The systematic removal of pagan altars, incense stands, and high places from throughout Jerusalem extends the temple purification into the broader urban and territorial sphere. The destruction of these symbols of idolatry represents a comprehensive cleansing of the land itself, establishing that covenant restoration requires not merely institutional correction but the elimination of all rival worship structures. The violence implied by breaking them down and burning them indicates the intensity of the commitment to remove every vestige of pagan practice. The geographic scope of this demolition—throughout all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh—demonstrates that the cleansing extended beyond the capital to affect the entire territory. This verse establishes that religious reformation necessarily involves not merely the positive restoration of proper worship but the destruction of competing alternatives.

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