Howbeit 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of Yahweh’s house.
- BSB Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD.
- NKJV However the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord.
- NASB Only the high places were not eliminated; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord.
- NLT But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Temple of the Lord.
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, Jotham left the high places standing, and he built the upper gate of the temple. Reform remained partial even under a good king.
Overview
The recurring note about the high places shows that unauthorized worship persisted, a compromise even faithful kings failed to remove. Jotham's building of the temple's upper gate reflects genuine care for the house of God. The mixture of devotion and incompleteness points forward to the need for a King who would purify worship fully and perfectly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Chr 23:20And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.
- 2 Kgs 12:3But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
- 2 Kgs 15:4Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.
- 2 Chr 27:3–9He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.
- 2 Kgs 18:4He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
- 2 Chr 32:12Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 15:35 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.