2 Kings 22:2
in 2 Kings 22And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
KJV
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
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This verse in 2 Kings 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Josiah was eight years old
on 2 Kings 22:1-2
Josiah takes the throne at eight, after two of Judah's most idolatrous kings, and the text credits no regent or teacher for what follows. Verse 2 measures him against David, and "he did not turn aside to the right or to the left" is Deuteronomy's phrase for covenant loyalty.
This site's exposition
did not turn aside
Matthew Henry sets Josiah beside earlier kings of Judah who began well and later turned aside, as Joash and Amaziah did. Henry names the two errors on either hand as superstition and profaneness. John Gill reads the phrase as one even path.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord" for the thirty-one years in which he reigned. In the eighteenth year from the beginning of his rule, he began to purify Judah …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,.... In the affair of religious worship especially, as well as in other things: and walked in all the ways of David his father; in his religious ways, in which he never departed from his God: and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; but kept an even, constant, path of worship and duty, according to the law of God.
Nothing is too hard for that grace to do. He walked in a good way, and turned not aside (as some of his predecessors had done who began well) to the right hand nor to the left. There are errors on both hands, but God kept him in the right way; he fell neither into superstition nor profaneness.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַיָּשָׁ֖ר | haiyashar | the right | H3477 → | 119 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֵּ֗לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| דָּוִ֣ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אָבִ֔יו | ʾaviv | ancestor his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| סָ֖ר | sar | he turned aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| יָמִ֥ין | yamin | right [hand] | H3225 → | 140 times |
| וּשְׂמֹֽאול׃ פ | usemol | and left [hand] | H8040 → |
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הַיָּשָׁ֖רthe right
haiyasharH3477 →119 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֵּ֗לֶךְand he walked
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
דֶּ֙רֶךְ֙[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
דָּוִ֣דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אָבִ֔יוancestor his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
סָ֖רhe turned aside
sarH5493 →299 times
יָמִ֥יןright [hand]
yaminH3225 →140 times
וּשְׂמֹֽאול׃ פand left [hand]
usemolH8040 →
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
Joshua 1:7Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:32
So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 22:13
Then you will succeed, if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
- Joshua 1:8
This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper…
- Joshua 11:15
As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Deuteronomy 5:32
Through
Proverbs 4:27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
it leads to
- Joshua 1:7
Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 28:14
Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:17
The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.
- Joshua 1:7
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 22:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.