1 Kings 12:31

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

29One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves. Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites. 32And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up. 33On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

1 Kings 12:31 word by word

וַיַּ֖עַשׂ אֶת־בֵּ֣ית בָּמ֑וֹת וַיַּ֤עַשׂ כֹּֽהֲנִים֙ מִקְצ֣וֹת הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־הָי֖וּ מִבְּנֵ֥י לֵוִֽי׃Read the interlinear

• Jeroboam also builtעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• shrinesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• on the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• and appointedעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• from every classקָצָהqâtsâh · endH7098
• of peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• wereהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• Levitesבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• Levitesלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878

Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:31

• 1 Kings 13:24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
• Deuteronomy 24:15You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
• Ezekiel 16:25At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty. With increasing promiscuity, you spread your legs to all who passed by.
• Hosea 12:11Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
• 1 Kings 13:33Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places.
• Numbers 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
• 2 Kings 17:32So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed for themselves priests of all sorts to serve in the shrines of the high places.
• 2 Chronicles 11:14For the Levites left their pasturelands and their possessions and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD.
• 2 Chronicles 13:9But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods.
• Ezekiel 44:6Tell the rebellious house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I have had enough of all your abominations, O house of Israel.

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

• Beth-El
• Calf
• Church and State
• High Places
• Jeroboam
• Minister, Christian
• Priest
• Religion
• Rulers
• Statecraft
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Levi
• Add
• Aholah
• Bethel
• Consult
• Ephraim, The tribe of
• Heavy
• Ordain
• Scorpion
• Thick

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