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All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam.
1 Kings 14:13 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB All Israel will mourn for him and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam will come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward Yahweh, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
  • KJV And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
  • BSB All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.
  • NKJV And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
  • NASB Then all Israel will mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

All Israel will mourn and bury this child because he alone in Jeroboam's house had some good toward God. His early death is a mercy, sparing him the dynasty's shameful end.

Overview

Uniquely among Jeroboam's family, the boy is granted an honorable burial because God found something pleasing in him. His death, while a loss, spares him the violent judgment coming on the rest of the house. The verse shows God's discernment of individual hearts and His mingling of mercy within judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • 2 Chr 19:3Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”
  • 2 Chr 12:12When he humbled himself, Yahweh’s wrath turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether. Moreover, there were good things found in Judah.
  • 2 Pet 2:8–9(for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds):
  • Jer 22:10Don’t weep for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away; for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
  • Num 20:29When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
  • Job 19:28If you say, ‘How we will persecute him!’ because the root of the matter is found in me,
  • Phlm 1:6that the fellowship of your faith may become effective, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus.
  • Jer 22:18Therefore Yahweh says concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, saying, ‘Ah my brother!’ or, ‘Ah sister!’ They shall not lament for him, saying ‘Ah lord!’ or, ‘Ah his glory!’
  • Ezek 18:14–32“Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father’s sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 14:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 14:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.