2 Kings 3:2

2 Kings 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.
• New International Version (NIV)He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

Context of 2 Kings 3:2

1Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3Nevertheless, he continued in the [idolatrous] sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not depart from them. 4Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to pay [an annual tribute] to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

2 Kings 3:2 word by word

וַיַּעֲשֶׂ֤ה הָרַע֙ בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה רַ֕ק לֹ֥א כְאָבִ֖יו וּכְאִמּ֑וֹ וַיָּ֙סַר֙ אֶת־מַצְּבַ֣ת הַבַּ֔עַל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה אָבִֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he wroughtעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• but not like his fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and like his motherאֵם'êm · motherH517
• for he put awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• the imageמַצֵּבָהmatstsêbâh · pillarH4676
• of Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
• had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213

Cross-references for 2 Kings 3:2

• 2 Kings 6:31Then he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”
• 2 Kings 21:6He made his son pass through the fire and burned him [as an offering to Molech]; he practiced witchcraft and divination, and dealt with mediums and soothsayers. He did great evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
• 1 Samuel 15:19Why did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but [instead] swooped down on the plunder [with shouts of victory] and did evil in the sight of the Lord?”
• 1 Kings 16:19because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, by walking in the way of Jeroboam, and because of his sin he caused Israel to sin.
• 1 Kings 16:33Ahab also made the Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
• 1 Kings 21:20Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.
• 2 Kings 9:22When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace [can exist] as long as the fornications of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?”
• 1 Kings 21:5Then Jezebel his wife came to him and asked him, “Why is your spirit so troubled that you have not eaten?”
• 2 Kings 10:18Jehu assembled all the people and said [in pretense] to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much [more].
• 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.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2He put away the image of Baal - He abolished his worship; but he continued that of the calves at Dan and Beth-el.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2On the “evil” done by Ahab, see especially 1 Kings 16:30-34. Jehoram, warned by the fate of his brother (2 Kings 1:4 note), began his reign by a formal abolition of the Phoenician state religion introduced by Ahab - even if he connived at its continuance among the people 2 Kings 10:26-27; and by a re-establishment of the old worship of the kingdom as arranged by Jeroboam.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Ahab likely set up the sacred pillar (or stela) of Baal when he started Baal worship (see 1 Kings 16:32–33). People also erected similar stones for pagan gods in Judah (1 Kings 14:23). Jehu (2 Kings 10:26–27) and Josiah (23:13–15) later removed these pillars.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-32Ki 3:1-3. Jehoram's Evil Reign over Israel. 1-2. Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat--(compare 1Ki 22:51). To reconcile the statements in the two passages, we must suppose that Ahaziah, having reigned during the seventeenth and the greater part of the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, was succeeded by his brother Joram or Jehoram, in the end of that eighteenth year, or else that Ahaziah, having…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 3:2

• Ahab
• Baal
• Jezebel
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Baal
• Colour
• Compass
• Idol
• Indignation
• Jehoram
• Regard
• Stop
• Zoar
• Arnon

Commentaries on 2 Kings 3

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings