For more on King Asa’s reforms here in verses 12-15, see 2 Chr 15.8-18.

He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land: The translation put away … out (also New Revised Standard Version) is not really contemporary English. The Hebrew verb here means “to get rid of,” “to do away with.” More idiomatic English translations include “expelled” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible), “banished” (New Living Translation), and “drove … out” (New Jerusalem Bible).

For male cult prostitutes, see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.24.

Removed all the idols: There are several different Hebrew words in the Old Testament which are translated “idol” in English. The term used here is gillulim. The exact sense of this noun is uncertain. Some scholars think it comes from a root word meaning “to roll,” and the thought is that these idols have no life of their own but have to be rolled about from place to place. Others suggest that it comes from a word meaning “dung” (see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.16). In any case, this Hebrew word has a strong negative aspect that is not adequately expressed by the English word idols. Compare “filthy idols” (La Bible Pléiade), “fetishes” (Moffatt), and “Filthiness” (Osty-Trinquet).

As is often the case, in this context the word fathers is to be understood and translated in the sense of “ancestors” or at least as “predecessors” (Good News Translation) in the ruling line.

In some languages the information in this verse may need to be restructured in such a way as to give the information about the temple prostitutes in a separate sentence before describing how Asa expelled them. A good model for this approach is found in International Children’s Bible:

• There were male prostitutes at the places where false gods were worshiped. Asa forced them to leave the country. He also took away the idols that his ancestors had made.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .