New Living Translation
1 Kings 15:13
13He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
1 Kings 15:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
- New International Version (NIV)He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron.
Context of 1 Kings 15:13
11Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done. 12He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life. 15He brought into the Temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.
Read all of 1 Kings 151 Kings 15:13 word by word
וְגַ֣ם׀ אֶת־מַעֲכָ֣ה אִמּ֗וֹ וַיְסִרֶ֙הָ֙ מִגְּבִירָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־עָשְׂתָ֥ה מִפְלֶ֖צֶת לָאֲשֵׁרָ֑ה וַיִּכְרֹ֤ת אָסָא֙ אֶת־מִפְלַצְתָּ֔הּ וַיִּשְׂרֹ֖ף בְּנַ֥חַל קִדְרֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And also Maachahמַעֲכָהma‛ăkâh ma‛ăkâth · MaacahH4601
- his motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
- even her he removedסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
- queenגְּבִירָהgebîyrâh · queenH1377
- because she had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- an idolמִפְלֶ֫צֶתmiphletseth · horrid thingH4656
- in a groveאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- and Asaאָסָא'âsâ' · AsaH609
- destroyedכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
- and burntשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- by the brookנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: valleyH5158
- Kidronקִדְרוֹןqidrôn · KidronH6939
Cross-references for 1 Kings 15:13
- 1 Kings 15:2He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
- 2 Chronicles 15:15All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side.
- Deuteronomy 13:6“Suppose someone secretly entices you—even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend—and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.
- Deuteronomy 33:9The Levites obeyed your word and guarded your covenant. They were more loyal to you than to their own parents. They ignored their relatives and did not acknowledge their own children.
- Zechariah 13:3If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.
- Matthew 10:37“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
- Matthew 12:46As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
- 2 Corinthians 5:16So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!
- Galatians 2:5But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.
- Leviticus 26:30I will destroy your pagan shrines and knock down your places of worship. I will leave your lifeless corpses piled on top of your lifeless idols, and I will despise you.
- Deuteronomy 7:5This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols.
- 2 Kings 18:4He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.
- 2 Kings 23:12Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. He smashed them to bits and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Chronicles 34:4He ordered that the altars of Baal be demolished and that the incense altars which stood above them be broken down. He also made sure that the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images were smashed and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
- Exodus 32:20He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.
- Deuteronomy 9:21I took your sin—the calf you had made—and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 15:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13She had made an idol in a grove - The original word, מפלצת miphletseth, is variously understood. I shall give its different views in the versions: - "Besides, he removed his mother Maacha from being chief in the sacred rites of Priapus, and in his grove which she had consecrated." - Vulgate. "And Ana, [other copies Maacha], he removed from being governess, because she had made an assembly in her grove." - Septuagint. "Moreover, he deprived Maacha, his…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Asa degraded Maachah from the rank and state of queen-mother. The word translated “idol” both here and in the parallel passage (marginal reference), does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. It is derived from a root signifying “fear” or “trembling,” and may perhaps best be understood as “a fright, a horror.” Such a name would seem best to apply to a grotesque and hideous image like the Phthah of the Egyptians. She made it to serve in lieu of the ordinary…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-24Verses 9-24 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. That is right indeed which is so in God's eyes. Asa's times were times of reformation. He removed that which was evil; there reformation begins, and a great deal he found to do. When Asa found idolatry in the court, he rooted it out thence. Reformation must begin at home. Asa honours and respects his mother; he loves her well, but he loves God better. Those that have power are happy when thus…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-13did what was right: Besides the reforms mentioned here, the writer of Chronicles notes the positive spiritual influence of God's prophet Azariah on the king (2 Chronicles 15:1–7). Asa also gathered a large assembly to renew the covenant with the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:9–15). shrine prostitutes: See 1 Kings 14:23–24. Asa worked to limit idolatry and pagan fertility rituals, even removing Maacah from her powerful position as queen mother (1 Kings 15:13; 2…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1310-13. his mother's name was Maachah--She was properly his grandmother, and she is here called "the king's mother," from the post of dignity which at the beginning of his reign she possessed. Asa, as a constitutional monarch, acted like the pious David, laboring to abolish the traces and polluting practices of idolatry, and in pursuance of his impartial conduct, he did not spare delinquents even of the highest rank.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 15:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 15
- 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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