2 Kings 17:19
in 2 Kings 17and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
KJV
Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAlso Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God,.... But were infected with the idolatry of the ten tribes, and drawn into it by their example, and persisted therein, notwithstanding what befell the ten tribes; which are aggravations of the sins of them both, see Jer 3:7, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made; worshipping the calves as they did, particularly in the times of Ahaz, he setting the example, see 2Ki 16:3.
This site's exposition
Judah kept not the commandments
on 2 Kings 17:19-20
Judah is not spared the verdict; the text turns the same charge on the surviving kingdom in one clause, Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God either. Verse 20 widens the word Israel to cover both kingdoms together, the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, so the chapter refuses to let Judah read the north's fall as another people's story. The affliction and the delivery into the hand of spoilers describe Judah's own coming century as much as Israel's finished one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
35 With whom the L ORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: 36 But the L ORD , who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v35-36
Judah kept not - Judah's idolatry and wickedness are here remembered, as an aggravation of the sin of the Israelites, which was not only evil in itself, but mischievous to their neighbour, who by their examples were instructed in their wicked arts, and provoked to an imitation of them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This verse and the next are parenthetical. Here again, as in 2Ki 17:13, the writer is led on from his account of the sins and punishment of the Israelites to glance at the similar sins and similar punishment of the Jews. It was the worst reproach which could be urged against any Jewish king, that he “walked in the way of the kings of Israel” 2Ki 8:18; 2Ki 16:3; 2Ch 21:6; 2Ch 28:2. The Baal worship is generally the special sin at which the phrase is leveled; but the meaning here seems to be wider. Compare Mic 6:16.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| יְהוּדָ֕ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֔ר | shamar | it kept | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִצְוֹ֖ת | mitzvot | [the] commandments of | H4687 → | 181 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּחֻקּ֥וֹת | bechukot | in [the] customs of | H2708 → | 104 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשֽׂוּ׃ | ʾasu | they had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
יְהוּדָ֕הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֔רit kept
shamarH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִצְוֹ֖ת[the] commandments of
mitzvotH4687 →181 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּand they walked
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
בְּחֻקּ֥וֹתin [the] customs of
bechukotH2708 →104 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשֽׂוּ׃they had done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 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 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…
- 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.
- 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.
- Psalms 106:37–38
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
- Deuteronomy 12:31
Through
2 Chronicles 21:13but you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab prostituted itself. You have…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 21:4
When Jehoram had established himself over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened himself by putting to the sword all his brothers along with some of the princes of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 21:11
Jehoram had also built high places on the hills of Judah; he had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.
- 1 Kings 16:30–33
However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
- 2 Chronicles 21:6
And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the…
- 2 Chronicles 21:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
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About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.