1 Kings 15:13
New International Version
He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

New Living Translation
He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

English Standard Version
He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

Berean Standard Bible
He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

King James Bible
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

New King James Version
Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

New American Standard Bible
And even his mother Maacah, he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

NASB 1995
He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

NASB 1977
And he also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

Legacy Standard Bible
He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

Amplified Bible
He also deposed his [great-grand]mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid (obscene, vulgar) image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her horrid image, and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

Christian Standard Bible
He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He also removed his grandmother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

American Standard Version
And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

Contemporary English Version
His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.

English Revised Version
And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He also removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she made a statue of the repulsive goddess Asherah. Asa cut the statue down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Good News Translation
He removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol and burned it in Kidron Valley.

International Standard Version
He removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah. Asa cut down his mother's idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook.

Majority Standard Bible
He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

NET Bible
He also removed Maacah his grandmother from her position as queen because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

New Heart English Bible
Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

Webster's Bible Translation
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

World English Bible
He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah. Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and also his mother Maachah—he turns her aside from being mistress, in that she made a horrible thing for an Asherah, and Asa cuts down her horrible thing, and burns [it] by the Brook of Kidron;

Young's Literal Translation
and also Maachah his mother -- he turneth her aside from being mistress, in that she made a horrible thing for a shrine, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and burneth it by the brook Kidron;

Smith's Literal Translation
And also Maachah, his mother, he will turn aside from being mistress, because she made terror to a statue; and Asa will cut off her terror, and burn by the torrent Kidron.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Moreover he also removed his mother Maacha, from being the princess in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in the grove which she had consecrated to him: and he destroyed her den, and broke in pieces the filthy idol, and burnt it by the torrent Cedron:

Catholic Public Domain Version
Moreover, he also removed his mother, Maacah, from being the leader in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in his sacred grove which she had consecrated. And he destroyed his grotto. And he shattered the very indecent idol, and he burned it at the torrent Kidron.

New American Bible
He also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an outrageous object for Asherah. Asa cut down this object and burned it in the Wadi Kidron.

New Revised Standard Version
He also removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for Asherah; Asa cut down her image and burned it at the Wadi Kidron.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Moreover he removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she used to make a feast to her idol, and Asa destroyed her idol and burned it at the brook Kidron.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Also he removed Maaka his mother from Majesty, because she had made a feast for her idol, and Asa cut it off with her idolatry and burned it in the valley of Qedrown.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he removed Ana his mother from being queen, forasmuch as she gathered a meeting in her grove: and Asa cut down her retreats, and burnt them with fire in the brook of Kedron.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Asa Reigns in Judah
12He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.…

Cross References
2 Chronicles 15:16
King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Exodus 20:3-5
You shall have no other gods before Me. / You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. / You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Deuteronomy 7:5
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.

Deuteronomy 12:3
Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

2 Kings 23:6
He brought the Asherah pole from the house of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, and there he burned it, ground it to powder, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

2 Kings 23:12-15
He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. / The king also desecrated the high places east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, which King Solomon of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. / He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones. ...

2 Chronicles 34:4-7
Then in his presence the altars of the Baals were torn down, and he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them. He shattered the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images, crushed them to dust, and scattered them over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. / Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. / Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them. ...

Judges 6:25-32
On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. / Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.” / So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime. ...

1 Samuel 7:3-4
Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” / So the Israelites put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served only the LORD.

1 Kings 11:5-8
Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. / So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely. / At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites. ...

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

2 Kings 21:7
Manasseh even took the carved Asherah pole he had made and set it up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will establish My Name forever.

Isaiah 44:9-20
All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame. / Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing? / Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will all be brought to terror and shame. ...

Jeremiah 44:17-19
Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster. / But from the time we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been perishing by sword and famine.” / “Moreover,” said the women, “when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Ezekiel 8:14
Then He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, weeping for Tammuz.


Treasury of Scripture

And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

Maachah

1 Kings 15:2,10
Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom…

2 Chronicles 15:15,16
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about…

his mother

Deuteronomy 13:6-11
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; …

Deuteronomy 33:9
Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.

Zechariah 13:3
And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

destroyed [heb] cut off

Leviticus 26:30
And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

Deuteronomy 7:5
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

and burnt

Exodus 32:20
And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Deuteronomy 9:21
And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

Joshua 6:24
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.

the brook

2 Samuel 15:23
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.

2 Kings 23:6
And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.

John 18:1
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.

Cedron

Jump to Previous
Abominable Asa Asherah Brook Burned Burneth Burnt Cut Cutteth Deposed Destroyed Disgusting Grandmother Grove Horrible Horrid Idol Image Kidron Maacah Maachah Mistress Mother Pole Position Queen Removed Repulsive Shrine Stream Turneth Valley
Jump to Next
Abominable Asa Asherah Brook Burned Burneth Burnt Cut Cutteth Deposed Destroyed Disgusting Grandmother Grove Horrible Horrid Idol Image Kidron Maacah Maachah Mistress Mother Pole Position Queen Removed Repulsive Shrine Stream Turneth Valley
1 Kings 15
1. Abijam's wicked reign
7. Asa succeeds him
9. Asa's good reign
16. The war between Baasha and him causes him to make a league with Ben-Hadad
23. Jehoshaphat succeeds Asa
25. Nadab's wicked reign
27. Baasha conspiring against him, executes Ahijah's prophecy
31. Nadab's acts and death
33. Baasha's wicked reign














He also removed
This phrase indicates a decisive action taken by King Asa, demonstrating his commitment to reform and righteousness. The Hebrew root for "removed" (סוּר, sur) implies a turning away or a removal of something that is not in alignment with God's will. Asa's actions reflect a strong stance against idolatry, emphasizing the importance of purging sin from one's life and leadership.

