Bible Strands
2 Kings 23:5
Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Josiah, king of Judah, executes a purge of idolatrous worship during his centralization of temple rites, targeting priests who operated outside Jerusalem.
The words — The Hebrew הִשְׁבִּית (hish.bit) means to abolish or remove, while קִטֵּר (qitter) denotes the act of burning incense, directly describing the termination of the kings of Judah’s appointed cultic officials.
The thread — This reform reverses the earlier altar-building of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:3) and stands in direct opposition to later Judahites who refused to abandon incense offerings to the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 44:17).
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that religious reform must dismantle institutionalized idolatry at its source, not merely discard physical objects associated with it.
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
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 44:17 Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
- 2 Kings 21:3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
- Jeremiah 8:1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of the officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves.
- Hosea 10:5 The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests—those who rejoiced in its glory—for it has been taken from them into exile.