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 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

1Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 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. 3Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them. 4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand 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, “God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”
• 2 Kings 21:6Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.
• 1 Samuel 15:19Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”
• 1 Kings 16:19because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin.
• 1 Kings 16:33And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
• 1 Kings 21:20So Ahab 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 9:22Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?”
• 1 Kings 21:5But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”
• 2 Kings 10:18Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much.
• 1 Kings 16:31And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he 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