2 Kings 17:40
in 2 Kings 17But they would not listen, and they persisted in their former customs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
KJV
Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
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This verse in 2 Kings 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseSo they did, and so did the nations that succeeded them. Well might the apostle ask, What then, Are we better than they? No, in no wise, for both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, Rom. iii.
This site's exposition
did not hearken
on 2 Kings 17:40-41
The chapter ends where it began, with a refusal, they did not hearken, but did after their former manner. Verse 41 gives the final verdict on the settlers in one sentence spanning generations, they feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children, the same divided worship handed down rather than resolved. The chapter that opened with Israel's exile closes with a replacement people practicing Israel's own unfinished repentance, unto this day.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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
Howbeit, they did not hearken, but did after their former manner. They did not repent of their idolatries, but persisted in them, and even when they were in captivity in Assyria, or such of them as were left in the land.
The words behind it
8 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 |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִֽם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| כְּמִשְׁפָּטָ֥ם | kemishpatam | according to custom their | H4941 → | 422 times |
| הָֽרִאשׁ֖וֹן | harishon | <the> former | H7223 → | 182 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| עֹשִֽׂים׃ | ʾosim | [were] doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וְלֹ֖אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמֵ֑עוּthey listened
shameuH8085 →1159 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִֽם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
כְּמִשְׁפָּטָ֥םaccording to custom their
kemishpatamH4941 →422 times
הָֽרִאשׁ֖וֹן<the> former
harishonH7223 →182 times
הֵ֥םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
עֹשִֽׂים׃[were] doing
ʾosimH6213 →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
Jeremiah 13:23Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:22
Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.
- Jeremiah 9:5
Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.
- Matthew 19:24–28
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than…
- Jeremiah 2:22
Through
Deuteronomy 4:28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
- Jeremiah 16:13
So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
- Deuteronomy 28:36
The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; F. W. Farrar, The Second Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.