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12 The king also tore down the altars that were on the roof of Ahaz’s upper story, which had been made by the Judean kings, and he did the same with the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He broke them up there[a] and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king then defiled the shrines facing Jerusalem, south of the Mountain of Destruction. Solomon the king of Israel had built these for Ashtoreth, the monstrous Sidonian god, for Chemosh, the monstrous Moabite god, and for Milcom, the detestable Ammonite god. 14 He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the sacred poles,[b] filling the places where they had been with human bones.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 23:12 Correction; MT removed them quickly or ran from there
  2. 2 Kings 23:14 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah

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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