American Standard Version
1 Kings 12:31
31And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi.
1 Kings 12:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
- New International Version (NIV)Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
Context of 1 Kings 12:31
29And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi. 32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made. 33And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.
Read all of 1 Kings 121 Kings 12:31 word by word
וַיַּ֖עַשׂ אֶת־בֵּ֣ית בָּמ֑וֹת וַיַּ֤עַשׂ כֹּֽהֲנִים֙ מִקְצ֣וֹת הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־הָי֖וּ מִבְּנֵ֥י לֵוִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:31
- 1 Kings 13:24And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his body was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the body.
- Deuteronomy 24:15in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it (for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it); lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.
- Ezekiel 16:25Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.
- Hosea 12:11Is Gilead iniquity? they are altogether false; in Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.
- 1 Kings 13:33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.
- Numbers 3:10And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
- 2 Kings 17:32So they feared Jehovah, and made unto them from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
- 2 Chronicles 11:14For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons cast them off, that they should not execute the priest’s office unto Jehovah;
- 2 Chronicles 13:9Have ye not driven out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made you priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.
- Ezekiel 44:6And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,
Commentaries on 1 Kings 12:31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31A house of high places - A temple of temples; he had many high places in the land, and to imitate the temple at Jerusalem, he made one chief over all the rest, where he established a priesthood of his own ordination. Probably a place of separate appointment, where different idols were set up and worshipped; so it was a sort of pantheon. Made priests of the lowest of the people - He took the people indifferently as they came, and made them priests, till he…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31He made an house of high places - i. e., “He built a temple, or sanctuary, at each of the two cities where the calves were set up.” The writer uses the expression “house of high places” in contempt, meaning that the buildings were not real temples, or houses of God, like that at Jerusalem, but only on a par with the temples upon high places which had long existed in various parts of the land. Made priests of the lowest of the people - More correctly…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-33Verses 25-33 Jeroboam distrusted the providence of God; he would contrive ways and means, and sinful ones too, for his own safety. A practical disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at the bottom of all our departures from him. Though it is probable he meant his worship for Jehovah the God of Israel, it was contrary to the Divine law, and dishonourable to the Divine majesty to be thus represented. The people might be less shocked at worshipping the God of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31Jeroboam broke the law of Moses by allowing worship at pagan shrines (Deuteronomy 12:2–7). The law also stated that priests should only be from the tribe of Levi (Exodus 40:13–15; Numbers 1:50–53).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-3226-32. Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David--Having received the kingdom from God, he should have relied on the divine protection. But he did not. With a view to withdraw the people from the temple and destroy the sacred associations connected with Jerusalem, he made serious and unwarranted innovations on the religious observances of the country, on pretext of saving the people the trouble and expense of a distant…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 12:31
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries