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

21Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman. 22During Rehoboam’s reign, the people of Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, provoking his anger with their sin, for it was even worse than that of their ancestors. For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24There were even male and female shrine prostitutes throughout the land. The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 25In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and 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 3:2At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the Lord had not yet been built.
• Deuteronomy 12:2“When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods—high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree.
• Isaiah 57:5You worship your idols with great passion beneath the oaks and under every green tree. You sacrifice your children down in the valleys, among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.
• Ezekiel 16:24you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square.
• Ezekiel 20:28for when I brought them into the land I had promised them, they offered sacrifices on every high hill and under every green tree they saw! They roused my fury as they offered up sacrifices to their gods. They brought their perfumes and incense and poured out their liquid offerings to them.
• Leviticus 26:1“Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God.
• Micah 5:14I will abolish your idol shrines with their Asherah poles and destroy your pagan cities.
• 2 Kings 17:9The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.
• 2 Kings 21:3He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
• 2 Chronicles 28:4He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree.
• Jeremiah 17:2Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill.
• Jeremiah 3:13Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!

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