1 Kings 15:14
in 1 Kings 15The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with Jehovah all his days.
KJV
But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.
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This verse in 1 Kings 15
Commentary
9 notes on this verseRegarding many kings of the line of David, we read that they were saved not through their own merit but through the virtues of their father, David, who did that which was pleasing in the sight of God. And we come to Asa, the king of Judah, of whom it is written: "Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as did David, his father." And after a lengthy account of his many virtues, the story is concluded with these words: "But the high places he did not take away.
This site's exposition
the high places were not removed
Howbeit qualifies a reign the text has just called right: the high places, the local shrines Israel never fully surrendered even for the Lord's own worship, stay standing through the whole reign, and the book will repeat this exact qualification of nearly every king it otherwise commends. Nevertheless answers howbeit in the same verse; the imperfection is named honestly and the heart is called perfect all the same, one verse holding a real king's real mixture without collapsing either word into the other.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"High places" refers to the altars that had been erected for the true God. This means that sacrifices were offered to God in any place, just like Solomon offered a thousand holocausts to God in Gibeon. Therefore the words "the high places were not taken …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
This affords us a comfortable note, That those may be found honest and upright with God, and be accepted of him, who yet, in some instances, come short of doing the good they might and should do. The perfection which is made the indispensable condition of the new covenant is not to be understood of sinlessness (then we were all undone), but sincerity.
), that is, he was both cordial and constant in his religion. What he did for God he was sincere in, steady and uniform, and did it from a good principle, with a single eye to the glory of God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Was perfect - That is, he sincerely and constantly adhered to the worship of God. Though he could not hinder the people from using the high places, yet he entirely devoted himself to the worship of God in the manner and place prescribed by him.
But the high places were not removed,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The high places were not removed - He was not able to make a thorough reformation; this was reserved for his son Jehoshaphat. Asa’s heart was perfect - He worshipped the true God, and zealously promoted his service; see on 1Ki 15:3 (note). And even the high places which he did not remove were probably those where the true God alone was worshipped; for that there were such high places the preceding history amply proves, and Jarchi intimates that these were places which individuals had erected for the worship of Jehovah.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
2Ch 14:3 would seem at first sight to imply that he entirely put down the worship. But idolatry, if at one time put down, crept back afterward; or while Asa endeavored to sweep it wholly away, his subjects would not be controlled, but found a means of maintaining it in some places - not perhaps in the cities (see 2Ch 14:5), but in remote country districts, where the royal authority was weaker, and secrecy more practicable.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He removed from her position of authority. From being queen.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַבָּמ֖וֹת | vehabamot | and the high places | H1116 → | 102 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| סָ֑רוּ | saru | they were removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| רַ֣ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| לְבַב־ | levav- | [the] heart of | H3824 → | 252 times |
| אָסָ֗א | ʾasa' | Asa | H609 → | 57 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁלֵ֛ם | shalem | complete | H8003 → | 28 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יָמָֽיו׃ | yamav | days his | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וְהַבָּמ֖וֹתand the high places
vehabamotH1116 →102 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
סָ֑רוּthey were removed
saruH5493 →299 times
רַ֣קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
לְבַב־[the] heart of
levav-H3824 →252 times
אָסָ֗אAsa
ʾasa'H609 →57 times
הָיָ֥הit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
שָׁלֵ֛םcomplete
shalemH8003 →28 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יָמָֽיו׃days his
yamavH3117 →2304 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
1 Kings 8:61So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”
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.
- 2 Kings 20:3
“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- 1 Kings 15:3
And 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…
- 2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Deuteronomy 18:13
You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
- 1 Kings 11:4
Through
1 Kings 22:43And Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them, but did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 12:3
Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 12:3
Through
2 Kings 12:3Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 15:35
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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 15:35
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 15:14; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 2.21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.