1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| II Kings 18:4 | He destroyed the *high places, and broke the statues in pieces, and cut down the groves, and broke the brazen serpent, **which Moses had made: for till that time the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called its name Nohestan. Numbers 21:9. | Year of the World 3278. Groves. The people were now more obedient, being terrified at the chastisement of Israel, (Calmet) though Samaria was not taken till the sixth year of this good king; who carried his reform rather than most of his predecessors, (Haydock) in destroying the high places which had been unlawfully (Calmet) retained, as consecrated to the true God. See ver. 22. (Haydock) --- Yet Josias had still some to remove. (Menochius) --- Nohestan; that is, their brass, or a little brass. So he called it in comtempt, because they had made a god of it. (Challoner) --- Before, this image had been treated with due respect. When any relic or image becomes the occasion of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is thus taken away, or the error is otherwise corrected. See St. Augustine, City of God 10:8., Ser. 14., de Verb. Ap., etc. (Worthington) --- Some of the ancients assert, that Ezechias suppressed many books of Solomon, on account of similar abuses. But this seems not to be well attested. We know that he made a collection of some of some of his sentences, Proverbs 25:1. |