1 Kings 14:15

15 And the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the LORD’s anger by making Asherah poles.^[a]

Read Chapter Compare

PREVIOUS 1 Kings 14:14 NEXT 1 Kings 14:16

1 Kings 14:15 in Other Translations

KJV

15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.

ESV

15 the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger.

NLT

15 Then the LORD will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave their ancestors and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the LORD with the Asherah poles they have set up for worship.

MSG

15 He will hit Israel hard, as a storm slaps reeds about; he'll pull them up by the roots from this good land of their inheritance, weeding them out, and then scatter them to the four winds. And why? Because they made God so angry with Asherah sex-and-religion shrines.

CSB

15 For the Lord will strike Israel [and the people will shake] as a reed shakes in water. He will uproot Israel from this good soil that He gave to their forefathers. He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates because they made their Asherah poles, provoking the Lord.

1 Kings 14:15 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 14:15

And the Lord shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the
water
Either by the wind or by the stream; and may signify the fluctuating and uncertain condition Israel should be in future reigns, through civil wars, and the translation of the kingdom into different families; so that there was continually disquietude and uneasiness, and no settled peace and tranquillity:

and he shall root up Israel out this good land he gave to their
fathers;
which was brought about, first by Tiglathpileser, and then by Shalmaneser, kings of Assyria, that carried them captives from hence:

and shall scatter them beyond the river;
the river Euphrates, as the Targum: or, as others, the river Gozan, ( 2 Kings 17:6 )

because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger:
in which groves they placed idols, and worshipped them, which was highly provoking to the Lord, and the cause of their dispersion.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

1 Kings 14:15 In-Context

13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the LORD, the God of Israel, has found anything good.

14 “The LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen.

16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.

Cross References 3

1. S Deuteronomy 29:28; 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 17:6; S 2 Chronicles 7:20; Psalms 52:5
2. Joshua 23:15-16; Jeremiah 44:3
3. Exodus 34:13; S Deuteronomy 12:3

Footnotes 1

[a]. That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 1 Kings