2 Kings 23 · Verse 11

2 Kings 23:11

And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan–melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

2 Kings 23:11, King James Version

2 Kings 23:11 in other translations

BSB	And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun.
WEB	He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance of the LORD’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
ASV	And 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.
YLT	And he causeth to cease the horses that the kings of Judah have given to the sun from the entering in of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech the eunuch, that is in the suburbs, and the chariots of the sun he hath burnt with fire.
DARBY	And he abolished the horses that the kings of Judah had appointed to the sun at the entrance of the house of Jehovah, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun, with fire.
BBE	And he took away the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the way into the house of the Lord, by the room of Nathan-melech, the unsexed servant, which was in the outer part of the building, and the carriages of the sun he put on fire.
Webster	And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

What does 2 Kings 23:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun--Among the people who anciently worshipped the sun, horses were usually dedicated to that divinity, from the supposed idea that the sun himself was drawn in a chariot by horses. In some cases these horses were sacrificed; but more commonly they were employed either in the sacred processions to carry the images of the sun, or for the worshippers to ride in every morning to welcome his rise. It seems that the idolatrous kings, Ahaz, Manasseh, and Amon, or their great officers, proceeded on these horses early on each day from the east gate of the temple to salute and worship the sun at his appearing above the horizon.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 The horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun - Jarchi says that those who adored the sun had horses which they mounted every morning to go out to meet the sun at his rising. Throughout the East the horse, because of his swiftness and utility, was dedicated to the sun; and the Greeks and Romans feigned that the chariot of the sun was drawn by four horses - Pyroeis, Eous, Aethon, and Phlegon. See the note on 2Kgs 2:11. Whether these were living or sculptured horses, we cannot tell; the latter is the more reasonable supposition.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 23:4-14

What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel, where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-place was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 23:4-14 →

2 Kings 23:11 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּשְׁבֵּ֣תvai.yash.Betand he removedH7673

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

הַסּוּסִ֗יםha.su.Simthe horsesH5483

אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834

נָתְנוּ֩na.te.Nuthey had dedicatedH5414

מַלְכֵ֨יmal.Khei[the] kings ofH4428

יְהוּדָ֤הye.hu.DahJudahH3063

לַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙la.She.meshto the sunH8121

מִבֹּ֣אmi.Bo'from [the] going ofH935

בֵית\־veit-[the] house ofH1004

יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068

אֶל\־'el-toH413

לִשְׁכַּת֙lish.Kat[the] room ofH3957

נְתַן\־ne.tan-NathanH5419

מֶ֣לֶךְMe.lekhMelechH5419

הַסָּרִ֔יסha.sa.Risthe court-officialH5631

אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.SherwhichH834

בַּפַּרְוָרִ֑יםba.par.va.Rim[was] in the ParbarH6503

וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853

מַרְכְּב֥וֹתmar.ke.Vot[the] chariots ofH4818

הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁha.She.meshthe sunH8121

שָׂרַ֥ףsa.Rafhe burnedH8313

בָּאֵֽשׁ\׃ba.'Eshwith <the> fireH784

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 23:11

Ezekiel 8:16
And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
2 Chronicles 34:4
And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
2 Kings 23:5
And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Deuteronomy 4:19
And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 Chronicles 14:5
Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

the sun.
5; 2Ch 14:5; 34:4; Eze 8:16
house of the Lord.Throughout the East, the horse because of his swiftness and utility, was dedicated to the sun; and the Greeks and Romans feigned that the chariot of the sun was drawn by four horses, Pyrous, Eous, Aithon, and Phlegon: and hence also chariots were dedicated to that luminary. Jarchi says, that those who adored the sun had horses, which they mounted every morning, to go out to meet him at his rising. The kings of Judah had imitated these idolatrous customs, and kept the horses of the sun even at the entrance of the temple of the Lord!
chamberlain. or, eunuch, or officer.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

2 Kings 23:10
And 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.
2 Kings 23:11
And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan–melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
2 Kings 23:12
And the altars that were on the top 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 the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

Read all of 2 Kings 23

2 Kings 23:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Quitó también los caballos que los reyes de Judá habían dedicado al sol á la entrada del templo de Jehová, junto á la cámara de Nathan-melech eunuco, el cual tenía cargo de los ejidos; y quemó al fuego los carros del sol.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il abolit les chevaux que les rois de Juda avaient donnés au soleil, à l’entrée de la maison de l’ Éternel, vers la chambre de Nethan-Mélec, l’eunuque, qui était dans les dépendances du temple; et il brûla au feu les chars du soleil.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er schaffte die Rosse ab, welche die Könige von Juda der Sonne gesetzt hatten am Eingang des Hauses Jehovas, bei der Zelle Nethan-Meleks, des Kämmerers, der im Parwarim wohnte; und die Wagen der Sonne verbrannte er mit Feuer.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Abstulit quoque equos quos dederant reges Juda soli in introitu templi Domini juxta exedram Nathanmelech eunuchi, qui erat in Pharurim: currus autem solis combussit igni.