Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
However, the priests who had served at the forbidden worship sites were not allowed to serve at the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they were still provided for and could eat the holy bread alongside their fellow priests.
This verse shows that even though these priests had participated in wrong worship practices, they were still cared for and included in the community, though they couldn't serve in the main temple.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during King Josiah's religious reforms around 621 BC, when he was destroying all the illegal worship sites throughout Judah and centralizing worship in Jerusalem. Many priests had been serving at these 'high places' where people worshipped God incorrectly or worshipped other gods alongside the Lord. Josiah was trying to purify the nation's worship according to God's law.
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