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There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
1 Kings 14:24 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB There were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yahweh drove out before the children of Israel.
  • KJV And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
  • NKJV And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.
  • NASB There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed all the same abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.
  • NLT There 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.

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

Cult prostitutes are present in the land, and Judah imitates the abominations of the nations God had driven out. They repeat the very sins that brought judgment on the Canaanites.

Overview

The presence of ritual prostitution shows Judah adopting pagan worship practices God had condemned. By doing 'all the abominations of the nations,' Judah courts the same judgment those nations received. The verse warns that God's people are not exempt from accountability when they embrace the sins of the surrounding culture.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Deut 23:17No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
  • 1 Cor 6:9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
  • 1 Kgs 15:12He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
  • 2 Kgs 23:7He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the house of the LORD, where the women had woven tapestries for Asherah.
  • Gen 19:5They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”
  • 1 Kgs 22:46He banished from the land the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa.
  • Judg 19:22While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”
  • Rom 1:24–27Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 14:24YouTube · 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 14:24 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.