1 Kings 3 · Verse 4

1 Kings 3:4

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
1 Kings 3:4, King James Version

1 Kings 3:4 in other translations

BSBNow the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
WEBThe king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
ASVAnd the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
YLTand the king goeth to Gibeon, to sacrifice there, for it is the great high place; a thousand burnt-offerings cause to ascend doth Solomon on that altar.
DARBYAnd the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up upon that altar.
BBEAnd the king went to Gibeon to make an offering there, because that was the chief high place: it was Solomon's way to make a thousand burned offerings on that altar.
WebsterAnd the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

What does 1 Kings 3:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there--The old tabernacle and the brazen altar which Moses had made in the wilderness were there (1Ch 16:39; 21:29; 2Ch 1:3-6). The royal progress was of public importance. It was a season of national devotion. The king was accompanied by his principal nobility (2Ch 1:2); and, as the occasion was most probably one of the great annual festivals which lasted seven days, the rank of the offerer and the succession of daily oblations may help in part to account for the immense magnitude of the sacrifices.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 3:1-4

He that loved the Lord, should, for his sake, have fixed his love upon one of the Lord's people. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man, a great man; yet the brightest praise of him, is that which is the character of all the saints, even the poorest, "He loved the Lord." Where God sows plentifully, he expects to reap accordingly; and those that truly love God and his worship, will not grudge the expenses of their…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 3:1-4 →

1 Kings 3:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֵּ֨לֶךְvai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
גִּבְעֹ֙נָה֙giv.'O.nahGibeon towardsH1391
לִזְבֹּ֣חַliz.Bo.achto sacrificeH2076
שָׁ֔םShamthereH8033
כִּ֥יkiforH3588
הִ֖יאhi'thatH1931
הַבָּמָ֣הha.ba.Mah[was] the high placeH1116
הַגְּדוֹלָ֑הha.ge.do.Lah<the> greatH1419
אֶ֤לֶף'E.lefa thousandH505
עֹלוֹת֙'o.lOtburnt offeringsH5930
יַעֲלֶ֣הya.'a.Lehhe offered upH5927
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הshe.lo.MohSolomonH8010
עַ֖ל'alonH5921
הַמִּזְבֵּ֥חַha.miz.Be.achthe altarH4196
הַהֽוּא\׃ha.Hu'<the> thatH1931

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 3:4

  • 2 Chronicles 1:3

    So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness.

  • 1 Chronicles 16:39

    And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,

  • 2 Chronicles 7:5

    And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

  • 2 Chronicles 1:6-12

    And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O Lord God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. …

  • 1 Chronicles 21:29

    For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.

  • Isaiah 40:16

    And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

  • Joshua 9:3

    And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

  • 1 Kings 8:63

    And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

  • 2 Chronicles 29:32-35

    And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.

  • 2 Chronicles 30:24

    For Hezekiah king of Judah did give to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves.

  • Joshua 10:2

    That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

  • Micah 6:6-7

    Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gibeon.
9:2; Jos 9:3; 10:2; 1Ch 16:39; 21:29; 2Ch 1:3,7-12
a thousand.
8:63; 2Ch 1:6; 7:5; 29:32-35; 30:24; Isa 40:16; Mic 6:6,7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 3:3

    And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

  • 1 Kings 3:4

    And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

  • 1 Kings 3:5

    In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

Read all of 1 Kings 3

1 Kings 3:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		E iba el rey á Gabaón, porque aquél era el alto principal, y sacrificaba allí: mil holocaustos sacrificaba Salomón sobre aquel altar.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le roi s’en alla à Gabaon pour y sacrifier, car c’était le principal haut lieu; Salomon offrit 1 000 holocaustes sur cet autel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der König ging nach Gibeon, um daselbst zu opfern, denn das war die große Höhe; tausend Brandopfer opferte Salomo auf selbigem Altar.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Abiit itaque in Gabaon, ut immolaret ibi: illud quippe erat excelsum maximum: mille hostias in holocaustum obtulit Salomon super altare illud in Gabaon.