1 Chronicles 14:12
in 1 Chronicles 14There the Philistines abandoned their gods, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they left their gods there; and David gave commandment, and they were burned with fire.
KJV
And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
When they had left their gods there - The practice of carrying images of the gods to battle was common among the nations of antiquity, and arose from the belief that there was virtue in the images themselves, and that military success would be obtained by means of them.
This site's exposition
So David inquired of God
on 1 Chronicles 14:10-12
David inquired of God before marching, and the LORD answered, for I will deliver them into your hand. In 2 Samuel 5:21 David carried the idols away, while here David ordered that they be burned, as Deuteronomy 7:5 and 7:25 command. Barnes names the difference directly.
This site's exposition
the Philistines abandoned their gods
2 Samuel 5:21 says David and his men carried the idols away, and Chronicles adds that David had them burned. Deuteronomy 7:25 commands Israel to burn the images of the nations' gods. Barnes notes that armies carried images of their gods into battle.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
David's Kingdom Established. 1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him a house. 2 And David perceived that the L ORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:88%@v1-3
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And they went up to Baal-Perazim which was later called Baal-Perazim because of the incident that occurred there. God has broken my enemies in my hand meaning that they fled and were broken off from one another.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעַזְבוּ־ | vaiyaazvu- | and they abandoned | H5800 → | 215 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾeloheihem | gods their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he spoke | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיִּשָּׂרְפ֖וּ | vaiyisarefu | and they were burned | H8313 → | |
| בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ פ | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → |
וַיַּעַזְבוּ־and they abandoned
vaiyaazvu-H5800 →215 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑םgods their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he spoke
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיִּשָּׂרְפ֖וּand they were burned
vaiyisarefuH8313 →
בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ פwith <the> fire
baeshH784 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 7:5Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:24
You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
- Deuteronomy 12:2–3
Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- Exodus 34:13
Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.
- Exodus 23:24
Through
Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it…
it leads to
- Exodus 32:20
Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, and scattered the powder over the face of the water. Then he forced the Israelites to drink…
- Deuteronomy 17:1
You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
- Joshua 7:21
When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in…
- Deuteronomy 12:3
Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
- Exodus 32:20
Through
2 Kings 19:18They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
it leads to
- Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- Acts 17:29
About 1 Chronicles

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Berean Standard Bible, 2 Samuel 5:21; Berean Standard Bible, Deuteronomy 7:25; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
