and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made. The children of Israel secretly did things that were not right against Yahweh their God; and they built high places for themselves in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; and they set up for themselves pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill, and under every green tree; and there they burned incense in all the high places, as the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them did; and they did wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger; and they served idols, of which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”
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2 Kings 17:8-12 sits inside this longer paragraph.
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel for nine years. He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria seized him, and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. It was so because the children of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made. The children of Israel secretly did things that were not right against Yahweh their God; and they built high places for themselves in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; and they set up for themselves pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill, and under every green tree; and there they burned incense in all the high places, as the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them did; and they did wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger; and they served idols, of which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” Yet Yahweh testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” Notwithstanding, they would not listen, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn’t believe in Yahweh their God. They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom Yahweh had commanded them that they should not do like them. They abandoned all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made molten images for themselves, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served Baal. They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger. Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight. There was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah didn’t keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. Yahweh rejected all the offspring of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hands of raiders, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he tore Israel from David’s house; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king; and Jeroboam drove Israel from following Yahweh, and made them sin a great sin. The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they didn’t depart from them until Yahweh removed Israel out of his sight, as he said by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.
Parallel Translations
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and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.
The children of Israel secretly did things that were not right against Yahweh their God; and they built high places for themselves in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;
and they set up for themselves pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill, and under every green tree;
and there they burned incense in all the high places, as the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them did; and they did wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger;
and they served idols, of which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”
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And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
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and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they practised;
and the children of Israel did impute things that were not right unto the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;
and they set them up pillars and Asherim upon every high hill, and under every leafy tree;
and there they offered in all the high places, as did the nations whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD;
and they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them: 'Ye shall not do this thing';
Cross-references (41)
- 1 Kings 14:23 (v10) For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
- Micah 5:14 (v10) I will uproot your Asherah poles out from among you; and I will destroy your cities.
- Exodus 34:13 (v10) but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles;
- Leviticus 18:3 (v8) You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing…
- Deuteronomy 18:9 (v8) When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations.
Show all 40 cross-references
- 2 Kings 16:3 (v8) But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yes, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the…
- 2 Kings 16:4 (v10) He sacrificed and burned incense in the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- 2 Kings 18:8 (v9) He struck the Philistines to Gaza and its borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (v10) You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the…
- Deuteronomy 16:21 (v10) You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Yahweh your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.
- Isaiah 57:5 (v10) you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
- Leviticus 26:1 (vv10, 12) “ ‘You shall make for yourselves no idols, and you shall not raise up a carved image or a pillar, and you shall not place any figured stone…
- Exodus 20:3-5 (v12) “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens…
- Exodus 34:14 (v12) for you shall worship no other god; for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Leviticus 18:27-30 (v8) (for the men of the land that were before you had done all these abominations, and the land became defiled), that the land not vomit you…
- Deuteronomy 4:15-19 (v12) Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire, lest you corrupt…
- Deuteronomy 4:23-25 (v12) Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of…
- Deuteronomy 5:7-9 (v12) “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make a carved image for yourself—any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what…
- Deuteronomy 12:4 (v12) You shall not do so to Yahweh your God.
- Deuteronomy 12:30-31 (v8) be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods,…
- Deuteronomy 13:6 (v9) If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul,…
- Deuteronomy 27:15 (v9) ‘Cursed is the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up…
- 1 Kings 12:28 (v8) So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look and behold…
- 1 Kings 13:1 (v11) Behold, a man of God came out of Judah by Yahweh’s word to Bethel; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.
- 1 Kings 16:31-33 (v8) As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal…
- 1 Kings 21:26 (v8) He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 16:10 (v8) King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah…
- 2 Kings 17:19 (v8) Also Judah didn’t keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
- 2 Kings 21:2 (v8) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 21:6 (v11) He made his son to pass through the fire, practiced sorcery, used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar spirits, and with…
- 2 Chronicles 28:25 (v11) In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked Yahweh, the God of his fathers, to anger.
- Job 31:27 (v9) and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
- Psalms 78:56-58 (v11) Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep his testimonies, but turned back, and dealt treacherously like…
- Psalms 106:35 (v8) but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
- Jeremiah 10:2 (v8) Yahweh says, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
- Jeremiah 44:17 (v11) But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink…
- Ezekiel 8:12 (v9) Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery?…
- Hosea 5:11 (v8) Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; Because he is intent in his pursuit of idols.
- Hosea 12:11 (v9) If Gilead is wicked, surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Indeed, their altars are like heaps in the furrows of the…
- Micah 6:16 (v8) For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of Ahab’s house. You walk in their counsels, that I may make you a ruin, and her…
40 distinct cross-references across this passage (41 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v9 Meaning, throughout all their borders.
