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Despite that, instead of turning from the sins of the house of Yarov‘am, who made Isra'el sin, they continued to live in this sinful way. Moreover, the asherah continued to stand in Shomron.

They abandoned all the mitzvot of Adonai their God. They made cast metal images for themselves, two calves. They made an asherah. They worshipped the whole army of heaven. They served Ba‘al.

He removed the high places, smashed the standing-stones, cut down the asherah and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moshe had made; because in those days the people of Isra'el were making offerings to it, calling it N'chushtan.*

For he rebuilt the high places Hizkiyahu his father had destroyed; he erected altars for Ba‘al and made an asherah, as had Ach'av king of Isra'el; and he worshipped all the army of heaven and served them.

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.

Then the king ordered Hilkiyahu the cohen hagadol, the cohanim of the second rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the sanctuary of Adonai all the articles that had been made for Ba‘al, for the asherah and for the entire army of heaven; and he burned them up outside Yerushalayim in the fields of Kidron and carried their ashes to Beit-El.

He took the asherah from the house of Adonai to Vadi Kidron outside Yerushalayim and burned it in Vadi Kidron, stamped the ashes to powder and threw the powder onto the burial-ground for the common people.

He smashed the houses of the cult prostitutes that were in the house of Adonai , where the women also wove garments for the asherah.

He smashed the altar that was at Beit-El and the high place made by Yarov‘am the son of N'vat, who caused Isra'el to sin. Yes, he smashed that altar and the high place; he burned the high place, stamped the ashes to powder, and burned up the asherah.