Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander in chief; Zadok and Abiathar—priests;

When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,

and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up,

The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.

And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.

He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made.

By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’”

Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places.