Meaning, throughout all their borders.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–12 2Ki 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the…
2Ki 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
Ver. 8. And of the kings of Israel.] They made them kings, and those kings made statutes of their own devising, without God’s approbation, {Mic 6:16} and the people loved to have it so.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11 In the statutes of the heathen, i.e. according to…
In the statutes of the heathen, i.e. according to the laws and customs of the heathen, in the worship of their Baals, and other of their sins. Which they had made, i.e. which the kings of Israel had ordained concerning the worship of the calves, and against their going up to Jerusalem to worship.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–12 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom…
And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel,.... Meaning the Canaanites, in whose idolatrous ways they walked, and whom they imitated; though their ejection out of the land should have been a warning to them, and they were the more inexcusable, as they were particularly cautioned against walking in them, Lev 18:3.
and of the kings of Israel, which they had made; their laws and statutes, to worship the golden calves, and not go up to Jerusalem to worship.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v9 Did secretly - This belongs, either,
Did secretly - This belongs, either,
1. To their gross idolatries, and other abominable practices, which they were ashamed to own before others; or,
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2. to the worship of calves: and so the words are otherwise rendered; they covered things that were not right towards the Lord: they covered their idolatrous worship of the calves, with fair pretenses of necessity, the two kingdoms being now divided, and at enmity; and of their honest intention of serving the true God, and retaining the substance of the Jewish religion. City - In all parts and places, both in cities, and in the country; yea, in the most uninhabited parts, where few or none dwell, beside the watchmen, who are left there in towers, to preserve the cattle and fruits of the earth, or to give notice of the approach of enemies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Verse 9. Did secretly those things] There was much…
Verse 9. Did secretly those things] There was much hidden iniquity and private idolatry among them, as well as public and notorious crimes.
From the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.] That is, the idolatry was universal; every place was made a place for some idolatrous rite or act of worship; from the largest city to the smallest village, and from the public watchtower to the shepherd's cot.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8, 11 2Ki 17:8-9. And walked in the statutes of the…
2Ki 17:8-9. And walked in the statutes of the heathen — According to their laws and customs in the worship of their Baals, and other of their sins. And of the kings of Israel, which statutes they had made — Had ordained concerning the worship of the calves, and against their going up to Jerusalem to worship. And the children of Israel did secretly, &c. — This belongs, either, 1st, To their gross idolatries, and other abominable practices, which they were ashamed to own before others; or, 2d, To the worship of the calves, and so the words are otherwise rendered, They covered things that were not right toward the Lord: they covered their idolatrous worship of the calves with fair pretences of necessity, the two kingdoms being now divided, and at enmity; and of their honest intention of serving the true God, and retaining the substance of the Jewish religion. From the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city — In all parts and places, both in cities and in the country; yea, in the most uninhabited parts, where few or none dwelt besides the watch-men, who were left there in towers, to preserve the cattle and fruits of the earth, or to give notice of the approach of enemies.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11 Idolatry was worse in the Israelites than in other…
Idolatry was worse in the Israelites than in other nations, since it argued not merely folly and a gross carnal spirit, but also black ingratitude Exo 20:2-3. The writer subdivides the idolatries of the Israelites into two classes, pagan and native - those which they adopted from the nations whom they drove out, and those which their own kings imposed on them. Under the former head would come the great mass of the idolatrous usages described in 2Ki 17:9-11, 2Ki 17:17; “the high places” 2Ki 17:9, 2Ki 17:11; the “images” and “groves” 2Ki 17:10; the causing of their children to “pass through the fire” 2Ki 17:17; and the “worship of the host of heaven” 2Ki 17:16 : under the latter would fall the principal points in 2Ki 17:12, 2Ki 17:16, 2Ki 17:21.
Which they had made - “Which” refers to “statutes.” The lsraelites had “walked in the statutes of the pagan, and in those of the kings of Israel, which (statutes) they (the kings) had made.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9–12 Offended. Hebrew, "They concealed (or spoke secretly; Haydock) words,…
Offended. Hebrew, "They concealed (or spoke secretly; Haydock) words, which were not right before the Lord:" (Calmet) being guilty of hypocrisy or of blasphemy. (Haydock) --- Watchmen: the meanest huts. (Tirinus) --- All was contaminated. (Calmet) --- Towers were erected to guard the flocks from thieves, 2 Paralipomenon xxvi. 10. (Menochius)
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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv8–10 8. Walked in the statutes — Observed the religions…
8. Walked in the statutes — Observed the religions customs and ordinances.
Whom the Lord cast out — To adopt the religions and worship of peoples whom Jehovah had so signally defeated and cast out from the Land of Promise was the height of idolatrous infatuation.
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Of the kings of Israel, which they had made — That is, in addition to walking in the statutes of the heathen they also observed statutes of their kings, that is, religious ordinances which their kings had made. The allusion is to the calf worship established at Beth-el and at Dan. See 1Ki_12:26-27, notes.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–12 8. and walked in the statutes of the heathen]…
8. and walked in the statutes of the heathen] The book of Judges is full of instances of the way in which the people again and again fell away to the practices of the Canaanites (cf. Jdg_2:11-13).
and of the kings of Israel, which they had [R.V. omits had] made] i.e. In the statutes of the kings of Israel. Such are the ordinances of Jeroboam the son of Nebat about the calves in Dan and Bethel, and the worship of Baal, which Ahab and Jezebel introduced.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–12 (8) Statutes of the heathen . . . and…
(8) Statutes of the heathen . . . and of the kings of Israel.—The national guilt was twofold. It comprised: (1) idolatry in the strict sense—i.e., worship of other gods than Jehovah; (2) a heathenish mode of worshipping Jehovah Himself—namely, under the form of a bullock, as Jeroboam I. had ordained. The term “statutes” means religious rules or ordinances. (Comp. Exo_12:14, “statutes;” Lev_20:23, “manners;” 1Ki_3:3, “ordinance.”)
Which they had made—i.e., the statutes which the kings of Israel had made. (Comp. 2Ki_17:19 b.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv8–12 And walked in the statutes of the heathen. The"…
And walked in the statutes of the heathen. The" statutes of the heathen" are their customs and observances, especially in matters of religion. The Israelites had been repeatedly warned not to follow these (see Lev_18:3, Lev_18:30; Deu_12:29-31 Deu_18:9-14, etc.) Whom the Lord east out from before the children of Israeli.e. the Canaanitish nations, whose idolatries and other abominations" were particularly hateful to God (see Lev_18:26-29; Deu_20:18 Deu_29:17 Deu_32:16, etc.) and of the kings of Israel. The sins and idolatries of Israel had a double origin. The great majority were derived from the heathen nations with whom they were brought into contact, and were adopted voluntarily by the people themselves. Of this kind were the worship at high places" (ver. 9), the images" and "groves" (ver. 10), the causing of their children to "pass through the fire" (ver. 17), the employment of divination and enchantments (ver. 17), and perhaps the worship of the host of heaven" (ver. 16). A certain number, however, came in from a different source, being imposed upon the people by their kings. To this class belong the desertion of the temple-worship, enforced by Jeroboam (vex. 21), the setting up of the calves at Dan and Bethel (ver. 16) by the same, and the Baal and Astarte worship (ver. 16), introduced by Ahab. This last and worst idolatry was not established without a good deal of persecution, as we learn from 1Ki_18:4. Which they had made.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things…
2Ki_17:9
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right.
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Infatuation of sin
Again we come upon this report which we have had as it were a thousand times in identical terms. What is the wonderful charm of evil? Surely the philosophers have not answered that inquiry completely. There must be some peculiar inexpressible charm in evil, or men would no do it, and do it with both hands earnestly, and live in the doing of it, and reap in its execution some kind of harvest of contentment and gladness. What is this charm? Men repeat the evil even whilst denominating it iniquity and marking it as vile. In this matter we are curiously and wondrously made. We go back to the evil. The devil seems to be more attractive than God. One would have thought that one vision of truth, beauty, heavens own light, would have for ever fascinated us, and made us incapable of meanness, wrong-doing, untruthfulness, or any form or colour of iniquity. But it is not so. The devil is most charmful! We know he tells lies, but he tolls them eloquently. We are aware that he cannot keep any promise that he ever made, yet when he puts out his black hand to us we grope for it in the dark, and think the fellowship not without advantage! Who can explain this? Is the explanation in the heart? The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11 General Information:
General Information:
The narrative continues to summarize Yahweh's judgment on Israel.
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on every high hill and under every green tree
These are exaggerations to show that worship of false gods was widespread. AT: "on high hills and under green trees everywhere" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
translationWords
high place
watchtower
column
Asherah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 11 17:8-13 The catalog of Israel’s sins includes numerous pagan…
17:8-13 The catalog of Israel’s sins includes numerous pagan rites and practices. Whether done in the open or secretly, God was aware of them all. Many were even initiated by Israel’s kings who built pagan shrines, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles and emulated heathen sacrifices and idolatry (10:29; 15:18, 28; 1 Kgs 12:28-33; 15:34; 16:30-33). All levels of Israelite society, royalty and commoner alike, persisted in such sins despite denunciation and warning by God’s prophets, which included the writings of Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.