1 Kings 3:2 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

1 Kings 3:1 And Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had ended building his own house, and the house of Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

1 Kings 3:2 Only, the people sacrificed on the high places; for there was no house built to 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 burned incense on 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 up 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 allied himself by marriage with..." 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.