1 Kings 14:9

You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God speaks through a prophet to Jeroboam, contrasting his idolatry with David’s faithfulness and announcing imminent destruction on Jeroboam’s house. (1 Kings 14:8-10)

The words — The Hebrew וַתָּרַע (va.Ta.ra') translates "you have done evil," and וַתֵּלֶךְ (va.Te.lekh) means "you have gone," marking a deliberate progression from prior kings. (1 Kings 14:9)

The thread — The theme of rejecting divine instruction appears in Nehemiah 9:26, Psalms 50:17, and Ezekiel 23:35, with the latter two explicitly using the "behind you/back" idiom while Psalms 50:17 specifies "behind you." (Nehemiah 9:26; Psalms 50:17; Ezekiel 23:35)

Why it lands — The passage states that covenant failure is defined by active, escalating idolatry rather than passive neglect, demanding immediate accountability before judgment executes. (1 Kings 14:9)

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַתָּ֣רַעva./Ta.ra'and/ you have done evil לַעֲשׂ֔וֹתla./'a.Sotto/ act מִכֹּ֖לmi./Kolmore than/ all אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-[those] who הָי֣וּha.Yuthey were לְפָנֶ֑יךָle./fa.Nei./kha<to>/ before/ you וַתֵּ֡לֶךְva./Te.lekhand/ you have gone וַתַּעֲשֶׂה־va./ta.'a.seh-and/ you have madeלְּךָ֩le./Khafor/ yourselfאֱלֹהִ֨ים'E.lo.Himgods אֲחֵרִ֤ים'a.che.Rimother וּמַסֵּכוֹת֙u./ma.se.khOtand/ molten images לְהַכְעִיסֵ֔נִיle./hakh.'i.Se./nito/ provoke to anger/ me וְאֹתִ֥יve./'o.T/iand/ <obj.>/ me הִשְׁלַ֖כְתָּhish.Lakh.tayou have cast אַחֲרֵ֥י'a.cha.Reibehind גַוֶּֽךָ׃ סga.Ve./khaback/ your

King James Version

But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

Cross-references

Nehemiah 9:26 But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
Psalms 50:17 For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you.
Ezekiel 23:35 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and have cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and prostitution.’”
1 Kings 12:28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
2 Chronicles 11:15 And Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat demons and calf idols he had made.
Exodus 34:17 You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.
1 Corinthians 10:22 Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Psalms 78:40 How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!
Psalms 106:29 So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
Psalms 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.