2 Kings 17:25
in 2 Kings 17Now when the settlers first lived there, they did not worship the LORD, so He sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah: therefore Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
KJV
And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The depopulation of the country, insufficiently remedied by the influx of foreigners, had the natural consequence of multiplying the wild beasts and making them bolder. Probably a certain number had always lurked in the jungle along the course of the Jordan Jer 49:19; Jer 50:44; and these now ventured into the hill country, and perhaps even into the cities. The colonists regarded their sufferings from the lions as a judgment upon them from “the god of the land” (2Ki 17:26; compare 1Ki 20:23 note).
This site's exposition
the Lord sent lions among them
on 2 Kings 17:25-26
The new settlers do not fear the Lord, and the Lord sends lions among them, a judgment stated as plainly as any sent on Israel itself; the land answers to its God regardless of who now occupies it. The colonists read the lions as territorial rather than random and report it to the king of Assyria in the land's own theological terms, they know not the manner of the God of the land. Their solution will be political rather than converted; a priest is sent, but the fear that follows stays partial, as verse 33 will state outright.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Israel Subdued by Assyria. 1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. 2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the L ORD , but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v1-3
Therefore - For their gross neglect, and contempt of God, which was contrary to the principles and practices of the Heathens, who used to worship the gods of the nations where they lived, and gave that honour to their false Gods, which here they denied to the true.
And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Believing that he would adopt the best and simplest method for them, it is unlikely that he took the written law with him, and so gave origin to the Samaritan copy of the Pentateuch [DAVIDSON, Criticism]. Besides, it is evident from his being one of the exiled priests, and from his settlement at Beth-el, that he was not a Levite, but one of the calf-worshipping priests.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2928: “Sham Conversion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THE world is full of deceptions and counterfeits. We have had to protect ourselves by law against adulterations of the most common articles of food, but all the laws in the world will not be able to protect us against the constant, the almost universal deceit which is found in daily life. Men seem continually to be set on making the worse appear the better—putting the bitter for the sweet and the sweet for the bitter.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2928: “Sham Conversion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THE world is full of deceptions and counterfeits. We have had to protect ourselves by law against adulterations of the most common articles of food, but all the laws in the world will not be able to protect us against the constant, the almost universal deceit which is found in daily life. Men seem continually to be set on making the worse appear the better—putting the bitter for the sweet and the sweet for the bitter. If any man shall go through this world with his eyes shut, believing all that he hears, he will find himself the dupe of a thousand knaves. You must keep your eyes open—you must carry a test with you by which you shall be able to discern between things that differ, or else in the ordinary affairs of life you will soon be brought to bankruptcy and poverty. In the highest regions, also, where we have to do with spiritual and eternal things, there are even worse cheats than anywhere else! That old enemy of God and man who is rightly said to be a liar from the beginning, takes care to use falsehood in order, if it were possible, to deceive even the very elect. If there is a Christ, he sets up an antichrist. If there is a Church of Christ, he makes a world's church that shall mimic it. If there is a Gospel, he, too, comes with his good news and sets up "another gospel, which is not another." In the matters which concern the inner man—in the work of the Holy Spirit upon the soul—Satan is also adept at deception there. He can imitate repentance with remorse. He can match faith with credulity. He can mimic assurance with presumption. He can give us the pleasures of this world instead of the joy of the Lord and, instead of a simple confidence in Christ, he can offer us that which may look remarkably like it, and yet, after all, be confidence in self.
The Lord sent lions among them - The land being deprived of its inhabitants, wild beasts would necessarily increase, even without any supernatural intervention; and this the superstitious new comers supposed to be a plague sent upon them, because they did not know how to worship him who was the God of the land; for they thought, like other heathens that every district had its own tutelary deity. Yet it is likely that God did send lions as a scourge on this bad people.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּתְחִלַּת֙ | bitchilat | at [the] beginning of | H8462 → | |
| שִׁבְתָּ֣ם | shivtam | dwelling they | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָרְא֖וּ | yareu | they feared | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח | vayshalach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּהֶם֙ | bahem | among them | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֣אֲרָי֔וֹת | haarayot | <the> lions | H738 → | |
| וַיִּֽהְי֥וּ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הֹרְגִ֖ים | horegim | killing | H2026 → | 167 times |
| בָּהֶֽם׃ | bahem | in them |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִּתְחִלַּת֙at [the] beginning of
bitchilatH8462 →
שִׁבְתָּ֣םdwelling they
shivtamH3427 →1079 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָרְא֖וּthey feared
yareuH3372 →315 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיְשַׁלַּ֨חand he sent
vayshalachH7971 →845 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּהֶם֙among them
bahem
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֣אֲרָי֔וֹת<the> lions
haarayotH738 →
וַיִּֽהְי֥וּand they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
הֹרְגִ֖יםkilling
horegimH2026 →167 times
בָּהֶֽם׃in them
bahem
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
Jeremiah 15:3I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and beasts of the earth to devour…
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:22
I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 28:26
Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
- Leviticus 26:16
then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed…
- Leviticus 26:22
Through
2 Kings 17:41So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 1:5
those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
- 1 Kings 18:21
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did…
- Zephaniah 1:5
Through
Ezekiel 14:15Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:17
I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have…
- Ezekiel 5:17
Through
2 Kings 17:32So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed for themselves priests of all sorts to serve in the shrines of the high places.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 12:31
Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites.
- 1 Kings 12:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2928: “Sham Conversion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of 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.