New Living Translation
1 Kings 12:31
31Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe 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
29He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there. Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. 33So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- an houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- of high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
- and madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- of the lowestקָצָהqâtsâh · endH7098
- of the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- which were not of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:31
- 1 Kings 13:24and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
- Deuteronomy 24:15You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.
- Ezekiel 16:25On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution.
- Hosea 12:11But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field.
- 1 Kings 13:33But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the common people. He appointed anyone who wanted to become a priest for the pagan shrines.
- Numbers 3:10Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
- 2 Kings 17:32These new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship.
- 2 Chronicles 11:14The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and moved to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons would not allow them to serve the Lord as priests.
- 2 Chronicles 13:9But you have chased away the priests of the Lord (the descendants of Aaron) and the Levites, and you have appointed your own priests, just like the pagan nations. You let anyone become a priest these days! Whoever comes to be dedicated with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of these so-called gods of yours!
- Ezekiel 44:6And give these rebels, the people of Israel, this message from the Sovereign Lord: O people of Israel, enough of your detestable sins!
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
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