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1 Chronicles 16:26

16:25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

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For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.

For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

16:27 Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

What does 1 Chronicles 16:26 mean?

1 Chronicles 16:26 is a verse in the book of 1 Chronicles, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîym), עַם (ʻam), אֱלִיל (ʼĕlîyl). It connects to 11 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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For
all
the
godsאֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
of
the
peopleעַםʻam/am/H5971a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
are
idols:אֱלִילʼĕlîyl/el-eel'/H457good for nothing, by anal. vain or vanity; specifically an idol
but
the
LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
madeעָשָׂהʻâsâh/aw-saw'/H6213to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
the
heavens.שָׁמַיִםshâmayim/shaw-mah'-yim/H8064the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve)

Commentary on 1 Chronicles 16:26

HENRY_FULL · 1 Chronicles 16:20–26
8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa. 9 And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people. 10 And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. 11 And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord , even against the word of the Lord , which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the Lord : therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. Here, I. From the triumph of the Philistines over the body of Saul we may learn, 1. That the greater dignity men are advanced to the greater disgrace they are in danger of falling into. Saul's dead body, because he was king, was abused more than any other of the slain. Advancement makes men a mark for malice. 2. That, if we give not to God the glory of our successes, even the Philistines will rise up in judgment against us and condemn us; for, when they had obtained a victory over Saul, they sent tidings to their idols —poor idols, that knew not what was done a few miles off till the tidings were brought to them, nor then either! They also put Saul's armour in the house of their gods, v. 10 . Shall Dagon have so honourable a share in their triumphs and the true and living God be forgotten in ours? II. From the triumph of the men of Jabesh-Gilead in the rescue of the bodies of Saul and his sons we learn that there is a respect due to the remains of the deceased, especially of deceased princes. We are not to enquire concerning the eternal state; that must be left to God: but we must treat the dead body as those who remember it has been united to an immortal soul and must be so again. III. From the triumphs of divine Justice in the ruin of Saul we may learn, 1. That the sin of sinners will certainly find them out, sooner or later: Saul died for his transgression. 2. That no man's greatness can exempt him from the judgments of God. 3. Disobedience is a killing thing. Saul died for not keeping the word of the Lord, by which he was ordered to destroy the Amalekites. 4. Consulting with witches is a sin that fills the measure of iniquity as soon as any thing. Saul enquired of one that had a familiar spirit, and enquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him, v. 13, 14 . Saul slew himself, and yet it is said, God slew him. What is done by wicked hands is yet done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Those that abandon themselves to the devil shall be abandoned to him; so shall their doom be. It is said ( 1 Sam. xxviii. 6 ) that Saul did enquire of the Lord and he answered him not: but here it is said, Saul did not enquire of God; for he did not till he was brought to the last extremity, and then it was too late.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 29:14

And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. the space: Heb. a month of days

Numbers 13:22

And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

Deuteronomy 17:15

Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.

Judges 9:2

Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. Whether: Heb. What is good? whether, etc

2 Samuel 2:1

And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

2 Samuel 5:1

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

2 Samuel 15:10

But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.

2 Samuel 19:12

Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

2 Samuel 19:13

And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

1 Kings 2:11

And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

1 Chronicles 12:23

And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD. bands: or, captains, or, men: Heb. heads

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Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with 1 Chronicles 16:26.

Genesis 2:4

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Genesis 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 2:18

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. meet: Heb. as before him

Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Adam: or, the man

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Yea: Heb. Yea, because, etc.

Genesis 6:7

And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. both: Heb. from man unto beast

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. grass: Heb. tender grass

Frequently asked questions

What does 1 Chronicles 16:26 say?

1 Chronicles 16:26 (King James Version) reads: "For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens."

Is 1 Chronicles 16:26 in the Old or New Testament?

1 Chronicles 16:26 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of 1 Chronicles.

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As you read 1 Chronicles 16:26, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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