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Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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THE MESSAGE

2 Kings 21:7

As a last straw he placed the carved image of the sex goddess Asherah in The Temple of God , a flagrant and provocative violation of God 's well-known statement to both David and Solomon, "In this Temple and in this city Jerusalem, my choice out of all the tribes of Israel, I place my Name—exclusively and forever. Never again will I let my people Israel wander off from this land I gave to their ancestors. But here's the condition: They must keep everything I've commanded in the instructions my servant Moses passed on to them."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Groves;   Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Manasseh;   Rulers;   Temple;   Thompson Chain Reference - Reverence-Irreverence;   Sacrilege;   The Topic Concordance - Choosing/chosen;   Jerusalem;   Name;   Obedience;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Idolatry;   Kings;   Temple, the First;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Baal;   Manasseh;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Baal;   Judah, tribe and kingdom;   Manasseh, king of judah;   Zephaniah;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Elect, Election;   Ethics;   Ezekiel, Theology of;   Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Kings, First and Second, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Asherah;   Grove;   Jealousy, Image of;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Abomination of Desolation;   Ashtoreth;   Grove;   Josiah;   Manasseh (2);   Nineveh;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Asherah;   Baal;   Gods, Pagan;   High Place;   Jealousy, Image of;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Asherah;   Chronicles, I;   Israel;   Manasseh;   Text, Versions, and Languages of Ot;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Grove;   Manasseh ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Manasseh;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Alliance;   Asherah;   High Place;   Idolatry;   Images;   Temple;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ashtoreth;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the Lord had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
Hebrew Names Version
He set the engraved image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Shlomo his son, In this house, and in Yerushalayim, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Yisra'el, will I put my name forever;
King James Version
And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
English Standard Version
And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
New Century Version
Manasseh carved an Asherah idol and put it in the Temple. The Lord had said to David and his son Solomon about the Temple, "I will be worshiped forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel.
New English Translation
He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, "This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.
Amplified Bible
He made a carved image of the [goddess] Asherah and set it up in the house (temple), of which the LORD said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house and in Jerusalem [in the tribe of Judah], which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever.
New American Standard Bible
Then he put the carved image of Asherah that he had made in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.
World English Bible
He set the engraved image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever;
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he set the image of the groue, that he had made, in the house, whereof ye Lord had saide to Dauid & to Salomon his sonne, In this house and in Ierusalem, which I haue chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my Name for euer.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then he put the graven image of Asherah, which he had made, in the house of which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.
Berean Standard Bible
Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, "In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.
Complete Jewish Bible
He set the carved image for the asherah he had made in the house concerning which Adonai had told David and Shlomo his son, "In this house and in Yerushalayim, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Isra'el, I will put my name forever.
Darby Translation
And he set the graven image of the Asherah that he had made, in the house of which Jehovah had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever;
Easy-to-Read Version
Manasseh made a carved statue of Asherah. He put this statue in the Temple. The Lord had said to David and to David's son Solomon about this Temple: "I have chosen Jerusalem from all the cities in Israel. I will put my name in the Temple in Jerusalem forever.
George Lamsa Translation
And he set up the image and the idol that he had made in the house of the LORD, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever;
Good News Translation
He placed the symbol of the goddess Asherah in the Temple, the place about which the Lord had said to David and his son Solomon: "Here in Jerusalem, in this Temple, is the place that I have chosen out of all the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel as the place where I am to be worshiped.
Lexham English Bible
He put the image of the Asherah that he had made in the temple which Yahweh had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this temple and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.
Literal Translation
And he set a graven image of the Asherah that he had made in the house of which Jehovah had said to David and to his son Solomon, In this house, and in Jerusalem, that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A groue Idol also which he had made, set he in the house, wherof the LORDE sayde vnto Dauid and to Salomon his sonne: In this house, and at Ierusalem ( which I haue chosen out of all the trybes of Israel) wil I set my name for euer,
American Standard Version
And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Jehovah said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever;
Bible in Basic English
He put the image of Asherah which he had made in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, the town which I have made mine out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he put an image of a groue that he had made [euen] in the temple, of which the Lord had sayd to Dauid and Solomon his sonne: in this house and in Hierusalem which I haue chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for euer.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son: 'In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put My name for ever;
King James Version (1611)
And he set a grauen image of the groue that he had made, in the house, of which the Lord said to Dauid, and to Solomon his sonne, In this house and in Ierusalem, which I haue chosen out of all tribes of Israel, wil I put my Name for euer:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he set up the graven image of the grove in the house of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I even place my name for ever.
English Revised Version
And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he settide an ydol of wode, which he hadde maad, in the temple of the Lord, `of which temple the Lord spak to Dauid, and to Salomon, his sone, Y schal sette my name withouten ende in this temple, and in Jerusalem which Y chees of alle the lynagis of Israel.
Update Bible Version
And he set the graven image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which Yahweh said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever;
Webster's Bible Translation
And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
New King James Version
He even set a carved image of Asherah [fn] that he had made, in the house of which the Lord had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;
New Living Translation
Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the Lord had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.
New Life Bible
Then Manasseh put the object he had made for Asherah into the house of the Lord. But the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, "I have chosen this house and Jerusalem from all the families of Israel. Here I will put My name forever.
New Revised Standard
The carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and he set the image of the Sacred Stem which he had made, - in the house, of which Yahweh had said unto David, and unto Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my Name, unto times age-abiding;
Douay-Rheims Bible
He set also an idol of the grove, which he had made, in the temple of the Lord: concerning which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son: In this temple, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever.
Revised Standard Version
And the graven image of Ashe'rah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever;
Young's Literal Translation
And he setteth the graven image of the shrine that he made in the house of which Jehovah said unto David and unto Solomon his son, `In this house, and in Jerusalem, that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I put My name -- to the age;
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.

