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

13Again and again the Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.” 14But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them. 16They rejected all the commands of the Lord their God and made two calves from metal. They set up an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. 17They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.

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 8:9These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?
• Exodus 24:6Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.
• Deuteronomy 29:10All of you—tribal leaders, elders, officers, all the men of Israel—are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God.
• Jeremiah 31:32This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
• Deuteronomy 6:17You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you.
• 2 Chronicles 36:15The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.
• Nehemiah 9:26“But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.
• Jeremiah 4:4O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
• Deuteronomy 32:21They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God; they have provoked my anger with their useless idols. Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people; I will provoke their anger through the foolish Gentiles.
• 1 Samuel 12:21Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless!
• 1 Kings 16:13This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.
• Psalms 115:8And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
• Jeremiah 10:8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!
• John 2:8he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
• Jeremiah 2:5This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.
• Romans 1:21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

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