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12 The king demolished the altars[a] that the kings of Judah had built on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz as well as the two altars that Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. He broke them to pieces and cast them into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were to the east of Jerusalem, that is, to the south of the Hill of Corruption which Solomon, the king of Israel, had dedicated to the Ashtaroth, the vile goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the vile god of the Moabites, and to Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites.

14 He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He defiled these places with human bones.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:12 Altars: dedicated to the astral divinities (see 2 Ki 21:3f; Jer 19:13; Zep 1:5).

12 He pulled down(A) the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof(B) near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts(C) of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.(D) 13 The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon(E) king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable(F) god of the people of Ammon.(G) 14 Josiah smashed(H) the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.(I)

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