1 Kings 15:12
New International Version
He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.

New Living Translation
He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made.

English Standard Version
He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Berean Standard Bible
He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

King James Bible
And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

New King James Version
And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

New American Standard Bible
He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.

NASB 1995
He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.

NASB 1977
He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land, and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.

Legacy Standard Bible
He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.

Amplified Bible
He expelled the male cult prostitutes (sodomites) from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers [Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijam] had made.

Christian Standard Bible
He banished the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all of the idols that his ancestors had made.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He banished the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all of the idols that his fathers had made.

American Standard Version
And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Contemporary English Version
He forced the prostitutes at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made.

English Revised Version
And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He forced the male temple prostitutes out of the land and got rid of the idols his father had made.

Good News Translation
He expelled from the country all the male and female prostitutes serving at the pagan places of worship, and he removed all the idols his predecessors had made.

International Standard Version
He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and destroyed all the idols that his ancestors had made.

Majority Standard Bible
He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

NET Bible
He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols his ancestors had made.

New Heart English Bible
And he banished the male temple prostitutes out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he banished the sodomites from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

World English Bible
He put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and removes the whoremongers out of the land, and turns aside all the idols that his fathers made;

Young's Literal Translation
and removeth the whoremongers out of the land, and turneth aside all the idols that his fathers made;

Smith's Literal Translation
And he will take away the holy places from the land, and he will turn aside all the blocks which his fathers made.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he took away the effeminate out of the land, and he removed all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And he took away the effeminate from the land. And he purged all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made.

New American Bible
banishing the pagan priests from the land and removing all the idols his ancestors had made.

New Revised Standard Version
He put away the male temple prostitutes out of the land, and removed all the idols that his ancestors had made.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And he put the Sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he removed fornicators from the land, and he removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he removed the sodomites out of the land, and abolished all the practices which his fathers had kept up.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Asa Reigns in Judah
11And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. 12He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.…

Cross References
2 Chronicles 14:3
He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles.

2 Chronicles 15:8
When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’s temple.

2 Chronicles 17:6
And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.

2 Kings 23:7
He 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.

Deuteronomy 23:17
No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.

Leviticus 18:22
You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Romans 1:26-27
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. / Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, / nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Timothy 1:9-10
We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, / for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

2 Kings 23:24
Furthermore, Josiah removed the mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to carry out the words of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 19:3
However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart on seeking God.”

2 Chronicles 31:1
When all this had ended, the Israelites in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own property.

2 Chronicles 34:3-7
In 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. / Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. / Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ...

1 Kings 22:46
He banished from the land the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa.


Treasury of Scripture

And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

the sodomites

1 Kings 14:24
And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

1 Kings 22:46
And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.

Romans 1:26,27
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: …

all the idols

1 Kings 15:3
And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.

1 Kings 11:7,8
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon…

1 Kings 14:23
For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

Jump to Previous
Banished Country Cult Expelled Fathers Gods Idols Images Male Prostitutes Purposes Removed Removeth Rid Sex Shrine Sodomites Turneth Used Whoremongers Worship
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Banished Country Cult Expelled Fathers Gods Idols Images Male Prostitutes Purposes Removed Removeth Rid Sex Shrine Sodomites Turneth Used Whoremongers Worship
1 Kings 15
1. Abijam's wicked reign
7. Asa succeeds him
9. Asa's good reign
16. The war between Baasha and him causes him to make a league with Ben-Hadad
23. Jehoshaphat succeeds Asa
25. Nadab's wicked reign
27. Baasha conspiring against him, executes Ahijah's prophecy
31. Nadab's acts and death
33. Baasha's wicked reign














He banished
The act of banishing indicates a decisive and authoritative action taken by King Asa. The Hebrew root for "banished" is "עָבַר" (avar), which means to pass over or remove. This action reflects Asa's commitment to purifying the land of Judah from practices that were contrary to the worship of Yahweh. In a historical context, this demonstrates Asa's dedication to reform and his desire to align the kingdom with the covenantal laws given to Israel.

the male shrine prostitutes
The term refers to "קָדֵשׁ" (qadesh), which were male cultic prostitutes associated with pagan worship practices, particularly those of Canaanite origin. These practices were abominations in the sight of the Lord, as they were linked to fertility rites and idolatry. Asa's removal of these individuals signifies a return to the moral and spiritual standards set forth in the Mosaic Law, emphasizing the importance of sexual purity and the exclusive worship of Yahweh.

from the land
This phrase underscores the geographical and spiritual cleansing Asa sought to achieve. The "land" refers to the territory of Judah, which was to be a holy land dedicated to the Lord. By removing these practices from the land, Asa was not only purifying the physical space but also restoring the spiritual integrity of the nation. This act is reminiscent of the covenantal promise that the land would be a place where God's presence dwells among His people.

and removed all the idols
The Hebrew word for "idols" is "גִּלּוּלִים" (gillulim), often used to describe detestable images or false gods. Asa's removal of idols signifies a rejection of syncretism and a return to monotheistic worship. Historically, the presence of idols was a recurring issue in Israel's history, leading to spiritual decline and divine judgment. Asa's actions reflect a commitment to the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3).

that his fathers had made
This phrase highlights the generational sin and the influence of previous kings who had introduced or tolerated idolatry. The reference to "his fathers" indicates a break from the past and a desire to restore the true worship of Yahweh. Asa's reforms can be seen as a fulfillment of the Deuteronomic ideal of kingship, where the king is to lead the people in covenant faithfulness. This also serves as a reminder of the impact of leadership on the spiritual direction of a nation.

Verse 12. - And he took away the Sodomites [see on 1 Kings 14:24, and Romans 1:23-27. It appears from 1 Kings 22:46 that this abomination was not wholly suppressed] out of the land, and removed all the idols [גִּלֻּלִים from גָּלַל volvit A term of contempt (see Deuteronomy 29:17, where it is coupled with "abominations; "Ezekiel 23:37); but whether the word is to be interpreted by גֵּלֶל a ball of dung, in which case these idols (Dei stereorei) would have a designation like Beelzebul ("the lord of dung"), or with גַּל a heap of stones (Genesis 31:46, 48), Dei lapidei, is uncertain. Keil would translate logs, Gesenius trunks, stocks, which from being rolled might well bear this name] that his fathers had made.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
He banished
וַיַּעֲבֵ֥ר (way·ya·‘ă·ḇêr)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

the male cult prostitutes
הַקְּדֵשִׁ֖ים (haq·qə·ḏê·šîm)
Article | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 6945: A, sacred person, a, devotee, to licentious idolatry

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the land
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

and removed
וַיָּ֙סַר֙ (way·yā·sar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

of the idols
הַגִּלֻּלִ֔ים (hag·gil·lu·lîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1544: A log, an idol

that
אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

his fathers
אֲבֹתָֽיו׃ (’ă·ḇō·ṯāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

had made.
עָשׂ֖וּ (‘ā·śū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make


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OT History: 1 Kings 15:12 He put away the sodomites out (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 15:11
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