2 Kings 17:17
in 2 Kings 17They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
KJV
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
They bowed down to all the host of heaven
on 2 Kings 17:16-17
They made two cast idols of calves and added an Asherah pole, the host of heaven and Baal, the whole of Canaanite and astral religion. The host of heaven is the sun, moon and stars, which Josiah later purges from the temple at 2 Kings 23:5.
This site's exposition
divination and soothsaying
Deuteronomy 18:10 puts passing a child through fire, divination and soothsaying in a single list of practices the LORD forbade. The Hebrew behind devoted themselves means they sold themselves, the verb used of Ahab at 1 Kings 21:25. Adam Clarke read it as utter abandonment to evil.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Sold themselves to do evil - Abandoned themselves to the will of the devil, to work all iniquity with greediness.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare 2Ki 16:3 note, and see Lev 20:2-5 note.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And they devoted themselves. They sold themselves for that [purpose].
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And He banished them from His Presence. For they were exiled with Hoshei'a son of Eiloh. 26 I.e., He exiled them from His land.”—Metzudas Dovid
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽ֠יַּעֲבִירוּ | vaiyaaviru | and they made pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵיהֶ֤ם | beneihem | sons their | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ | benoteihem | daughters their | H1323 → | 588 times |
| בָּאֵ֔שׁ | baesh | in the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וַיִּקְסְמ֥וּ | vaiyiksemu | and they divined | H7080 → | |
| קְסָמִ֖ים | kesamim | divinations | H7081 → | |
| וַיְנַחֵ֑שׁוּ | vaynacheshu | and they practiced divination | H5172 → | |
| וַיִּֽתְמַכְּר֗וּ | vaiyitmakeru | and they sold themselves | H4376 → | |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֛ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֥י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְהַכְעִיסֽוֹ׃ | lehakhiso | to provoke to anger him | H3707 → | 54 times |
וַֽ֠יַּעֲבִירוּand they made pass
vaiyaaviruH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵיהֶ֤םsons their
beneihemH1121 →4930 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּנֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙daughters their
benoteihemH1323 →588 times
בָּאֵ֔שׁin the fire
baeshH784 →378 times
וַיִּקְסְמ֥וּand they divined
vaiyiksemuH7080 →
קְסָמִ֖יםdivinations
kesamimH7081 →
וַיְנַחֵ֑שׁוּand they practiced divination
vaynacheshuH5172 →
וַיִּֽתְמַכְּר֗וּand they sold themselves
vaiyitmakeruH4376 →
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֛עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֥יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְהַכְעִיסֽוֹ׃to provoke to anger him
lehakhisoH3707 →54 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
2 Kings 21:6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
it leads to
- Leviticus 18:21
You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 19:31
You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 18:21
Through
2 Kings 16:3Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:31
You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as…
- 2 Kings 21:2
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- Deuteronomy 12:31
Through
1 Kings 21:20When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of…
it leads to
- Romans 7:14
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
- 1 Kings 21:25
(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 1 Kings 18:17
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- Romans 7:14
Through
Ezekiel 23:37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:36
This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood…
- Ezekiel 16:36
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.