2Ki 23:4-5 | NETfull | STEP | The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, and the guards to bring out of the Lord ’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. The king burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

2 Kings 23:4-5

4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ^{▼▼ Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.} and the guards ^{▼▼ Or “doorkeepers.”} to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ^{▼▼ Heb “for.”} Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ^{▼▼ Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).} The king ^{▼▼ Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ^{▼▼ Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.} of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ^{▼▼ For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.} 5 He eliminated ^{▼▼ Perhaps, “destroyed.”} the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ^{▼▼ Or “burn incense.”} on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ^{▼▼ Or “burned incense.”} to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)