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2 Kings 23:13

in 2 Kings 23

The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

KJV

And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

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This verse in 2 Kings 23

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Mount of corruption - This, says Jarchi, following the Chaldee, was the mount of Olives, for this is the mount המשחה hammishchah, of unction; but because of the idolatrous purposes for which it was used, the Scripture changed the appellation to the mount המשחית hammashchith, of corruption. Ashtoreth the abomination, etc. - See on 1Ki 11:7 (note).

This site's exposition

top of the upper chamber of Ahaz

on 2 Kings 23:12-14

Ahaz had built altars on the palace roof itself, and Manasseh had built more inside the temple's two courts; Josiah beats them all down and scatters the dust in the Kidron. The high places on the mount before Jerusalem reach back further still, to Solomon, who raised them for Ashtoreth of the Sidonians, Chemosh of Moab, and Milcom of Ammon (1 Ki 11:7); Josiah defiles the same ground his ancestor first profaned. The images are broken and the sites filled with human bones, the strongest defilement the law recognized (Num 19:15), so no worshipper could return to them clean.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Questions on the Book of Kings #29 · Written before 735.

proposed

"Also the high places that were in Jerusalem, etc." [2 Kings 23:13] What is said shortly after about the same king: Also the high places that were in Jerusalem, to the right side of the Mount of Offense, etc., up to, The king defiled and …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Those that introduce corruptions into religion know not how far they will reach nor how long they will last. Antiquity is no certain proof of verity. There were also high places all the kingdom over, from Geba to Beer-sheba (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), did all he could to render them abominable, and put the people out of conceit with them, as Jehu did when he made the house of Baal a draught-house, 2 Kings x. Tophet, which, contrary to other places of idolatry, was in a valley, whereas they were on hills or high places, was likewise defiled (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

And the high places that were before Jerusalem,....

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְֽאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • הַבָּמ֞וֹתthe high places

    habamotH1116 →102 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣ר׀which

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עַל־[were] on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of

    peneiH6440 →2123 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • אֲשֶׁר֮which

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • מִימִ֣ין[were] from [the] south

    miminH3225 →140 times

  • לְהַר־of [the] mountain of

    lehar-H2022 →546 times

  • הַמַּשְׁחִית֒<the> destruction

    hamashchitH4889 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בָּ֠נָהhe had built

    banahH1129 →376 times

  • שְׁלֹמֹ֨הSolomon

    shelomohH8010 →291 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לְעַשְׁתֹּ֣רֶת׀to Astarte

    leashtoretH6253 →

  • שִׁקֻּ֣ץ[the] detestable thing of

    shikutzH8251 →28 times

  • צִידֹנִ֗ים[the] Sidonians

    tzidonimH6722 →

  • וְלִכְמוֹשׁ֙and to Chemosh

    velikhmovoshH3645 →

  • שִׁקֻּ֣ץ[the] detestable thing of

    shikutzH8251 →28 times

  • מוֹאָ֔בMoab

    moavH4124 →181 times

  • וּלְמִלְכֹּ֖םand to Milcom

    ulemilkomH4445 →

  • תּוֹעֲבַ֣ת[the] abomination of

    toavatH8441 →117 times

  • בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • עַמּ֑וֹןAmmon

    amonH5983 →

  • טִמֵּ֖אhe made unclean

    time'H2930 →162 times

  • הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 11:7At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.5 works1 Kings 11:5Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.5 worksNumbers 21:29Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.5 worksJudges 10:6And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.5 worksIsaiah 44:19And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”4 worksJeremiah 11:13Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 4:1“If you will return, O Israel, return to Me,” declares the LORD. “If you will remove your detestable idols from My sight and no longer waver,3 worksJeremiah 49:3Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Milcom will go into exile together with his priests and officials.3 worksDeuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’3 worksJudges 2:13for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.2 works1 Kings 11:33For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.2 works1 Samuel 7:4So the Israelites put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served only the LORD.2 worksJeremiah 48:16Moab’s calamity is at hand, and his affliction is rushing swiftly.2 worksJeremiah 48:7Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.2 worksNehemiah 13:26Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.2 worksZephaniah 1:5those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,2 worksJeremiah 48:13Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.2 works1 Samuel 12:10Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve You.’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Judges 2:13

    for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

    it leads to

    • Judges 10:6

      And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    1 Kings 11:5

    Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 11:7

      At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Judges 2:13

      for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

  • Through

    Numbers 21:29

    Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

    it leads to

    • Judges 11:24

      Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Kings 11:33

      For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 48:46

      Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.

    • Jeremiah 48:7

      Because you trust in your works and treasures, you too will be captured, and Chemosh will go into exile with his priests and officials.

  • Through

    1 Kings 11:7

    At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 21:29

      Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Kings

Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 23 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Questions on the Book of Kings #29; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Kings 23 →