Contextual Overview

1Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king. He ruled for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. In God 's judgment he was a bad king—an evil king. He reintroduced all the moral rot and spiritual corruption that had been scoured from the country when God dispossessed the pagan nations in favor of the children of Israel. He rebuilt all the sex-and-religion shrines that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he built altars and phallic images for the sex god Baal and sex goddess Asherah, exactly what Ahaz king of Israel had done. He worshiped the cosmic powers, taking orders from the constellations. He even built these pagan altars in The Temple of God , the very Jerusalem Temple dedicated exclusively by God 's decree ("in Jerusalem I place my Name") to God 's Name. And he built shrines to the cosmic powers and placed them in both courtyards of The Temple of God . He burned his own son in a sacrificial offering. He practiced black magic and fortunetelling. He held séances and consulted spirits from the underworld. Much evil—in God 's judgment, a career in evil. And God was angry. 7As a last straw he placed the carved image of the sex goddess Asherah in The Temple of God , a flagrant and provocative violation of God 's well-known statement to both David and Solomon, "In this Temple and in this city Jerusalem, my choice out of all the tribes of Israel, I place my Name—exclusively and forever. Never again will I let my people Israel wander off from this land I gave to their ancestors. But here's the condition: They must keep everything I've commanded in the instructions my servant Moses passed on to them." 9 But the people didn't listen. Manasseh led them off the beaten path into practices of evil even exceeding the evil of the pagan nations that God had earlier destroyed.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

am 3306-3327, bc 698-677

he set: 2 Kings 23:6, 2 Chronicles 33:7, 2 Chronicles 33:15

In this house: 2 Kings 21:4, 2 Kings 23:27, 2 Samuel 7:13, 1 Kings 8:29, 1 Kings 8:44, 1 Kings 9:3, 1 Kings 9:7, 2 Chronicles 7:12, 2 Chronicles 7:16, 2 Chronicles 7:20, Nehemiah 1:9, Psalms 74:2, Psalms 78:68, Psalms 78:69, Psalms 132:13, Psalms 132:14, Jeremiah 32:34

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 21:2 - And he did 2 Kings 21:16 - beside his sin 2 Kings 23:4 - to bring Jeremiah 7:30 - they Jeremiah 19:4 - estranged Ezekiel 5:11 - thou hast Ezekiel 7:20 - but Ezekiel 8:3 - the image Ezekiel 23:38 - they have

Cross-References

Genesis 21:11
The matter gave great pain to Abraham—after all, Ishmael was his son. But God spoke to Abraham, "Don't feel badly about the boy and your maid. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your descendants will come through Isaac. Regarding your maid's son, be assured that I'll also develop a great nation from him—he's your son, too."
Psalms 86:8
There's no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord, and nothing to compare with your works. All the nations you made are on their way, ready to give honor to you, O Lord, Ready to put your beauty on display, parading your greatness, And the great things you do— God, you're the one, there's no one but you!
Ephesians 3:10
The Secret Plan of God This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief. As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ver. 7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house,.... Which was either an image that had been placed in a grove planted by him, and now removed into the house or temple of the Lord; or, as some think, this was a representation of a grove, a carved grove of gold or silver, in the midst of which an image was placed in the temple; though what Selden observes b, seems best of all, that this was an image of Asherah, as in the original text; that is, of Astarte or Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, 1 Kings 11:5, the same the Phoenicians are said to call Astroarche, and affirm it to be the moon c: in 2 Chronicles 33:7 it is called a carved image the idol he had made; and an Arabic writer d says, it had four faces, which seems to be a figure of the cherubim; but, according to Suidas e, it was the statue of Jupiter, who also says it had four faces:

of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son: that is, of which house or temple:

in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever; see 1 Kings 8:29

1 Kings 8:29- :.

b De Dis Syris, Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 233. c Herodian. l. 5. c. 15. d Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 66. e In voce μανασσηςα.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A graven image of the grove - Rather, “the carved work of the Asherah.” This Asherah which Manasseh placed in the very temple itself, from where it was afterward taken by Josiah to be destroyed 2 Kings 23:6. Such a profanation was beyond anything that had been done either by Athaliah 2 Kings 11:18, or by Ahaz 2 Kings 16:14-18; 2 Chronicles 29:5-7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 21:7. He set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house — Every one may see that Asherah here must signify an idol, and not a grove; and for the proof of this see the observations at the end of the chapter. 2 Kings 21:26.


 
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