1 Kings 3:2 (ASV)

Passage

Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Jehovah until those days.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 3:1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh`s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

1 Kings 3:2 Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Jehovah until those days.

1 Kings 3:3 And Solomon loved Jehovah, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "only", "people", "sacrificed", "high", "places", "house", "built", and "name". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "only" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king..." into verse 3's "And Solomon loved Jehovah walking in the...", so "only" and "people" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "only" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.