Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 12:3
Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab as they prepare to enter Canaan, commanding them to dismantle the pagan worship sites of the nations they are displacing.
The words — The Hebrew verbs נִתַּצְתֶּם (ni.tatz.tem) and שִׁבַּרְתֶּם (shi.bar.tem) command the people to "break down" and "shatter" the altars and sacred pillars, while תִשְׂרְפוּ (tis.re.fu) orders them to "burn" the Asherah poles.
The thread — This command repeats the conquest mandate in Numbers 33:52, contrasts with the disobedience recorded in Judges 2:2, and anticipates the final removal of idolatry in Zechariah 13:2.
Why it lands — The text explicitly requires the physical destruction of foreign cultic objects and the erasure of their associated names, establishing that exclusive worship of Yahweh demands the complete removal of rival religious infrastructure.
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 ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
Cross-references
- Numbers 33:52 you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
- Judges 2:2 and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
- Zechariah 13:2 And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
- Psalms 16:4 Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.
- Exodus 23:13 Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
- 1 Kings 15:13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.
- 2 Kings 23:14 He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.
- 2 Chronicles 19:3 However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart on seeking God.”