But renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it marks a contrast between what the reader might expect of a ruler who was faithful to Yahweh and his failure to act with regard to the places of worship dedicated to other deities.

The high places were not taken away is literally “they did not take away the high places.” For high places, see the comments on 1 Kgs 3.2. In this context it is doubtful that the Good News Translation rendering “pagan places of worship” is a correct translation for high places. Asa apparently did destroy all the places where pagan gods or idols were worshiped. He did not, however, destroy the local places where Yahweh was worshiped unlawfully (that is, sacrifices were made there) outside of Jerusalem. Worship rituals at the high places were wrong because God wanted these to be done only in Jerusalem. God’s Word renders high places as “illegal worship sites.” The Hebrew verb rendered were … taken away is the same as the one translated “removed” in verses 12-13. The passive verb form here in Revised Standard Version will have to be made active in some languages; for example, New International Version says “he did not remove the high places.”

The heart of Asa was wholly true to the LORD: See the comments on verse 3. These words do not mean that Asa was morally perfect, and translators should avoid a rendering that might be understood to mean that he was. The meaning is that he worshiped Yahweh only and did not worship idols.

In some languages it may prove more natural to reorder the elements in this verse. A possible model is as follows:

• Asa remained faithful to the LORD during his entire lifetime. However, he did nothing to destroy the places where people made illegal worship centers for the LORD.

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 .