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2 Chronicles 11:15

And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
2 Chronicles 11:15 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He himself appointed priests for the high places, for the male goats, and for the calves which he had made.
  • BSB And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols 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 12:28Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
  • 1 Kgs 13:33After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
  • 1 Kgs 12:31And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
  • Deut 32:17They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
  • Hos 13:2And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
  • Exod 32:31And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
  • 1 Tim 4:1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
  • Ps 106:19–20They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
  • Exod 32:4–8And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
  • Hos 8:5–6Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
  • Rev 16:14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
  • 1 Kgs 14:9But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
  • 1 Cor 10:20–21But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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Commentaries & study tools

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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