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ⁹ 

[23:6]  ¹ tn Heb “and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.”

[23:6]  ² tc Heb “on the grave of the sons of the people.” Some Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses read the plural “graves.”

[23:4]  ³ tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.

[23:4]  ⁴ tn Or “doorkeepers.”

[23:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “for.”

[23:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).

[23:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:4]  ⁸ tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.

[23:4]  ⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.