2 Kings 17:16

2 Kings 17:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
• New International Version (NIV)They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

Context of 2 Kings 17:16

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. 15They 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. They 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. 18The Lord was so angry with Israel that he sent them far away from himself. Only the tribe of Judah remained.

2 Kings 17:16 word by word

וַיַּעַזְב֗וּ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֹת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֔ם וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ לָהֶ֛ם מַסֵּכָ֖ה שְׁנֵ֣י עֲגָלִ֑ים וַיַּעֲשׂ֣וּ אֲשֵׁירָ֗ה וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲווּ֙ לְכָל־צְבָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיַּעַבְד֖וּ אֶת־הַבָּֽעַל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they leftעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• all the commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• them molten imagesמַסֵּכָהmassêkâh · molten metalH4541
• twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• calvesעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
• a groveאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
• and worshippedשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
• all the hostצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · armyH6635
• of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and servedעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168

Cross-references for 2 Kings 17:16

• Exodus 32:4Aaron took the gold rings from the people. He melted the gold and he used a tool to make an image of a calf. Then the people said, ‘Look, people of Israel! This is our god who brought us up out of Egypt!’
• 1 Kings 12:28So King Jeroboam talked to his advisors. He used gold to make images of two young cows. He said to the people, ‘It is too difficult for you to go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, as you have done before. So I have made these gold cows for you instead. Look at them, Israelite people! These are your gods that rescued you and brought you out from Egypt.’
• Psalms 106:18Fire burned all their group, and it killed those wicked people.
• Isaiah 44:9All the people who make idols are fools. The images which make them so happy are useless. Those who worship idols cannot see the truth. They do not understand what they are doing, and they will be ashamed.
• 2 Kings 17:20So the Lord turned against all the descendants of Israel. He punished them. He put them under the power of robbers. In that way, he chased them far away from himself.
• 1 Kings 14:15The Lord will attack the nation of Israel. He will shake it, as the wind shakes a reed that is growing in a stream. The Lord will remove the Israelites from this good land that he gave to their ancestors. He will take them to places beyond the Euphrates river. They made Asherah poles to worship, so the Lord became very angry with them.
• 1 Kings 15:13He also told his grandmother Maakah that she could no longer have authority as the Queen Mother. This was because she had made a disgusting Asherah pole to worship. Asa cut down the Asherah pole and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.
• 1 Kings 16:33Ahab also made an Asherah pole to worship. He did many bad things that made the Lord, Israel's God, angry. He did more bad things than all the kings of Israel who lived before him.
• Deuteronomy 4:19When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, the moon and the stars. They all shine up in the sky. But do not bend down low to them or worship them. They are there because the Lord your God has made them. He has given them to people everywhere in the world.
• Jeremiah 8:2They will leave the bones all over the ground, under the sun, the moon and the stars. Those were the gods that my people loved. They served them and they worshipped them. Nobody will take their bones and bury them again. They will lie on the ground, like dung.
• 2 Kings 10:18Then Jehu called all the people to come together. He said to them, ‘Ahab served Baal, but he did not do it very well. But I, Jehu, will serve Baal much better!
• 2 Kings 11:18Then people everywhere in the country went to the temple of Baal. They destroyed it. They completely knocked down its altars and idols. They killed Baal's priest, Mattan, in front of Baal's altars. Then Jehoiada the priest put guards to keep the Lord's temple safe.
• 1 Kings 16:31He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. He even did something that was even worse. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Ahab served Baal as his god and he worshipped him.
• 1 Kings 22:53Ahaziah served Baal as his god and he worshipped him. He made the Lord, Israel's God, very angry, as his father had also done.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 17:16

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16In 2 Kings 17:10 there is a reference to the old high-place worship, which was professedly a worship of Yahweh, but with unauthorized rites and emblems; here the reference is to Ahab‘s setting up a grove to Baal in the city of Samaria (marginal reference). And worshipped all the host of heaven - Astral worship has not hitherto been mentioned as practiced by the Israelites. Moses had warned against it Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3, so that it no doubt…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. 16-17all the commandments of the LORD: The narrator lists specific examples of Israel's disobedience. These include: the two metal calves set up at Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12:28–30), the Canaanite fertility symbol called an Asherah pole (2 Kings 13:6; 17:10; 1 Kings 14:23; 16:33; Micah 5:14), the ongoing worship of Baal (1 Kings 16:31–33; Hosea 2:13; 13:1), and the detestable Molech rituals (2 Kings 16:3; Psalm 106:37).Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 17:16

• Assyria
• Baal
• Babylon
• Groves
• Idolatry
• Judgments
• Rulers
• Stars

In the dictionaries

• Baal
• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Host of heaven
• Stars
• Adoration
• Assyria
• Astrology
• Calf, Golden
• Captivity

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