his grandmother Maacah
Maacah, the queen mother, held a significant position of influence in the royal court. Her removal signifies a break from familial ties when they conflict with spiritual integrity. Historically, the role of the queen mother was powerful, often advising the king. Asa's decision underscores the necessity of prioritizing God's commandments over familial loyalty.

from her position as queen mother
The position of queen mother was one of honor and authority. By removing Maacah, Asa not only stripped her of her title but also of her influence in promoting idolatry. This act highlights the biblical principle that leadership should be aligned with God's standards, and any deviation must be corrected, even at personal cost.

because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole
The Asherah pole was associated with Canaanite worship and idolatry, directly opposing the worship of Yahweh. The Hebrew word for "repulsive" (מִפְלֶצֶת, mipletset) conveys something detestable or abominable. Asa's intolerance for such idolatry reflects a commitment to purity in worship and a rejection of syncretism.

Asa cut down the pole
This action symbolizes the destruction of idolatry and the cleansing of the land from pagan practices. The act of cutting down the pole is a physical manifestation of Asa's spiritual reform, demonstrating that true worship requires the removal of all that offends God.

and burned it in the Kidron Valley
The Kidron Valley, located near Jerusalem, was often associated with the disposal of impurities and idols. Burning the Asherah pole there signifies a complete eradication of idolatry, leaving no trace behind. This act serves as a powerful reminder of the need for thorough repentance and the total destruction of sin in one's life.

(13) An idol in a grove.--The original word for "idol"--peculiar to this passage and its parallel (2Chronicles 15:16)--appears to signify a "horrible abomination" of some monstrous kind; and instead of "in a grove," we should read "for an asherah," the wooden emblem of the Canaanitish deity (on which see 1Kings 14:22). There seems little doubt that some obscene emblem is meant, of the kind so often connected with worship of the productive powers of nature in ancient religions, substituted as a still greater abomination for the ordinary asherah. Clearly the act of Maachah was one of so flagrant a kind, that Asa took the unusual step, on which the historian here lays great stress, of degrading her in her old age from her high dignity, besides hewing down her idol, and burning it publicly under the walls of Jerusalem.

Verse 13. - And also Maachah his mother, oven her he removed from being queen [Rather, queen-mother. Gebiruh, as already pointed out on ch. 2:19, answers to the Sultana Valide. The Vulgate reads, Ne esset princeps in sacris Priapi. Wordsworth reminds us of the position which the queen-mother Atossa holds in the Persae (vers. 159-850). A queen consort is hardly possible in a polygamous household; see Kitto, 4:177] because [Heb. which, as in ver. 5] she had made all idol [מִפְלֶצֶת from פָלַץ terruit, signifies an object of fear, formido - not pudendum, a thing of shame, as the Rabbis and others have held, i.e., a phallic image (simulacrum obscoenum, Jerome), but horrendum. The devout Jew could not but regard such objects with horror] in a grove [Heb. for (i.e., to serve as) an Asherah. See note on 1 Kings 14:15, 23. Asherah is not the name of the goddess ( = Astarte), as Wordsworth thinks, but of the image], and Asa destroyed [Marg. cut off, Heb. simply cut, which here must mean cut down. The image was, no doubt, planted erect in the ground] her idol [horror, as above], and burnt it [this shows that it was made of wood] by the brook Kidron. [Cf. Exodus 32:20. Here, as in 1 Kings 17:3 (where see note), our translators have been unable to adhere strictly to the original "in the brook," etc., from not knowing that נַחַל, which primarily means "brook," also means" watercourse," wady. It is probable that the brook was at this time flowing, and that the ashes of the wooden Asherah were cast into it; but the burning also took place in the Wady, or valley. We read of another similar burning in 2 Kings 23:4, 6; but in this case the ashes were either carried to Bethel or cast upon the graves, to defile them. It is a fair inference that on this latter occasion the Kedron was dry. The valley, "the fields of the Kedron" (ver. 4 l.c.), is conveniently placed for such a purpose.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
He also
וְגַ֣ם ׀ (wə·ḡam)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

removed
וַיְסִרֶ֙הָ֙ (way·si·re·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

his grandmother
אִמּ֗וֹ (’im·mōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 517: A mother, )

Maacah
מַעֲכָ֣ה (ma·‘ă·ḵāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4601: Maacah -- an Israelite name, also a non-Israelite name, also a region in Syria

as the queen mother,
מִגְּבִירָ֔ה (mig·gə·ḇî·rāh)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1377: Lady, queen

because
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

she had made
עָשְׂתָ֥ה (‘ā·śə·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

a detestable
מִפְלֶ֖צֶת (mip̄·le·ṣeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4656: A terror, an idol

Asherah pole.
לָאֲשֵׁרָ֑ה (lā·’ă·šê·rāh)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 842: A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same

Asa
אָסָא֙ (’ā·sā)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 609: Asa -- perhaps 'healer', an Israelite name

chopped down
וַיִּכְרֹ֤ת (way·yiḵ·rōṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3772: To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant

the pole
מִפְלַצְתָּ֔הּ (mip̄·laṣ·tāh)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4656: A terror, an idol

and burned
וַיִּשְׂרֹ֖ף (way·yiś·rōp̄)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8313: To be, on fire

it in the Kidron
קִדְרֽוֹן׃ (qiḏ·rō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6939: Kidron -- perhaps 'dusky', a wadi East of Jerusalem

Valley.
בְּנַ֥חַל (bə·na·ḥal)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5158: A stream, a winter torrent, a, valley, a shaft


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OT History: 1 Kings 15:13 Also Maacah his mother he removed (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 15:12
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