Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Kings 15:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Asa reforms Judah but leaves high places.”
Read It With
- 1 Kings 15:9–15
Read 1 Kings 15:13 with 15:9–15. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Dates Asa's accession by Jeroboam's twentieth year; notes Asa's deposit of dedicated silver, gold, and vessels in the temple.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Asa reforms Judah but leaves high places,” 1 Kings 15:13 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 15:1–8 establishes this prior movement: Dates Abijam's accession in Judah by Jeroboam's eighteenth year; closes Abijam's reign with burial and Asa's succession. 1 Kings 15:9–15 reverses or redirects the preceding movement; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 15:9–15 together
Why these verses belong together: Asa reforms Judah but leaves high places is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 15:9–15:15.
Verse 9. 9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.
Verse 10. 10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
Verse 11. 11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.
Verse 12. 12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Verse 13. 13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
Verse 14. 14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
Verse 15. 15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.
What Remains True
Public power and worship remain accountable to truth, covenant faithfulness, affected people, and consequences rather than title, success, wealth, or majority support. This unit tests that truth through dates Asa's accession by Jeroboam's twentieth year; notes Asa's deposit of dedicated silver, gold, and vessels in the temple. In 1 Kings 15:13, the concrete line “And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol….” Use authority to increase truthful access, protect people with less power, preserve dissent, and repair concrete harm instead of defending reputation, control, or religious prestige. This response follows from the unit's own sequence: Dates Asa's accession by Jeroboam's twentieth year; notes Asa's deposit of dedicated silver, gold, and vessels in the temple.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Kings 15:9–15 — Asa reforms Judah but leaves high placesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 15:9–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 15:9–15
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 614–616, translation and translator notes for 15:9–15
Open source ↗