2 Kings 23:4-20 ▼

4 And the king commaunded Helchia the hie prieste, and the inferior priestes, and the kepers of the ornamentes, to bryng out of the temple of the Lorde all the vessels that were made for Baal, for the idoll groues, and for all the hoast of heauen: And he burnt them without Hierusalem in the fieldes of Cedron, and carryed the asshes of them into Bethel.

5 And he put downe the ministers of Baal whom the kinges of Iuda had founded to burne incense in the high places and cities of Iuda that were rounde about Hierusalem, & also them that burnt incense vnto Baal, to the sunne, to the moone, to the planets, and to all the hoast of heauen.

6 And he brought out the groue from the temple of the Lorde without Hierusalem vnto the brooke Cedron, and burnt it there at the brooke Cedron, and stampt it to powder, and cast the dust thereof vpon the graues of the children of the people.

7 And he brake downe the celles of the male stewes that were by the house of the Lorde, where the women woue hanginges for the idol groue.

8 And he brought all the priestes out of the cities of Iuda, and defiled the high places where the priestes had burnt incense, euen from Geba to Beerseba, and destroyed the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Iosua ye gouernour of the citie, which were as a man goeth in on the left hande of the gate of the citie.

9 Neuerthelesse, the priestes of the high places came not vp to the aulter of the Lorde in Hierusalem, saue onely they did eate of the sweete bread among their brethren.

10 And he defiled Thopheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, because no man should offer his sonne or his daughter in fire to Moloch.

11 He put downe the horses that the kinges of Iuda had geuen to the sunne, at the entering in of the house of the Lorde, by the chambre of Nathanmelech the chamberlayne, which was ruler of the suburbes, and burnt the charets of the sunne with fire.

12 And the aulters that were on the top of the parlour of Ahaz which the kinges of Iuda had made, and the aulters which Manasse had made in the two courtes of the house of the Lorde, did the king breake downe, & ran thence, and cast the dust of them into the brooke Cedron.

13 And the high places that were before Hierusalem, on the right hand of the mount Oliuet, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Astaroth the idol of the Zidons, and for Chamos the idol of the Moabites, and for Milthon the abhominable idoll of the children of Ammon, those the king defiled:

14 And brake the images, and cut downe the idol groues, and filled their places with the bones of men.

15 Moreouer, the aulter that was at Bethel, the high places made by Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat which made Israel sinne, both the aulter and also the high places he brake downe, and burnt the high places, and stampt it to powder, and burnt the idol groue.

16 And as Iosia turned him selfe, he spyed the graues that were in the mount, and sent and fet the bones out of the graues, and burnt them vpon the aulter, to pollute it, according to the word of the Lorde that the man of God proclaymed which tolde the same wordes.

17 Then he saide: What title is that that I see? And the men of the citie tolde him: It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Iuda, and tolde the selfe same thinges that thou hast done to the aulter of Bethel.

18 And he saide, let him be: see that no man moue his bones. And so his bones were saued, with the bones of a prophete that came out of Samaria.

19 And all the houses of the high places in the cities of Samaria, which the king of Israel had made to anger the Lorde withal those Iosia put out of the way, & did to them according to all the actes that he had done in Bethel.

20 And he sacrifised all the priestes of the high places that were there, euen vpon the aulters, and burnt mens bones vpon them, and returned to Hierusalem.