²³ While all the country was weeping with a loud voice, all the people were crossing over. The king was also crossing over ^(A)the brook Kidron, and all the people were crossing over toward ^(B)the way of the wilderness.

³⁷ For on the day you leave and ^(A)cross the ^[a]brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you will assuredly die; ^(B)your blood will be ^[b]on your own head.”

¹³ And even his mother Maacah, ^(A)he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image ^[a]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and ^(B)burned it at the brook Kidron.

Reforms under Josiah

⁴ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, ^(A)the priests of the second order, and the ^[a]doorkeepers ^(B)to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the utensils that had been made for Baal, for ^[b]Asherah, and for all the heavenly ^[c]lights; and ^(C)he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

⁶ He also brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ^(A)ground it to dust, and ^(B)threw its dust on the graves of the ^[a]common people.

¹² The king also tore down ^(A)the altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and ^(B)the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the house of the Lord; and he ^[a]smashed them there and ^(C)threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

^16 (A)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image ^[a]as ^(B)an Asherah, and ^(C)Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁶ So the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord out to the courtyard of the house of the Lord. Then the Levites received it to carry out to ^(A)the Kidron ^[a]Valley.

¹⁴ They got up and removed the altars which were in Jerusalem; they also ^(A)removed all the incense altars and ^(B)threw them into the brook Kidron.