1 Kings 15:11
in 1 Kings 15And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, as did David his father.
KJV
And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.
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This verse in 1 Kings 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe did as did David his father, kept close to God, and to his instituted worship, was hearty and zealous for that, which gave him this honourable character, that he was like David, though he was not a prophet, or psalmist, as David was. If we come up to the graces of those that have gone before us it will be our praise with God, though we come short of their gifts.
This site's exposition
did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord
on 1 Kings 15:11-13
Asa is measured by the same standard just applied to his father, as did David his father, and this time the verdict is positive: the sodomites, the cult prostitutes the law names at Deuteronomy 23:17-18, are put out of the land, and the idols his fathers made are removed. His own mother is not spared; he takes away her standing as queen for the idol she had made in a grove, and burns it at the brook Kidron, the same valley Judah's later reformers will use for the same purpose.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
In the meantime, Asa devoted himself to the reconstruction of the ruins of religion. He destroyed the temples of the idols, smashed the statues, set the sacred woods on fire and removed the ignominy of the effeminate priests. He also drove away Maacah, the mother …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Right - As to the government of his kingdom, and the reformation, and establishment of God's worship. That is right indeed which is so in God's eyes. Those are approved whom he commendeth.
And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. In his personal walk and conversation, in his government of the nation, and especially in the matters of his God, and of religion, he made David his pattern and example to copy after.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
his mother's name was Maachah--She was properly his grandmother, and she is here called "the king's mother," from the post of dignity which at the beginning of his reign she possessed.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And he rid [the land] of prostitutes. [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “and he abolished the prostitutes.”
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. 5 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
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֧עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אָסָ֛א | ʾasa' | Asa | H609 → | 57 times |
| הַיָּשָׁ֖ר | haiyashar | the right | H3477 → | 119 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כְּדָוִ֖ד | kedavid | like David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אָבִֽיו׃ | ʾaviv | ancestor his | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיַּ֧עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
אָסָ֛אAsa
ʾasa'H609 →57 times
הַיָּשָׁ֖רthe right
haiyasharH3477 →119 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כְּדָוִ֖דlike David
kedavidH1732 →999 times
אָבִֽיו׃ancestor his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
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
2 Chronicles 14:11Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Psalms 22:5
They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- 2 Chronicles 13:14
When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets,
- Jeremiah 1:19
Through
1 Kings 15:3And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:4
For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 119:80
May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, that I may not be put to shame.
- 1 Kings 11:4
Through
2 Chronicles 15:17The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 14:4
Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away, and the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
- 2 Kings 14:4
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 15:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.