2nd Kings Chapter 21 verse 3 Holy Bible
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
read chapter 21 in ASV
He put up again the high places which had been pulled down by Hezekiah his father; he made altars for Baal, and an Asherah, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done; he was a worshipper and servant of all the stars of heaven.
read chapter 21 in BBE
And he built again the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars to Baal and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
read chapter 21 in DARBY
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
read chapter 21 in KJV
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.
read chapter 21 in WBT
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of the sky, and served them.
read chapter 21 in WEB
and he turneth and buildeth the high places that Hezekiah his father destroyed, and raiseth altars for Baal, and maketh a shrine, as did Ahab king of Israel, and boweth himself to all the host of the heavens, and serveth them.
read chapter 21 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed (comp. 2 Kings 18:4, 22). On the high-place worship, see the comment upon 1 Kings 14:23. It is quite clear that the people were deeply attached to it, and gladly saw it restored. And he reared up altars for Baal; i.e. he reintroduced the Phoenician Baal-worship, the special abomination of the house of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31; 1 Kings 22:53; 2 Kings 8:18, 27, etc.), which Athaliah had been the first to introduce into Judah (2 Kings 11:18), which Joash had put away (2 Kings 11:18), but which Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:2) had recalled. And made a grove; literally, an Asherah, or emblem of Astarte (compare the comment on 1 Kings 14:23) - as did Ahab King of Israel (see 1 Kings 16:33) and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. The worship the host of heaven, or the entire multitude of the heavenly bodies, commonly known as Sabaeanism or Ssabianism, was an ancient Babylonian, Arabian, and Syrian practice. It had, perhaps, been introduced among the Jews by Ahaz (2 Kings 23:12). At any rate, it was from the time of Manasseh one of the favorite idolatries of the Jewish people. The stars were believed to guide the destiny of men, and astrology was cultivated as a main part, or even as the essence, of religion. Astrological tracts form an important element in the literature of the Babylonians (see' Records of the Past,' vol. 1. pp. 153-163). The chief objects of adoration in this worship were the sun and moon, the five planets, and the signs of the zodiac.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) For he built up again.--The LXX. and Vulg. imitate the Hebrew idiom, and he returned and built--i.e., and he rebuilt.The high places . . . altars for Baal . . . a grove (an Ash?rah).--"The idols, the sun-pillars, the ash?rim, the sacred trees, and all the other pagan or half-pagan symbols, so plainly inconsistent with the prophetic faith, were of the very substance of Israel's worship in the popular sanctuaries" (Prof. Robertson Smith).As did Ahab.--See 1Kings 16:32-33.Worshipped all the host of heaven.--See Notes on 2Kings 17:16, and comp. 2Kings 23:12. The Babylonian star-worship and astrology, with concomitant superstitions, had been introduced under Ahaz.
