He did away with the idolatrous priests, who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens.
Commentaries
4
A parenthesis giving the earlier reforms of Josiah.
The priests of the second order - This is a new exp…
Charles Ellicott
CharlesEllicott
He put down. —Syriac and Arabic, he slew.
The idolatrous priests. —This refers to the kěmârîm…
John Gill
JohnGill
And he put down the idolatrous priests
The Cemarim, so called, because they wore black clothes, as Kimchi and others…
Matthew Henry
MatthewHenry
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 h…
Albert Barnes
AlbertBarnes