Deuteronomy 12:2 kjv
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
Deuteronomy 12:2 nkjv
You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
Deuteronomy 12:2 niv
Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
Deuteronomy 12:2 esv
You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
Deuteronomy 12:2 nlt
"When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods ? high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree.
Deuteronomy 12 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exo 23:24 | "You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them...but you shall utterly overthrow their pillars..." | Demolition of pagan monuments |
| Exo 34:13 | "But you shall tear down their altars and break their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim." | Direct command to destroy cultic objects |
| Num 33:52 | "then you shall drive out all the inhabitants...and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places." | Eradicate all pagan worship structures |
| Deut 7:5 | "But thus you shall deal with them: you shall tear down their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire." | Detailed instructions for destroying idols |
| Deut 12:3 | "And you shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire..." | Specific cultic objects to be destroyed |
| Judg 2:2 | "you shall make no covenant...tear down their altars." | Failure to destroy idols leads to consequences |
| 1 Kin 15:12 | "He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made." | Good king removed idolatry from land |
| 1 Kin 18:40 | "Then Elijah said to them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.'" | Prophet confronts and removes idolatry |
| 2 Kin 10:26-28 | "They brought out the sacred pillars of the house of Baal and burned them...and Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel." | Complete eradication of Baal worship |
| 2 Kin 18:4 | "He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent..." | Hezekiah's reforms, breaking objects |
| 2 Kin 23:4-20 | "Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest...to carry out of the temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal..." | Josiah's extensive reform destroying idolatry |
| 2 Chr 14:3 | "He removed the foreign altars and high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim." | Asa's early religious reforms |
| 2 Chr 34:3-7 | "For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images, and the molten images." | Josiah's comprehensive purging of idolatry |
| Psa 78:58 | "For they provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their carved images." | Idolatry evokes God's wrath |
| Jer 2:20 | "For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds; but you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a harlot." | Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness described |
| Ezek 6:3-4 | "Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: 'Behold, I Myself will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars will become desolate...'" | God promises judgment on idol worship sites |
| 2 Cor 6:14-16 | "What harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? ...what agreement has the temple of God with idols?" | New Covenant call for separation from idolatry |
| 1 Cor 10:14 | "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." | Call for believers to shun idolatry |
| Rom 1:23 | "and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man..." | Humanity's turning to idol worship |
| Eph 5:5 | "For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." | Idolatry connected to unrighteousness |
| Col 3:5 | "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry." | Modern application of idolatry (covetousness) |
| Rev 2:14 | "But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam...to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality." | Warnings against idolatrous practices in NT church |
Deuteronomy 12 verses
Deuteronomy 12 2 Meaning
Deuteronomy 12:2 commands the Israelites to completely and utterly demolish every place where the nations they are dispossessing served their false gods. This destruction is to be comprehensive, encompassing locations commonly used for pagan worship, specifically mentioned as high mountains, hills, and under every green tree. The purpose is to eradicate any trace or influence of idolatry from the land God is giving them.
Deuteronomy 12 2 Context
Deuteronomy 12:2 opens the specific regulations regarding worship in the promised land, directly following a general admonition in 12:1 about carefully observing God's statutes. The chapter contrasts the fragmented and widespread pagan worship practices of the Canaanites with Israel's forthcoming unified and localized worship of Yahweh. The verse sets the foundational command to completely purify the land from all idolatrous sites as the very first action upon entering Canaan. Historically, this command was given as Israel stood on the plains of Moab, poised to cross the Jordan River and dispossess the existing Canaanite inhabitants. Their culture was steeped in polytheistic practices, including worship of deities like Baal and Asherah, often conducted in specific, visually prominent locations deemed sacred by them, sometimes involving immoral rites or child sacrifice. This command serves as a polemic against the Canaanite religious system, establishing that Israel’s God, Yahweh, is unique, jealous for exclusive worship, and tolerates no syncretism or lingering traces of false worship in His land.
