1 Kings 3:2

1 Kings 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.
• New International Version (NIV)The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

Context of 1 Kings 3:2

1Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. Solomon brought her to the city of David until he finished building his palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall surrounding Jerusalem. However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that time a temple for the Lord’s name had not been built. 3Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

1 Kings 3:2 word by word

רַ֣ק הָעָ֔ם מְזַבְּחִ֖ים בַּבָּמ֑וֹת כִּ֠י לֹא־נִבְנָ֥ה בַ֙יִת֙ לְשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה עַ֖ד הַיָּמִ֥ים הָהֵֽם׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Only the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• sacrificedזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• in high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• because there was no houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• unto the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• until those daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117

Cross-references for 1 Kings 3:2

• 1 Kings 1:3They searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel; they found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king.
• 1 Kings 22:43He walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them but did what was right in the Lord’s sight. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
• Leviticus 17:3Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, sheep, or goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp,
• Leviticus 26:30I will destroy your high places, cut down your shrines, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless bodies of your idols; I will reject you.
• Deuteronomy 12:2Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
• 2 Chronicles 33:17However, the people still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.
• 1 Kings 5:3“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the Lord his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.
• 1 Chronicles 17:4“Go to David my servant and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.
• 1 Chronicles 28:3but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’
• Acts 7:47It was Solomon, rather, who built him a house,

Commentaries on 1 Kings 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The people sacrificed in high places - Could there be any sin in this, or was it unlawful till after the temple was built? for prophets, judges, the kings which preceded Solomon, and Solomon himself, sacrificed on high places, such as Gibeon, Gilgal, Shiloh, Hebron, Kirjath-jearim, etc. But after the temple was erected, it was sinful to offer sacrifices in any other place; yet here it is introduced as being morally wrong, and it is introduced, 1 Kings…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The word “only” introduces a contrast. The writer means to say that there was one exception to the flourishing condition of things which he has been describing, namely, that “the people sacrificed in high-places.” (Compare the next verse.) The Law did not forbid “high-places” directly, but only by implication. It required the utter destruction of all the high-places which had been polluted by idolatrous rites Deuteronomy 12:2; and the injunction to offer…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3The ark of the covenant was in David's tent in Jerusalem before the temple was built. During this time, people made sacrifices at local worship sites (see study note on 1 Kings 8:1). This practice reduced unified worship at a central place (1 Kings 12:1–24). It also increased the risk of adopting Canaanite religious practices. Worshiping at these local sites was forbidden for Israel (Deuteronomy 12:1–14).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 3:2

• High Places
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Affinity
• Divide
• Solomon
• Yearn
• Abishag
• City
• Criticism
• God
• High Place
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 3

• 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