2 Kings 23:4–8

Josiah’s Reforms

⁴Then the king commanded Hilkiah ^tthe high priest and the priests of the second rank ^uand the doorkeepers to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole heavenly host. ^vHe burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. ^w5Then he did away with the idolatrous priests the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places ^xin the cities of Judah and in the areas surrounding Jerusalem. They had burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, moon, constellations, and the whole heavenly host. ^y6He brought out the Asherah pole ^zfrom the Lord’s temple to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it at the Kidron Valley, ^abeat it to dust, ^band threw its dust on the graves of the common people. ^cd7He also tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes ^ethat were in the Lord’s temple, in which the women were weaving tapestries ^ffor Asherah. ^g

⁸Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places ^hfrom Geba ⁱto Beer-sheba, ^jwhere the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city (on the left at the city gate).