2 Kings 17:15
in 2 Kings 17They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them.
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.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As 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 Jeremiah (e. g. Jer 2:5; Jer 8:19; Jer 14:22, etc.).
This site's exposition
hardened their necks
on 2 Kings 17:14-15
They hardened their necks like their fathers before them who did not believe, a phrase running back to the wilderness generation, and stiff necked disobedience becomes this chapter's diagnosis across two centuries of kings. Verse 15 names the mechanism in one sentence: they followed vanity, and became vain, worship shaping the worshipper into the likeness of what is worshipped. Paul's argument in Romans 1, that those who exchange the truth for a lie are given over to what they chose, runs on the same logic this verse already states.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), That they should not do like the heathen. Nor could they be in any doubt concerning their obligation to observe the laws which they are here charged with rejecting, for they were the commandments and statutes of the Lord their God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
), would not be bound up either by his command or the consent they themselves had given to the covenant, but threw off the obligations of both, and therefore God justly rejected them,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Vanity - Idols; so called because of their nothingness, impotency, and unprofitableness; and by the long worship of idols, they were made like them, vain, sottish, and senseless creatures.
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers,....
The words behind it
29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּמְאֲס֣וּ | vaiyimasu | and they rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֻקָּ֗יו | chukav | statutes his | H2706 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתוֹ֙ | berito | covenant his | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרַ֣ת | karat | he had made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֲבוֹתָ֔ם | ʾavotam | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֵֽדְוֹתָ֔יו | ʾedevotav | testimonies his | H5715 → | 59 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵעִ֖יד | heid | he warned | H5749 → | |
| בָּ֑ם | bam | <in> them | ||
| וַיֵּ֨לְכ֜וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֤י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַהֶ֙בֶל֙ | hahevel | <the> vanity | H1892 → | |
| וַיֶּהְבָּ֔לוּ | vaiyehbalu | and they became vain | H1891 → | |
| וְאַחֲרֵ֤י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַגּוֹיִם֙ | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| סְבִֽיבֹתָ֔ם | sevivotam | [were] around them | H5439 → | 336 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֤ה | tzivah | he had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֹתָ֔ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְבִלְתִּ֖י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| עֲשׂ֥וֹת | asot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כָּהֶֽם׃ | kahem | like them |
וַיִּמְאֲס֣וּand they rejected
vaiyimasuH3988 →76 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֻקָּ֗יוstatutes his
chukavH2706 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתוֹ֙covenant his
beritoH1285 →284 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּרַ֣תhe had made
karatH3772 →288 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אֲבוֹתָ֔םancestors their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עֵֽדְוֹתָ֔יוtestimonies his
ʾedevotavH5715 →59 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֵעִ֖ידhe warned
heidH5749 →
בָּ֑ם<in> them
bam
וַיֵּ֨לְכ֜וּand they walked
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵ֤יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הַהֶ֙בֶל֙<the> vanity
hahevelH1892 →
וַיֶּהְבָּ֔לוּand they became vain
vaiyehbaluH1891 →
וְאַחֲרֵ֤יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
הַגּוֹיִם֙the nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
סְבִֽיבֹתָ֔ם[were] around them
sevivotamH5439 →336 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֤הhe had commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
לְבִלְתִּ֖יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
עֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
asotH6213 →2628 times
כָּהֶֽם׃like them
kahem
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
Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
it leads to
- Romans 10:19
I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says: “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”
- Romans 9:25
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- Romans 11:11–14
I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
- 1 Kings 16:26
For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless…
- 1 Kings 16:13
This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.
- Romans 10:19
Through
Jeremiah 2:5This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me, and followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves?
it leads to
- Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Jonah 2:8
Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
- Jeremiah 10:14–15
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- Romans 1:21
Where this verse is studied
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About 2 Kings

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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.
