2 Kings 17:15

2 Kings 17:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.
• New International Version (NIV)They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them.

Context of 2 Kings 17:15

13The Lord had used his prophets and his other servants to warn the people of Israel and Judah. He told them, ‘Stop living in an evil way. Obey my Law, with its commands and its rules. I gave my Law to your ancestors so that they would obey it. I also used my servants, the prophets, to teach it to you.’ 14But the Israelites would not agree to obey God's Law. They were proud and they refused to obey. Like their ancestors, they did not trust in the Lord their God. They did not obey God's rules. They did not accept the covenant that he had made with their ancestors. They did not listen when he warned them. Instead, they worshipped useless idols, which caused them to become useless themselves. The Lord had commanded them not to live in the same way that the nations around them did. But they did that anyway. 16They turned away from all the commands of the Lord their God. They used metal to make images of two calves as their idols. They also made an Asherah pole to worship. They worshipped all the stars in the sky and they served Baal. 17They burned their sons and their daughters in fire as offerings to Baal. They used magic to find out what would happen in the future. They chose to do things that the Lord said were evil. That made him very angry.

2 Kings 17:15 word by word

וַיִּמְאֲס֣וּ אֶת־חֻקָּ֗יו וְאֶת־בְּרִיתוֹ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר כָּרַ֣ת אֶת־אֲבוֹתָ֔ם וְאֵת֙ עֵֽדְוֹתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֵעִ֖יד בָּ֑ם וַיֵּ֨לְכ֜וּ אַחֲרֵ֤י הַהֶ֙בֶל֙ וַיֶּהְבָּ֔לוּ וְאַחֲרֵ֤י הַגּוֹיִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר סְבִֽיבֹתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ אֹתָ֔ם לְבִלְתִּ֖י עֲשׂ֥וֹת כָּהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they rejectedמָאַסmâ'as · to rejectH3988
• his statutesחֹקchôq · statute: decreeH2706
• and his covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
• that he madeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
• with their fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and his testimoniesעֵדוּת‛êdûth · testimonyH5715
• which he testifiedעוּד‛ûd · to testifyH5749
• against them; and they followedאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• against them; and they followedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• and became vainהָבַלhâbal · to become vainH1891
• the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
• whom the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• had chargedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• them, that they should not doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for 2 Kings 17:15

• Jeremiah 8:9Those wise teachers will be ashamed and upset. Enemies will catch them as their prisoners. They have refused to accept the Lord's message. So they are not really wise.
• Exodus 24:6Moses took half of the blood of these animals and he put it into some bowls. He splashed the other half of the blood over the altar.
• Deuteronomy 29:10The Lord your God sees all of you today as you stand here. He sees your leaders, your important men, your officers and all Israelite men.
• Jeremiah 31:32It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors. At that time, I brought them safely out of Egypt. I took care of them, like a faithful husband who takes care of his wife. But they did not obey my covenant.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Deuteronomy 6:17Be careful to obey his commands. Remember the laws and the rules that he has told you to obey.
• 2 Chronicles 36:15The Lord sent his servants many times to warn his people. He wanted to be kind to them. He wanted to keep his temple safe.
• Nehemiah 9:26But your people did not obey you. They turned against you. They stopped obeying your laws. You sent your prophets to warn your people to return to you. But they killed the prophets that you sent to them. Your people insulted you in many bad ways.
• Jeremiah 4:4Give yourselves to me, the Lord, and agree to serve me faithfully. Remove from your lives everything that is not right, so that you obey my covenant. If you do not do that, I will be very angry with you. I will punish you like a hot fire that destroys things. Nobody will be able to stop my anger. People of Judah and Jerusalem, if you continue to do wicked things, I will certainly punish you.’
• Deuteronomy 32:21They have made me jealous as they serve false gods. They have made me angry as they worship useless idols. So I will make them jealous as I help a useless nation. I will make them angry as I bless a foolish nation.
• 1 Samuel 12:21Do not worship idols. They are useless things. They cannot help you. They will never save you.
• 1 Kings 16:13This happened because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had done. They had also caused the Israelites to do bad things. The useless idols that they worshipped had made the Lord, Israel's God, very angry.
• Psalms 115:8The people that make those idols will become useless like them. The same is true for everyone who trusts their idols to help them.
• Jeremiah 10:8The people of those nations are stupid and foolish. They think that wooden idols can teach them something!
• John 2:8Then he said, ‘Now take some of the water from the pots and give it to the master of the party.’ So they did that.
• Jeremiah 2:5This is the Lord's message to you: ‘I had done nothing wrong against your ancestors, but they turned away from me. Instead, they worshipped useless idols. So they themselves became useless.
• Romans 1:21Those people really knew about God. But they did not respect him as a great God, and they did not thank him. They did not even think clearly any more. Their minds became confused and they did not understand God's message.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 17:15

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15As idols are “vanity” and “nothingness,” mere weakness and impotence, so idolators are “vain” and impotent. Their energies have been wasted, their time misspent; they have missed the real object of their existence; their whole life has been a mistake; and the result is utter powerlessness. Literally, the word rendered “vanity” seems to mean “breath” or “vapor” - a familiar image for nonentity. It occurs frequently in the prophets, and especially in…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. 14-15Like their ancestors (Deuteronomy 10:16; 1 Samuel 12:6–9; Psalm 106:28), the Israelites continued to be unfaithful to the Lord (Isaiah 65:6–7; Amos 2:4; see Acts 7:51–53).Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 17:15

• Assyria
• Babylon
• Judgments
• Rulers
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Assyria
• Captivity
• Fear
• Kings, Books of
• Samaria, Country of
• Syriac Versions
• pagan

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