2 Kings 23:14

¹² He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.

¹³ 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.

He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.

¹⁵ He even pulled down the altar at Bethel, the high place set up by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. Then he burned the high place, ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole.

¹⁶ And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.
KJV: And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.
WEB: He broke in pieces the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled their places with men’s bones.
ASV: And he brake in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.
DARBY: And he broke in pieces the columns, and cut down the Asherahs, and filled their place with the bones of men.
BLB: And he broke in pieces the pillars, and he cut down the Asherah poles, and he filled their places with the bones of men.

ÅB: Han slo billedstøttene i stykker og hugg ned Astartebildene og fylte det sted hvor de hadde stått, med menneskeben.
OTB: Han knuste også minnesteinene, hogg ned Asjeraene, og fylte deres steder med menneskeben.
B1930: Han slo billedstøttene i stykker og hugg ned Astarte-billedene og fylte det sted hvor de hadde stått, med menneskeben.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 23:24
You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 7:5
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
Read in context
2 Kings 23:16
And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, according to the word of the LORD proclaimed by the man of God who had foretold these things.
Read in context
Micah 1:7
All her carved images will be smashed to pieces; all her wages will be burned in the fire, and I will destroy all her idols. Since she collected the wages of a prostitute, they will be used again on a prostitute.
Read in context
Numbers 33:52
you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
Read in context
Numbers 19:18
Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 7:25–26
You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
Read in context
Numbers 19:16
Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
Read in context