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

29He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 33Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.

1 Kings 12:31 word by word

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

• he madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• on highבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• allקָצָהqâtsâh · endH7098
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• were not of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878

Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:31

• 1 Kings 13:24Now when he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body.
• Deuteronomy 24:15You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you.
• Ezekiel 16:25You built yourself a high place at the top of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.
• Hosea 12:11Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field.
• 1 Kings 13:33After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again he made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places.
• Numbers 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
• 2 Kings 17:32They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves priests of the high places, who acted for them in the houses of the high places.
• 2 Chronicles 11:14For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the Lord.
• 2 Chronicles 13:9Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are no gods.
• Ezekiel 44:6You shall say to the rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “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