for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the memorial stones, cut down the Asherim,
Parallel translations
- WEB for he took away the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles,
- KJV For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
- BSB He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles.
- NKJV for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.
- NLT He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Asa removes foreign altars, high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles. He actively tears down idolatry rather than merely tolerating reform.
Overview
Asa's reforms target the apparatus of Canaanite and foreign worship that repeatedly seduced Israel. Breaking down pillars and cutting Asherah poles fulfills the law's command to destroy false worship and guard exclusive devotion to Yahweh. Such cleansing prefigures the heart-purification Christ works in His people, removing idols so God alone is worshiped.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 7:5But you shall deal with them like this. You shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, and cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved images with fire.
- 2 Kgs 23:14He broke in pieces the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled their places with men’s bones.
- Exod 34:13but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles;
- 1 Kgs 15:12–14He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
- 2 Chr 15:17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
- 2 Kgs 23:6He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.
- 1 Kgs 11:7–8Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.
- Deut 7:25You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it; for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
- 2 Kgs 18:4He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because in those days the children of Israel burned incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan.
- 1 Kgs 14:22–24Judah did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done.
- Judg 6:25–28That same night, Yahweh said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it.
- Lev 26:30I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you.
- 2 Chr 34:4They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images in pieces, made dust of them, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
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Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 14:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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