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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, but not to the same extent as his father and mother. He at least tore down the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had set up.

Context of 2 Kings 3:2

1In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years. 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. 3Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it. 4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver 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 6:31and he said, "May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today."
• 2 Kings 21:6And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
• 1 Samuel 15:19Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?"
• 1 Kings 16:19because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin.
• 1 Kings 16:33And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
• 1 Kings 21:20Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.
• 2 Kings 9:22And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?"
• 1 Kings 21:5But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, "Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?"
• 2 Kings 10:18Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much.
• 1 Kings 16:31And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife 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