2 Kings 17:8

2 Kings 17:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
• New International Version (NIV)and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

Context of 2 Kings 17:8

6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He placed them in Halah and Habor, on the Gozan River, and in the towns of the Medes. 7Now it was so because the men of Israel had sinned against Adonai their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods. Instead they followed the customs of the nations, whom Adonai had dispossessed before Bnei-Yisrael, yet which the kings of Israel practiced. 9Bnei-Yisrael secretly did things against Adonai their God that were not right. They built shrines for themselves in all their settlements—from watchtowers to fortified cities, 10and they set up pillars and Asherah poles for themselves on every high hill and under every leafy tree.

2 Kings 17:8 word by word

וַיֵּֽלְכוּ֙ בְּחֻקּ֣וֹת הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁר֙ הוֹרִ֣ישׁ יְהוָ֔ה מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמַלְכֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשֽׂוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And walkedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• in the statutesחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
• of the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• whom the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• cast outיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and of the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• which they had madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for 2 Kings 17:8

• 2 Kings 16:3Instead he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, like the abominations of the nations whom Adonai had dispossessed before Bnei-Yisrael.
• 2 Kings 21:2But he did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, following the abominations of the nations that Adonai had dispossessed before Bnei-Yisrael.
• Leviticus 18:3You are not to act as they do in the land of Egypt, where you used to live. Nor are you to act as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, nor are you to walk in their customs.
• Deuteronomy 12:30be careful not to be trapped into imitating them after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.’
• Deuteronomy 18:9When you enter the land Adonai your God is giving you, you are not to learn to do the abominations of those nations.
• 1 Kings 12:28So the king sought counsel and made two golden calves. He said to them, “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough! Here are your gods O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
• 1 Kings 16:31Now, as if it was a trifling thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he also took as wife Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him.
• 1 Kings 21:26He did grossly loathsome acts in following idols just like all that the Amorites had done, whom Adonai had dispossessed before the children of Israel.
• Psalms 106:35Instead they mingled with the nations and learned their practices.
• Jeremiah 10:2Thus says Adonai: “Do not learn the way of the nations or be frightened by signs of the heavens—though the nations are terrified by them.
• Hosea 5:11Oppressed is Ephraim, crushed by judgment, for he willingly followed a worthless thing.
• Micah 6:16Now, you observe the statutes of Omri and every practice of the house of Ahab, and you walk in their counsels. Therefore I will make you a horror, and her inhabitants a hissing, so you will bear the scorn of My people.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 17:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Idolatry was worse in the Israelites than in other nations, since it argued not merely folly and a gross carnal spirit, but also black ingratitude Exodus 20:2-3. The writer subdivides the idolatries of the Israelites into two classes, pagan and native - those which they adopted from the nations whom they drove out, and those which their own kings imposed on them. Under the former head would come the great mass of the idolatrous usages described in 2 Kings…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. 8-13Israel committed many sins, including pagan rituals and practices. Whether done openly or in secret, God knew about them all. Israel's kings often started these practices by building pagan shrines, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles. They copied pagan sacrifices and idol worship (2 Kings 10:29; 15:18, 28; 1 Kings 12:28–33; 15:34; 16:30–33). People from all parts of Israelite society, both royalty and commoners, continued these sins. They ignored warnings…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 17:8

• Assyria
• Babylon
• Judgments
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Children of Israel
• Assyria
• Captivity
• Fear
• Hoshea
• Kings, Books of
• Samaria, Country of
• Syriac Versions

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