2 Kings 23:11 - Easy To Read Version In the past, the kings of Judah had put some horses and a chariot [290] near the entrance to the Lord’s temple. This was near the room of an important official named Nathan Melech. The horses and chariot were to honor the sun god. [291] Josiah removed the horses and burned the chariot. Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had devoted to the sun from the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the area, and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. American Standard Version (1901) And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. Common English Bible He did away with the horses that Judah’s kings had dedicated to the sun. They were kept at the entrance to the LORD’s temple near a room in the annex that belonged to an official named Nathan-melech. Josiah set fire to the chariots that were dedicated to the sun. Catholic Public Domain Version Also, he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the Sun, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, beside the hallway of Nathan-melech, the eunuch, who was in Pharurim. And he burned the chariots of the Sun with fire. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And he took away the horses which the kings of Juda had given to the sun, at the entering in of the temple of the Lord, near the chamber of Nathanmelech the eunuch, who was in Pharurim: and he burnt the chariots of the sun with fire. |
The kings of Judah had chosen some ordinary men to serve as priests. {These men were not from the family of Aaron!} Those false priests were burning incense [280] at the high places [281] in every city of Judah and all the towns around Jerusalem. They burned incense to honor Baal, [282] the sun, the moon, the constellations (groups of stars), and all the stars in the sky. But Josiah stopped those false priests.
There were four guards at the western court. {\cf2\super [289]} And there were two guards on the road to the court.
Asa also took away the high places and the incense {\cf2\super [183]} altars from all the towns in Judah. So the kingdom had peace when Asa was king.
The people broke down the altars for the Baal gods. They did this in front of Josiah. Then Josiah cut down the incense {\cf2\super [423]} altars that stood high above the people. He broke the idols that were carved and the idols that were made from molds. He beat those idols into powder. Then Josiah sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people that had offered sacrifices {\cf2\super [424]} to the Baal gods.
I have never worshiped the bright sun,\par or the beautiful moon.\par
Then the man led me into the outer courtyard. I saw thirty rooms and a pavement that went all the way around the courtyard. The rooms were along the wall and faced in toward the pavement.
Then he led me to the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple. At that place, I saw 25 men bowing down and worshiping. They were between the porch and the altar—but they were facing the wrong way! Their backs were to the Holy Place. They were bowing down to worship the sun!
And be careful when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars—all the many things in the sky. Be careful that you are not tempted to worship and serve those things. The Lord your God lets the other people in the world do those things.