Deuteronomy 12 2 Word analysis
You shall utterly destroy (אַבֵּד תְּאַבְּדוּ
’abbēḏ tĕ’abbĕḏū): This is a Hebrew emphatic construction, combining the infinitive absolute with the finite verb. It signifies absolute, complete, and irreversible destruction. There is no room for partiality or leaving anything behind. It underscores the severity and non-negotiable nature of the command. The implication is total annihilation of these places.all the places (
kol-ha’məqomoth): The word "all" leaves no exceptions. This emphasizes the comprehensive scope of the cleansing. Every single location associated with idolatry was to be wiped out.where the nations whom you shall dispossess (
‘asher ‘avadhoo sham ha-goyim ‘asher ‘atthem yorsheem): This phrase specifies the origin of these sites. They belong to the Canaanite peoples (like the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, Girgashites as listed in Deut 7:1) who Israel was about to remove from the land. This indicates a targeted spiritual cleansing of their territory, dedicated to pagan deities, distinguishing them from potential future Israelite "high places" which would later develop.served their gods (
avadhoo ’elohēhem): The Hebrew word "served" (‘avadhoo) means to work, labor, minister, or serve. It directly implies acts of worship, devotion, and religious practice towards the pagan deities (’elohēhem). The focus is on the function of these places as centers of idolatrous cults.on the high mountains (
al heharim ha-ramim): Mountains were commonly seen as closer to the heavens and thus often chosen as locations for religious worship across various ancient cultures. For Canaanites, these were strategic cultic centers.and on the hills (
və’al ha-gevah’oth): Similar to mountains, hills were elevated places that were utilized for idol worship. Both mountains and hills indicate elevated topography often associated with divine presence or power.and under every green tree (
vətachat kol ‘etz ra’anan): "Green trees" (sometimes translated "flourishing" or "spreading") were widely associated with Canaanite fertility cults, Asherah worship, and other pagan practices. These trees, often thought to represent life or fertility, were consecrated spaces for immoral rituals. The phrase "every green tree" reinforces the idea of pervasive and ubiquitous pagan worship across the landscape.Words-group Analysis:
- "You shall utterly destroy all the places... served their gods": This phrase underlines the total, violent, and complete obliteration of idolatrous sites. It signifies that there is no compromise possible between the worship of Yahweh and any form of polytheism. This action is a spiritual purification of the land and a physical manifestation of exclusive loyalty to God.
- "on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree": This tripartite description highlights the pervasive nature of Canaanite idolatry throughout the land, from prominent high places to less conspicuous but equally defiled groves. These specific locations were symbolic of Canaanite religious identity, making their destruction essential for the establishment of Yahweh's exclusive worship.
Deuteronomy 12 2 Bonus section
This verse initiates a sharp contrast between the diffused, decentralized nature of Canaanite worship (found everywhere) and the unified, centralized worship Yahweh would later command for Israel (in Deut 12:5-14, which directs worship to "the place the Lord your God chooses"). The command to destroy all their places preempts any attempt by Israel to co-opt or repurpose these sites for Yahweh worship, thereby risking contamination with pagan concepts or rituals. It also prevents the people from developing local cults or private expressions of devotion to God that could be corrupted. This comprehensive obliteration was designed to symbolically and literally sever Israel's ties with the prevailing religious environment, demanding a unique, unadulterated form of worship centered solely on God as He prescribed.
Deuteronomy 12 2 Commentary
Deuteronomy 12:2 sets a critical principle for Israel's settlement in Canaan: the uncompromising eradication of idolatry. This verse isn't merely a geographic command but a theological statement about the exclusive nature of Yahweh's worship. Unlike the fragmented and polytheistic Canaanite system that spread across various local shrines on every hill and under every tree, God demanded a unified and singular devotion from His people. The emphatic "utterly destroy" highlights the non-negotiable need for radical separation from pagan practices. This complete dismantling of the very infrastructure of false worship—its places and objects—was vital to prevent syncretism, where Israel might blend Yahweh worship with Canaanite rites, a constant temptation as later biblical history proves. The purity of the land, chosen by God for His people, necessitated the absolute cleansing from the defilement of false gods and their abominable practices. It serves as a stark warning against tolerating any element that might draw hearts away from exclusive devotion to God.
- Examples for practical usage:
- For a believer, this can mean a ruthless removal of anything in their life that takes priority over God (modern "idols" like career, money, status, relationships if they replace God's centrality).
- It implies dismantling "high places" in our own hearts – habits, attitudes, or comforts where we might find security or satisfaction apart from God.