And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.
Parallel translations
- WEB He himself appointed priests for the high places, for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.
- KJV And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
- NKJV Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made.
- NASB He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and the calves which he had made.
- NLT Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the pagan shrines, where they worshiped the goat and calf idols he had made.
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
Jeroboam appoints his own priests for the high places, the goat idols, and the golden calves he made. He institutes false worship in the north.
Overview
Rejecting God's ordained priesthood, Jeroboam sets up an idolatrous religion centered on calf images and demonic 'goat' deities (cf. 1 Kings 12:28-31). This counterfeit worship would corrupt the northern kingdom until its exile. It stands as a warning against inventing convenient religion, and it magnifies by contrast the one true mediator God provides in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Kgs 12:28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
- 1 Kgs 13:33Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places.
- 1 Kgs 12:31Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites.
- Deut 32:17They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
- Hos 13:2Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!”
- Exod 32:31So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves.
- 1 Tim 4:1Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- Ps 106:19–20At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped a molten image.
- Exod 32:4–8He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
- Hos 8:5–6He has rejected your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?
- Rev 16:14These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
- 1 Kgs 14:9You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.
- 1 Cor 10:20–21No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
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Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 11:15 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
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