2 Chronicles 15:17
in 2 Chronicles 15The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
KJV
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 15
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Comparing this verse with marginal references, it would seem that in 2Ch 14:3, 2Ch 14:5 the intention and endeavors of the monarch are in the writer’s mind, while here he is speaking of the practice of the people. However earnestly the most pious monarchs sought to root out the high-place worship, they failed of complete success. Compare a similar discrepancy, to be similarly explained, in the history of Jehoshaphat 2Ch 17:6; 2Ch 20:
This site's exposition
the heart of Asa was perfect all his days
The howbeit that follows undercuts nothing: the high places were not taken away out of Israel, yet the heart of Asa was perfect all his days, and Chronicles lets both clauses stand. Barnes reads the tension as the difference between the king's own intention, already stated at 14:3 and 14:5, and what the ordinary worship of the people in fact continued to be, the same gap the book states again at 17:6 against 20:33 in Jehoshaphat's reign. A reformed altar and an unreformed countryside travel together for more than one king in this book.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
These he connived at, and yet his heart was perfect. There may be defects in some particular duties where yet the heart, in the man, is upright with God. Sincerity is something less than sinless perfection.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The high places were not taken away - He had totally suppressed or destroyed the idolatry; but some of the places, buildings, or altars, he permitted to remain.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The high places, however, were not removed private high places, upon which they had become accustomed to sacrificing to Heaven from the time that Shiloh was destroyed until the Temple was built. [Those who worshipped there] were punishable by כָּרֵת, premature death.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַ֨בָּמ֔וֹת | vehabamot | and the high places | H1116 → | 102 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| סָ֖רוּ | saru | they were removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | miyisrael | from Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| רַ֧ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| לְבַב־ | levav- | [the] heart of | H3824 → | 252 times |
| אָסָ֛א | ʾasa' | Asa | H609 → | 57 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁלֵ֖ם | shalem | complete | H8003 → | 28 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יָמָֽיו׃ | yamav | days his | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וְהַ֨בָּמ֔וֹתand the high places
vehabamotH1116 →102 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
סָ֖רוּthey were removed
saruH5493 →299 times
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑לfrom Israel
miyisraelH3478 →2507 times
רַ֧קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
לְבַב־[the] heart of
levav-H3824 →252 times
אָסָ֛אAsa
ʾasa'H609 →57 times
הָיָ֥הit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
שָׁלֵ֖םcomplete
shalemH8003 →28 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 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
- 1 Kings 15:14
The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- 1 Kings 15:14
Through
1 Kings 11:4For 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.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:4
And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and…
- 1 Kings 8:61
So 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.”
- 1 Chronicles 28:9
As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…
- 1 Kings 11:6
So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely.
- 1 Kings 9:4
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 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.