1 Kings 14:23

1 Kings 14:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
• New International Version (NIV)They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,
• New King James Version (NKJV)For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree.

Context of 1 Kings 14:23

21King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled Judah as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah. 22The people of Judah did things that the Lord said were evil. Their sins caused the Lord to be very angry. They did worse things than their ancestors had done. They built altars on the hills for themselves. They put up stone pillars and Asherah poles to worship. They did this on every high hill and under every big tree. 24In Judah there were even temples which had male prostitutes. The people of Judah did the same evil things as the Canaanite nations did. The Lord had chased those people out of the land so that the Israelites could live there. 25In the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

1 Kings 14:23 word by word

וַיִּבְנ֨וּ גַם־הֵ֧מָּה לָהֶ֛ם בָּמ֥וֹת וּמַצֵּב֖וֹת וַאֲשֵׁרִ֑ים עַ֚ל כָּל־גִּבְעָ֣ה גְבֹהָ֔ה וְתַ֖חַת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ רַעֲנָֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For they also builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• them high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• and imagesמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
• and grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
• on every highגָּבֹהַּgâbôhha gâbôhha · highH1364
• hillגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
• and under every greenרַעֲנָןra‛ănân · luxuriantH7488
• treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086

Cross-references for 1 Kings 14:23

• 1 Kings 3:2Because there was not yet a temple where people could give honour to the Lord, they offered sacrifices at altars in other places.
• Deuteronomy 12:2You will chase out the nations who live there. Then you must destroy completely all the places where those people worship their gods. Those places are on the tops of mountains and hills, and under big green trees.
• Isaiah 57:5You worship your idols among the big trees, and you have sex at the same time. You kill your children as sacrifices to your false gods. You do that beside streams and in caves among the rocks.
• Ezekiel 16:24In the public places of every town you built huts to worship your idols.
• Ezekiel 20:28I took them to the land which I had promised to give to them. But when they were there, they continued to offer sacrifices to idols. They did this on every high hill or under every green tree that they saw! They burned sweet incense and they poured out wine as offerings in all those places. That made me very angry.
• Leviticus 26:1You must not make idols from stones and worship them. You must not draw things on stones and bend down in front of them. I am the Lord your God.
• Micah 5:14You worship the false god Asherah, but I will pull her poles from the ground. I will even destroy your cities.
• 2 Kings 17:9They secretly did things that the Lord their God said were not right. In all their towns, they built altars to worship false gods. They built them everywhere, in small villages and in strong cities.
• 2 Kings 21:3Manasseh built again the altars on the hills that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for people to worship Baal. He also made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bent down low to worship all the stars in the sky.
• 2 Chronicles 28:4Ahaz offered sacrifices and he burned incense on altars on the hills, as well as under all the big trees.
• Jeremiah 17:2Even their children always think about their altars where they worship false gods. They have put up their Asherah poles under the big trees and on the high hills.
• Jeremiah 3:13“But you must agree that you are guilty of sin. You have turned against me, the Lord your God. You have loved to serve many foreign gods. You have worshipped them under every big tree. You have not obeyed my commands.” ’ That is what the Lord says.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 14:23

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The words “they also” are emphatic. Not only did the Israelites make themselves high places 1 Kings 12:31; 1 Kings 13:32, but the people of Judah also. The “high places,” which are said to have been “built,” were probably small shrines or tabernacles hung with bright-colored tapestry Ezekiel 16:16, like the “sacred tent” of the Carthaginians. The “images” were rather “pillars” (Genesis 28:18 note). Groves - See 1 Kings 14:15, note. The “groves,” it will…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-31Verses 21-31 Here is no good said of Rehoboam, and much said to the disadvantage of his subjects. The abounding of the worst crimes, of the worst of the heathen, in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen for his temple and his worship, shows that nothing can mend the hearts of fallen men but the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. On this alone may we depend; for this let us daily pray, in behalf of ourselves and all around us. The splendour of their…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24Solomon married foreign wives, which led his family into idol worship. Under Rehoboam's leadership, Judah continued the offensive practices of the pagan nations that lived in the land before the Israelites. When leaders are corrupt, a nation's spiritual decline often follows, leading to shame and ruin (Proverbs 14:34). Shrine prostitutes were common in Canaan but were forbidden for Israel (see study notes on Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 23:17–18). They…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 14:23

• Groves
• High Places
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Mountain

In the dictionaries

• Cruse
• Guard
• Ahijah
• Apostasy; Apostate
• Color; Colors
• God
• High Place
• Hill, Hill Country
• Nadab
• Obelisk

Commentaries on 1 Kings 14

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings