2 Raja-raja 16:3

16:3 He followed in the footsteps of ¹  the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, ²  a horrible sin practiced by the nations ³  whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites.

2 Raja-raja 17:16-17

17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, ⁴  and worshiped ⁵  Baal. 17:17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ⁶  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 23:7

23:7 He tore down the quarters ⁸  of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines ⁹  for Asherah.

[16:3]  ¹ tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”

[16:3]  ² sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.

[16:3]  ³ tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”

[17:16]  ⁴ tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.

[17:16]  ⁵ tn Or “served.”

[17:17]  ⁶ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.

[17:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”

[23:7]  ⁸ tn Or “cubicles.” Heb “houses.”

[23:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “houses.” Perhaps tent-shrines made from cloth are in view (see BDB 109 s.v. בַּיִת). M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 286) understand this as referring to clothes made for images of the goddess.