Orthodox Jewish Bible

Melachim Bais 23:4-12 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

4. And HaMelech commanded Chilkiyahu HaKohen HaGadol, and the Kohanei HaMishneh, and the Shomrei HaSaf, to bring forth out of the Heikhal Hashem all the kelim that were made for Ba'al, and for Asherah, and for all the Tzeva HaShomayim; and he burned them outside Yerushalayim in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beit-El.

5. And he did away with hakemarim (the idol priests), whom the Melachim of Yehudah had ordained to burn ketoret in the high places in the towns of Yehudah, and in the places around Yerushalayim; them also that burned ketoret unto Ba'al, to the shemesh, and to the yarei'ach, and to the mazalot (constellations) and to all the Tzeva HaShomayim.

6. And he took out the Asherah from the Beis Hashem, outside Yerushalayim, unto the Kidron Valley, and burned it in the Kidron Valley, and ground it to powder, and cast its aphar upon the keverim of the Bnei HaAm [i.e., them that sacrificed unto them].

7. And he tore down the batim (houses) of hakedeshim (the male and female cult prostitutes) that were in the Beis Hashem, where the nashim were weaving hangings for Asherah.

8. And he brought all the Kohanim out of the towns of Yehudah, and made tameh the high places where the kohanim had burned ketoret, from Geva to Beer Sheva, and broke down the high places at the she'arim (gates) that were at the entrance of the Sha'ar Yehoshua sar Ir, which were on one's left at the Sha'ar HaIr.

9. Nevertheless the kohanim of the high places came not up to the Mizbe'ach Hashem in Yerushalayim, only they did eat of the matzot among their achim.

10. And he made tameh Tophet, which is in the Gey of the ben Hinnom, that no ish might make his ben or his bat to pass through the eish to Molech.

11. And he took away the susim that the Melachim of Yehudah had dedicated to the shemesh, at the entrance of the Beis Hashem, by the chamber of Natan-Melech the saris, which was in the colonnades, and set eish to merkevot hashemesh.

12. And the mizbechot that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Achaz, which the Melachim of Yehudah had made, and the mizbechot which Menasheh had made in the two khatzerot of the Beis Hashem, did HaMelech pull down, and remove them from there, and cast the aphar of them into the Kidron Valley.