1 Kings 9:8

1Ki 9:8 And at this house, [which] is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?

Ver. 8. And shall hiss.] In scorn and horror.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 9:8-9. And at this house, which is high — Exalted in its privileges, and renowned for its riches and splendour, and the great resort of people to it. They gloried in the stateliness and magnificence of the structure; but God here lets them know it was not so high as to be out of the reach of his judgments, which should assuredly fall upon it and them, if they vilified it so as to exchange it for groves and idol-temples, and yet, at the same time, most inconsistently and absurdly magnified it, so as to suppose it would secure the favour of God to them, although they ever so much corrupted themselves. Every one that passeth by it shall be astonished — At its unexpected and wonderful ruin. As they who now pass by it are astonished at the bulk and beauty, the richness, contrivance, and workmanship of it, and call it a stupendous fabric; so, if you forsake God, its height will make its fall the more amazing, and they that pass by will be as much astonished at its ruins. And shall hiss — By way of contempt and derision; and shall say, Why hath the Lord, &c. — What is the reason that this famous place, which boasted so much of the favour and protection of God, is thus laid in ruins? And they shall answer, Because they forsook, &c. — The guilty, self-convicted, self-condemned Israelites will be forced to acknowledge with shame, that they themselves were the ruin of it. See Deu 29:24. Their sin will be read in their punishment. They deserted the temple, and therefore God deserted it; they profaned it with their sins, and laid it common; and therefore God profaned it with his judgments, and laid it waste. Of this God thus gave Solomon fair warning, now he had newly built and dedicated it, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

this house, which is high--"high," either in point of situation, for it was built on a hill, and therefore conspicuous to every beholder; or "high" in respect to privilege, honor, and renown; or this "house of the Most High," notwithstanding all its beauty and magnificence, shall be destroyed, and remain in such a state of ruin and degradation as to be a striking monument of the just judgment of God. The record of this second vision, in which were rehearsed the conditions of God's covenant with Solomon and the consequences of breaking them, is inserted here as a proper introduction to the narrative about to be given of this king's commercial enterprises and ambitious desire for worldly glory; for this king, by encouraging an influx of foreign people and a taste for foreign luxuries, rapidly corrupted his own mind and that of this subjects, so that they turned from following God, they and their children (Kg1 9:6).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(8) At this house, which is high.—The word “which” is not in the original Hebrew here (although found in the present Hebrew text of 2Ch_7:21). The true meaning is certainly “This house shall be high;” which is the reading of the LXX., while the Vulg. has a good explanatory gloss, “This house shall be for an example.” Various corrections have been proposed, but there seems no necessity for them. There is evidently an allusion to the lofty position of the Temple. Generally the exaltation of “the mountain of the Lord” is made a type of its glory (as in Mic_4:1-2; Psa_68:15-16, &c.); here of its destruction. Its magnificence and its ruin are equally conspicuous: for “a city set on a hill cannot be hid.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. And at this house which is high] The connexion of these words is very difficult. The Hebrew text, standing alone, must be rendered ‘And this house shall be high.’ But in 2 Chron. the relative is expressed, and there can be little doubt that the text here is somehow faulty. The passage in 2 Chron. (1Ki_7:21) reads ‘And this house which is high shall be an astonishment.’ To come as near to this sense as possible, while introducing no relative, R.V. gives ‘And though this house be high.’ Yet that rendering is somewhat doubtful. The text of the LXX. shows that they had our Hebrew before them: καὶ ὁ οἶκος οὖτος ἔσται ὁ ὑψηλός, πᾶς ὁ διαπορευόμενος κ.τ.λ.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And at this house which is high,.... The house of the most High, as some render it, and in high esteem, fame, and glory, as well as it was built on an high hill, and was itself one hundred and twenty cubits high, Ch2 3:4, the Targum is,

"and this house which was high shall be destroyed:''

everyone that passeth by it shall be astonished; at the ruins of the temple, and of the city of Jerusalem, which had been so magnificent:

and shall hiss; in scorn and derision of the people of Israel, rejoicing in their ruin:

and they shall say, why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? or suffered it to be done, to lie thus in waste and ruins; a land in which it had been said he delighted, and looked unto from one end of the year to the other, and a house he had taken up his dwelling in; surely something more than ordinary, they suggest, must be the cause of all this.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Hebrew text runs - “And this house shall be high: every one,” etc. The meaning appears to be, “This house shall be high” (i. e., conspicuous) “in its ruin as in its glory.”

