2 Kings 17:14
in 2 Kings 17But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God.
KJV
Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseNotwithstanding, they would not hear,.... Their instructions, advice, and admonitions, and obey them: but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God: as Terah and Nahor, who were idolaters; or rather, their fathers in the wilderness, that made and served the calf, and those that rebelled against Moses and Aaron; it is a metaphor taken from oxen, that will not submit their necks to the yoke, but draw back from it, or cast it off, see Act 7:51.
This site's exposition
they stiffened their necks like their fathers
on 2 Kings 17:14-15
Verse 15 names the mechanism, they pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, as worship shapes the worshipper into the likeness of what is worshipped. Paul's argument in Romans 1 runs on the same logic: people who trade God's truth for falsehood are handed over to what they chose.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
); they would not hear, but hardened their necks, persisted in their idolatries, and were like their fathers, that would not bow their necks to God's yoke, because they did not believe in him, did not receive his truths, nor would venture upon his promises: it seems to refer to their fathers in the wilderness; the same sin that kept them out of Canaan turned these out, and that was unbelief.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To “harden” or “stiffen the neck” is a common Hebrew expression significative of unbending obstinacy and determined self-will. See the marginal references.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֖א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמֵ֑עוּ | shameu | they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וַיַּקְשׁ֤וּ | vaiyakshu | and they stiffened | H7185 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָרְפָּם֙ | ʾarepam | neck their | H6203 → | |
| כְּעֹ֣רֶף | keoref | like [the] neck of | H6203 → | |
| אֲבוֹתָ֔ם | ʾavotam | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶאֱמִ֔ינוּ | heeminu | they trusted | H539 → | 106 times |
| בַּֽיהוָ֖ה | bayahweh | in Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְלֹ֖אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמֵ֑עוּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
וַיַּקְשׁ֤וּand they stiffened
vaiyakshuH7185 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עָרְפָּם֙neck their
ʾarepamH6203 →
כְּעֹ֣רֶףlike [the] neck of
keorefH6203 →
אֲבוֹתָ֔םancestors their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 times
אֲשֶׁר֙who
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הֶאֱמִ֔ינוּthey trusted
heeminuH539 →106 times
בַּֽיהוָ֖הin Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃God their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to…
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Leviticus 26:41
and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Through
Exodus 32:9The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.
it leads to
- Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Isaiah 48:4
For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.
- Deuteronomy 9:13
The LORD also said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.
- Acts 7:51
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.