Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 28:4
And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes King Ahaz’s actions during his reign in Judah, immediately after detailing his idolatrous sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and before recording God’s judgment through foreign kings.
The words — The text uses וַ/יְקַטֵּ֛ר (va/y.ka.Ter), meaning “and he made smoke,” alongside וַ/יְזַבֵּ֧חַ (va/y.za.Be.ach), meaning “and he sacrificed,” to record Ahaz’s ritual offerings.
The thread — This pattern of unauthorized worship recurs in 2 Kings 16:4 and echoes the covenant warnings of Leviticus 26:30 and Deuteronomy 12:2, which condemn worship on high places, hills, and under green trees.
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to recognize that religious innovation outside commanded worship constitutes rebellion, not devotion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 26:30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.
- Deuteronomy 12:2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- 2 Kings 16:4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.