And shall hiss - In contempt. This expression first appears in the time of Hezekiah 2Ch 29:8; Mic 6:16. It is especially familiar to Jeremiah (Jer 18:16; Jer 19:8, etc.).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Example. Hebrew, "at this house, on high," (or dedicated "to the most high;" Paralipomenon) "every," &c. (Haydock) --- It shall be treated with no more regard than the high places of idols. (Calmet) --- Though at present so much exalted, it shall be reduced to a heap of ruins, (Vatable) and destroyed. (Challoner)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Which is high, i.e. exalted in its privileges, glorious, and renowned. The particle which is oft understood, and is here fitly supplied out of 2Ch 7:21, where it is expressed.

Shall be astonished at its unexpected and wonderful ruin.

Shall hiss, by way of contempt and derision. See Jer 19:8; 49:17; 50:13.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. This house, which is high — This rendering is an attempt to emend the text by the aid of 2Ch_7:21, but is altogether unnecessary and erroneous. The Hebrew reads: This house shall be high; that is, shall be a conspicuous example of Divine judgment on a chosen people for their sins. “It will be exposed aloft, on its high hill, as a laughingstock to the scorn of passers-by, who will be astonished at it.” — Wordsworth.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And at this house, which is high Heb., And this house shall be high, hyhyi wOyl. Our translators were probably influenced by (2Ch_7:21) the text of which is wOyl hyh rva which would seem to be an emendation, designed to clear up the difficulty rather than an accidental variation of the text. But here the literal rendering is probably the truer, the meaning being "this house shall be conspicuous, as an example so the Vulg. domus haec erit in exemplum. The LXX accords with the Hebrew text, oJ oikov outov estai oJ ujyhlov, but the Syriac and Arabic read, "this house shall be destroyed." Keil sees in the words an allusion implicite to Deu_26:19 Deu_28:1, where God promises to make Israel wOyl, and says "the blessing will be turned into a curse." The temple should indeed be "high," should be what Israel would have been, but it shall be as a warning, etc.; but this connexion is somewhat far fetched and artificial. Thenius would read for, wOyl yYii. "ruins," after Mic_3:12; Jer_26:18; Psa_79:1; but it is hardly right to resort to conjectures, unsupported by a single version or MS., so long as any sufficient meaning can be extracted from the words as they stand, and no one can deny that "high" may surely signify "conspicuous." Cf., Mat_11:23 every one that passeth by it shall be astonished. primarily means to be dumb with astonishment, Gesen., Thessalonians 3. p. 1435 and shall hiss qrv like "hiss," is an onomatopoetic word. It does not denote the hissing of terror (Bahr) but of derision; of. Jer_19:8 Jer_49:17; Job_27:23; Lam_2:15, Lam_2:16. Rawlinson aptly remarks, as bearing on the authorship of the Kings, that this is a familiar word in Jeremiah, (see 1Ki_18:16 1Ki 25:9 1Ki 29:18 1Ki 50:13 1Ki 51:37) in addition to the passages cited above) and that the other prophets rarely use it. The fact that much of this charge is in Jeremiah"s style, confirms the view taken above (note on ver. 4), that the ipsissima verba of the dream are not preserved to us. The author indeed could hardly do more than preserve its leading ideas, which he would naturally present in his own dress; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and to this house? Similar words Deu_29:24, Deu_29:25; Jer_22:8.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

High - Glorious and renowned. Astonished - At its unexpected and wonderful ruin. Hiss - By way of contempt and derision.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

This temple will become a heap of ruins

"This temple will be destroyed and its remains will be piled into a high mound"

will be shocked and will hiss

This can be stated in active form. AT: "will express amazement and make a sound of disrespect" (See: Active or Passive)

bowed down to them and worshiped them

These two phrases mean the same thing. The phrase "bowed down to them" describes the posture that people used in worship. (See: Parallelism)

translationWords

temple

Yahweh

forsake

God

Egypt

false god

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And this Beis Hamikdosh will be most high. So long as you have not sinned; but once you sin, every passerby will be astounded and will hiss. And similarly it is written in Divrei Hayomim, “And this Beis [Hamikdosh] that was exalted, all who pass by it, etc.,” and this is its interpretation, “and this house that was exalted and revered even by the gentiles,” as is stated above, “And even to the stranger who is not of Your people, etc.,” But, now in its destruction, everyone who passes by it, even the gentiles, will be astounded and hiss, and will say that the Jews’ sins were the cause.

Will be astounded. [ישם means] “will wonder,” as in, “and your enemies will be astonished [ושממו] about it,” [and as in,] “Concerning his day, the later ones will wonder [נשמו].”

And whistle. Siffler, in O.F. The habit of anyone who suddenly sees desolation, is to hiss.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.