Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars…?: This verse is another rhetorical question, but this time it is a negative one. Has not this same Hezekiah…? is a way of saying “Hezekiah certainly has….” For high places, see the comments on 1 Chr 16.39 and 2 Chr 1.3. The removal of the high places and altars apparently refers to the destruction of local shrines where Yahweh himself was worshiped since these expressions are followed in Hebrew by the possessive pronoun rendered his.

Before one altar you shall worship, and upon it you shall burn your sacrifices: This is another embedded quotation since Sennacherib is quoting Hezekiah again. One altar refers to the altar of Yahweh in the Temple at Jerusalem. Hezekiah had abolished all other places of worship, but the Assyrian king could not understand how a single, central place of worship could be pleasing to God since the Assyrians believed in multiple places of worship all over their land. The Hebrew verb rendered shall burn your sacrifices means “to let [a sacrifice] go up in smoke.” It can refer to the burning of animal or vegetable offerings or to the burning of incense (see the comments on 1 Chr 6.49 and 23.13). Either interpretation is acceptable here.

In order to avoid the problems of the negative rhetorical question and the embedded quotation, this whole verse may be translated as follows:

• Hezekiah is the one who removed the LORD’s places of worship and altars. He told you people of Jerusalem and the rest of Judah that you had to worship and burn incense at only one altar.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .