Lièwángjìshang 12:31

31 Yé Luóbōān zaì qiū tán nàli jiàn diàn , jiāng nà bù shǔ Lìwèi rén de fán mín Lìwèi jìsī .

Lièwángjìshang 12:31 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 12:31

And he made an house of high places
Or "altars" F19, built a temple at Dan, and set up several altars in it for sacrifice, both for burnt offerings, and for incense, as at Jerusalem:

and made priests of the lowest of the people;
this clause seems not so well rendered; for this would have been very unpopular, and brought his new form of worship into contempt, to make the dregs of the people priests, which was not only a very sacred office, but of great honour; it was usual in some nations for kings to be priests also F20, and Jeroboam himself exercised this office, ( 1 Kings 12:33 ) ( 13:1 ) and therefore would never put the meanest of the people into it, but rather those of higher rank: the words may be literally rendered, "from the extremities" or "ends of the people" F21; meaning not merely from the extremist parts of his country, but rather out of the whole of the people; out of all sorts of them, out of any of them, without any distinction of tribe: for so it follows,

which were not of the sons of Levi;
and as by this means he enriched himself, by taking the cities that belonged to the priests and Levites, which they were obliged to leave, and from whence he drove them, ( 2 Chronicles 11:14 ) so he pleased the people by laying open the priesthood common to them, and freeing them from the payment of tithes, and the like.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 (twmb) "altarium", Vatablus.
F20 Rex Anius Virgil. l. 3. Vid. Servium in ib.
F21 (Meh twuqm) "de extremitatibus populi", Vatablus, Piscator.

Lièwángjìshang 12:31 In-Context

29 Tā jiù bǎ niúdú yī zhǐ ān zaì Bótèlì , yī zhǐ ān zaì dàn .
30 Zhè shì jiào bǎixìng xiàn zaì zuì lǐ , yīnwei tāmen wǎng dàn qù baì nà niúdú .
31 Yé Luóbōān zaì qiū tán nàli jiàn diàn , jiāng nà bù shǔ Lìwèi rén de fán mín Lìwèi jìsī .
32 Yé Luóbōān déng bā yuè shí wǔ rì wèi jiéqī , xiàng zaì Yóudà de jiéqī yíyàng , zìjǐ shàng tán xiànjì . tā zaì Bótèlì yĕ zhèyàng xiàng tā suǒ zhù de niúdú xiànjì , yòu jiāng Lìwèi qiū tán de jìsī ānzhì zaì Bótèlì .
33 Tā zaì bā yuè shí wǔ rì , jiù shì tā sīzì suǒ déng de yuè rì , wèi Yǐsèliè rén lì zuò jiéqī de rìzi , zaì Bótèlì shàng tán shāoxiāng .
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