They also demolished the sacred pillar of Baal. Then they tore down the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine, which it is to this day.
Parallel translations
- WEB They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day.
- KJV And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.
- NKJV Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day.
- NASB They also tore down the memorial stone of Baal and tore down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine as it is to this day.
- NLT They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day.
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
Baal's pillar and temple are demolished and the site turned into a latrine, a lasting humiliation. The false god is shown to be powerless and unclean.
Overview
Converting the temple into a public toilet expresses utter contempt for Baal and his worship. The phrase 'to this day' notes the desecration endured into the writer's time. The scene declares the impotence of idols against the living God, whose reign Christ will consummate by abolishing every rival power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ezra 6:11I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own house shall be made a pile of rubble for this offense.
- Dan 2:5The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.
- Dan 3:29Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”
- 1 Kgs 16:32First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.
- Deut 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
- Lev 26:30I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.
- 2 Kgs 23:7–14He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where the women had woven tapestries for Asherah.
- 2 Kgs 18:4He 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 Chr 34:3–7In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his father David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images.
- Deut 7:5Instead, 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.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 10:27 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.