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Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.
2 Kings 14:4 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
  • BSB Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
  • NKJV However the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
  • NASB Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
  • NLT Amaziah did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

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

Despite his faithfulness, Amaziah failed to remove the high places, where the people kept sacrificing and burning incense.

Overview

The high places were unauthorized worship sites that rivaled the proper worship God commanded at the temple, breeding syncretism. Amaziah's failure to abolish them reveals the limits of his reform and the persistent half-heartedness of Judah's devotion. True worship of God must be on His terms, a principle fully satisfied in Christ, who is the one place where God and sinners meet.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • 2 Kgs 12:3But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
  • 2 Kgs 16:4And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
  • 2 Kgs 15:4Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.
  • 2 Kgs 15:35Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Kings 14:4YouTube · 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 2 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

Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.

How 2 Kings 14:4 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.