But he did {that which was} evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;

And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD {is} with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. {to meet...: Heb. before Asa}

Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, {yet} unto the LORD their God only.

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, {is yet} young and tender, and the work {is} great: for the palace {is} not for man, but for the LORD God.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. {images: Heb. statues} {Nehushtan: that is, A piece of brass}

And they arose and took away the altars that {were} in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast {them} into the brook Kidron.

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed {thereto} according to thy word.

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. {images: Heb. statues}

And David said, Solomon my son {is} young and tender, and the house {that is} to be builded for the LORD {must be} exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will {therefore} now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that {is} the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that {pertained} to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, {even} to serve the LORD their God. {And} all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers. {present: Heb. found} {from...: Heb. from after}

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: {images: Heb. statues}

Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. {was...: that is, was encouraged}

And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy {place}.

Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.

For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. {thy graven...: Heb. the graven images of thy silver} {cast: Heb. scatter}

And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. {overthrow: Heb. break down}

And it shall come to pass, {as soon as} I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and {so} when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.

And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.

And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. {images: Heb. statues}

And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. {penny: the Roman penny is the eighth part of an ounce, which after five shillings the ounce is seven pence halfpenny; about fourteen cents}

He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.

Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. {present: Heb. found} {images: Heb. statues} {until...: Heb. until to make an end}

Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.

But he did {that which was} evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;

And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, {that} the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,

And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.