2 Kings 17:25

2 Kings 17:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
• New International Version (NIV)When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Context of 2 Kings 17:25

23In the end, the Lord sent the Israelites away from himself. He had used his servants, the prophets, to warn them that this would happen. As a result, the Assyrian army took the Israelites away from their own land as prisoners to Assyria. They still live there, even today. 24The king of Assyria brought foreign people to live in the towns of Samaria. They came from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. They lived in places in Samaria where the Israelites had lived. They took Samaria for themselves and they lived in its towns. When those people first lived in Samaria, they did not worship the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them. The lions were killing some of the people. 26People told the king of Assyria, ‘You sent some nations of people to go and live in the towns of Samaria. But they do not know how to obey the rules of that country's god. So he has sent lions to attack them. The lions are killing them because they do not know the rules of that country's god.’ 27The king of Assyria replied, ‘You took some Israelite priests away from Samaria as prisoners. Send one of them back to live there. Then he can teach the people what the god of that country wants them to do.’

2 Kings 17:25 word by word

וַיְהִ֗י בִּתְחִלַּת֙ שִׁבְתָּ֣ם שָׁ֔ם לֹ֥א יָרְא֖וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח יְהוָ֤ה בָּהֶם֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲרָי֔וֹת וַיִּֽהְי֥וּ הֹרְגִ֖ים בָּהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• it was at the beginningתְּחִלָּהtechillâh · beginningH8462
• of their dwellingיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• they fearedיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
• not the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• lionsאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• among them, which slewהָרַגhârag · to killH2026

Cross-references for 2 Kings 17:25

• 2 Kings 17:28So they sent back one of the priests that they had caught and taken away to Assyria. He went to live in Bethel. He taught the people how to worship the Lord properly.
• Joshua 22:25The Lord put the Jordan River as a border between our tribes and your tribes. The tribes of Reuben and Gad cannot worship the Lord!” In that way, your descendants might stop our descendants from serving the Lord.
• Jeremiah 10:7Everyone should respect you, the King who rules all the nations. You deserve that people give you honour. There is nobody like you anywhere in the world. Among all the wise people of the nations and among all their kings, there is no one like you.
• Daniel 6:26I have made a law for every part of my kingdom. All people must respect the God that Daniel serves. They must respect him with fear. He is the God who always lives. He will continue for ever. Nobody will ever destroy his kingdom. He will rule for ever.
• Jonah 1:9Jonah answered them, ‘I am a Hebrew man. I worship the Lord who is the God of heaven. He made the sea and the land.’
• 2 Kings 2:24Elisha turned around and he looked at them. He asked the Lord to punish them. Two bears came out from the forest. They tore 42 of the boys in pieces.
• 1 Kings 13:24But as God's servant from Judah was travelling along the road, a lion attacked him. The lion killed him and it left his body on the road. The donkey and the lion stood beside the dead body.
• 1 Kings 20:36So the prophet said to him, ‘You have not obeyed the Lord's command. Because of that, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave here.’ After the man left the prophet, a lion attacked him and it killed him.
• Jeremiah 5:6So lions will come out of the forest to attack them. Wolves will come from the desert to destroy them. Leopards will wait outside their cities. They will kill anyone who goes outside. That will happen because the people have turned against the Lord. They have done many bad things.
• Jeremiah 15:3I will send four kinds of punishments to hurt them. Soldiers will kill them in war. Dogs will carry away their dead bodies. Birds and wild animals will eat them and destroy them.
• Ezekiel 14:15Or I might send wild animals to kill the people of that nation. Nobody would travel through that place. The wild animals would make it too dangerous to travel there.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 17:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25The Lord sent lions among them - The land being deprived of its inhabitants, wild beasts would necessarily increase, even without any supernatural intervention; and this the superstitious new comers supposed to be a plague sent upon them, because they did not know how to worship him who was the God of the land; for they thought, like other heathens that every district had its own tutelary deity. Yet it is likely that God did send lions as a scourge on…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25The depopulation of the country, insufficiently remedied by the influx of foreigners, had the natural consequence of multiplying the wild beasts and making them bolder. Probably a certain number had always lurked in the jungle along the course of the Jordan Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:44; and these now ventured into the hill country, and perhaps even into the cities. The colonists regarded their sufferings from the lions as a judgment upon them from “the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-41Verses 24-41 The terror of the Almighty will sometimes produce a forced or feigned submission in unconverted men; like those brought from different countries to inhabit Israel. But such will form unworthy thoughts of God, will expect to please him by outward forms, and will vainly try to reconcile his service with the love of the world and the indulgence of their lusts. May that fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, possess our hearts, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24-41The writer adds information about later events in Israel, like foreigners moving into the land and the mixed population's blended religious practices.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 24-2824-28. the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, etc.--This was not Shalmaneser, but Esar-haddon (Eze 4:2). The places vacated by the captive Israelites he ordered to be occupied by several colonies of his own subjects from Babylon and other provinces. from Cuthah--the Chaldee form of Cush or Susiana, now Khusistan. Ava--supposed to be Ahivaz, situated on the river Karuns, which empties into the head of the Persian Gulf. Hamath--on the Orontes…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 17:25

• Assyria
• Cuth
• Judgments
• Lion
• Samaria

In the dictionaries

• Israel, Kingdom of
• Lions
• Palestine
• Assyria
• Captivity
• Fear
• God
• Haggai
• Jesus Christ
• Kings, Books 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