2 Kings 15:4

Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.

Save that the high places {H1116} were not removed {H5493}: the people {H5971} sacrificed {H2076} and burnt incense {H6999} still on the high places {H1116}.

However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and offered on the high places.

Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense there.

Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

Commentary

This verse from 2 Kings 15:4 highlights a persistent issue during the reigns of several kings in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, even those who largely followed the Lord. It points out a specific failure in spiritual reform.

Context

Chapter 15 of 2 Kings covers the reigns of multiple kings in both Israel and Judah. Verse 4 is specifically noted in the account of Azariah, also known as Uzziah (see 2 Kings 15:1). Although Azariah is described as doing "that which was right in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 15:3), this verse immediately follows as a crucial qualification. The "high places" were sites, often on elevated ground, where worship and sacrifices were offered. While some may have been dedicated to the Lord, they were frequently associated with Canaanite practices and represented a form of decentralized worship that God had forbidden, commanding instead that sacrifices be made at the central sanctuary.

Key Themes

  • Incomplete Obedience: A major theme is the partial or incomplete nature of obedience. Even kings who were generally righteous failed to fully eradicate practices God had prohibited, demonstrating that doing "right" was not always absolute.
  • Persistence of Illicit Worship: The verse underscores the deep-rooted nature of worship practices on the high places among the people of Judah, indicating a challenge in fully transitioning to the prescribed worship centered at the temple in Jerusalem.
  • Failure of Leadership: The king's failure to remove these sites allowed the people's continuation of sacrificing and burning incense there, illustrating how leadership actions (or inactions) impact the spiritual state of the nation. This contrasts with kings like Hezekiah, who took decisive action against the high places.

Linguistic Insights

The term "high places" translates the Hebrew word bamah (plural, bamot), which literally means "high place" or "back." In a religious context, it refers to elevated sites used for worship. While not inherently evil, their association with pagan worship and their use outside the divinely appointed place of sacrifice (the Temple in Jerusalem) made them objects of divine disapproval (see Deuteronomy 12:4).

Reflection

2 Kings 15:4 offers a timeless lesson about the challenge of complete spiritual cleansing and obedience. It prompts us to consider if there are "high places" in our own lives – areas of compromise, lingering habits, or practices that are not fully aligned with God's will, even while we may strive to be generally righteous. True devotion requires addressing these persistent areas of disobedience and ensuring our worship and loyalty are solely to the Lord, remembering the command to have no other gods before Him and to worship Him according to His truth.

Note: If the commentary doesn’t appear instantly, please allow 2–5 seconds for it to load. It is generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash using a prompt focused on Biblical fidelity over bias. While the insights have been consistently reliable, we encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit.

Please note that only the commentary section is AI-generated — the main Scripture and cross-references are stored on the site and are from trusted and verified sources.

Cross-References

  • 2 Kings 14:4

    Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

  • 2 Kings 12:3

    But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

  • 1 Kings 15:14

    But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.

  • 2 Chronicles 17:6

    And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

  • 2 Kings 18:4

    He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

  • 2 Chronicles 34:3

    For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

  • 2 Chronicles 32:12

    Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?
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