BibleWord.ai› Bible› 2 Kings› Chapter 23› Verse 9

2 Kings 23:9

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Kings 23:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread among their brethren.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread among their brethren.
2 Kings 23:9 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Kings 23

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6And he brought out the Asherah from the house of Jehovah, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast the dust thereof upon the graves of the common people.
7And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
8And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he brake down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man`s left hand at the gate of the city.
9Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of Jehovah in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened bread among their brethren.
10And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
11And 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.
12And the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, did the king break down, and beat [them] down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
← 2 Kings 23:82 Kings 23:10 →
← Full Chapter 23 2 Kings Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord at Jerusalem, etc.] To sacrifice there, as the Targum; though they were removed from the high places, they were not admitted to officiate at the altar of the Lord, having offered in forbidden places: but they did eat of the unleavened bread with their brethren; the priests that were pure, as the sons of Zadok; though they might not offer sacrifices, they were allowed to partake of the holy things with the priests, as the meat offerings made of flour unleavened, (<030204>Leviticus 2:4,5) which are here meant, and put for all the rest on which the priests lived, (see <264410> Ezekiel 44:10-15).”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“A parenthesis giving the earlier reforms of Josiah. 2 Kings 23:4 The priests of the second order - This is a new expression; and probably refers to the ordinary priests, called here “priests of the second order,” in contrast with the high priest, whose dignity was reviving (2 Kings 12:2 note). The vessels - This would include the whole apparatus of worship, altars, images, dresses, utensils, etc., for Baal, etc. (2 Kings 21:3-5 notes). The ashes of the idolatrous objects burned in the first instance in the “fields of Kidron” (i. e., in the part of the valley which lies northeast of the city, a part much broader than that between the Temple Hill and the Mount of Olives) were actually taken to…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The priest - Who worshipped the true God there. In Jerusalem - Were not suffered to come thither to the exercise of their priestly function; as a just punishment for the corruption of God's worship, and the transgression of so plain and positive a law of God, Deu 12:11, which was much worse in them who had more knowledge to discern the will of God, and more obligations to observe it. Did eat - Of the meal - offerings, allotted to the priests, wherein there was to be no leaven, Lev 2:4-5, Lev 2:10-11, and consequently of other provisions belonging to the priests, which are contained under this one kind. Thus their spiritual blemish puts them into the very same state which corporal blemishes…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the priests: Eze 44:10-14; Mal 2:8, Mal 2:9 but they did: Sa1 2:36; Eze 44:29-31 4 Kings (2 Kings) 23:10”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read 2 Kings 23 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification