2 Kings 17:8

2 Kings 17:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

Context of 2 Kings 17:8

6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried [the people of] Israel into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and in Habor, by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7Now this came about because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared [and worshiped] other gods and walked in the customs of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons (descendants) of Israel, and in the pagan customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced. 9The Israelites ascribed things to the Lord their God which were not true. They built for themselves high places [of worship] in all their towns, from [the lonely] lookout tower to the [populous] fortified city. 10They set up for themselves sacred pillars (memorial stones) and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree.

2 Kings 17:8 word by word

וַיֵּֽלְכוּ֙ בְּחֻקּ֣וֹת הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר֙ הוֹרִ֣ישׁ יְהוָ֔ה מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמַלְכֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשֽׂוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And walkedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• in the statutesחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
• of the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• whom the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• cast outיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and of the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• which they had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for 2 Kings 17:8

• 2 Kings 16:3Instead he walked in the way of the [idolatrous] kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire [as a human sacrifice], in accordance with the repulsive [and idolatrous] practices of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.
• 2 Kings 21:2He did [great] evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with the [idolatrous] repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons (descendants) of Israel.
• Leviticus 18:3You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, and you shall not do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes (practices, customs).
• Deuteronomy 12:30beware that you are not lured (ensnared) into following them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods, so that I too may do likewise?’
• Deuteronomy 18:9“When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable (repulsive) practices of those nations.
• 1 Kings 12:28So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
• 1 Kings 16:31It came about, as if it had been a trivial thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
• 1 Kings 21:26He acted very repulsively in following idols, in accordance with everything the Amorites had done, whom the Lord expelled [from the land] before the sons of Israel.
• Psalms 106:35But they mingled with the [idolatrous] nations And learned their ways,
• Jeremiah 10:2Thus says the Lord, “Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations, And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavens Although the pagans are terrified by them;
• Hosea 5:11Ephraim is oppressed; he is broken and crushed by [divine] judgment, Because he was determined to follow man’s command (vanities, filth, secular precepts).
• Micah 6:16For [you have kept] the statutes of Omri [the idolatrous king], And all the works of the [wicked] house (dynasty) of Ahab; And you walk in their counsels and policies. Therefore, I shall hand you over for destruction and horror And your [city’s] inhabitants for ridicule, And you shall bear the rebuke and scorn of My people.”

Commentaries on 2 Kings 17:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Idolatry was worse in the Israelites than in other nations, since it argued not merely folly and a gross carnal spirit, but also black ingratitude Exodus 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 2 Kings…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-23Verses 7-23 Though the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes was but briefly related, it is in these verses largely commented upon, and the reasons of it given. It was destruction from the Almighty: the Assyrian was but the rod of his anger, Is 10:5. Those that bring sin into a country or family, bring a plague into it, and will have to answer for all the mischief that follows. And vast as the outward wickedness of the world is, the secret sins…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-13Israel committed many sins, including pagan rituals and practices. Whether done openly or in secret, God knew about them all. Israel's kings often started these practices by building pagan shrines, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles. They copied pagan sacrifices and idol worship (2 Kings 10:29; 15:18, 28; 1 Kings 12:28–33; 15:34; 16:30–33). People from all parts of Israelite society, both royalty and commoners, continued these sins. They ignored warnings…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 17:8

• Assyria
• Babylon
• Judgments
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Assyria
• Captivity
• Fear
• Hoshea
• Kings, Books of
• Samaria, Country of

Commentaries on 2 Kings 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings