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 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.

Context of 2 Kings 3:2

1Ahab’s son Joram began to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years. 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. 3Nevertheless, he continued in the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed and led the people of Israel to commit. 4King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of 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 6:31“May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day,” the king vowed.
• 2 Kings 21:6Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
• 1 Samuel 15:19Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
• 1 Kings 16:19For he, too, had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit.
• 1 Kings 16:33Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.
• 1 Kings 21:20“So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah. “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight.
• 2 Kings 9:22King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?”
• 1 Kings 21:5“What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”
• 2 Kings 10:18Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab’s worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way I will worship him!
• 1 Kings 16:31And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.

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