2 Kings 23:37
in 2 Kings 23And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.
KJV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
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This verse in 2 Kings 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseHe did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord - He was a most unprincipled and oppressive tyrant. Jeremiah gives us his character at large, Jer 22:13-19, to which the reader will do well to refer. Jeremiah was at that time in the land, and was an eyewitness of the abominations of this cruel king.
This site's exposition
Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old
on 2 Kings 23:36-37
Jehoiakim reigns eleven years under Egypt's hand and then Babylon's, and the chapter closes on the same verdict given every king since Josiah's death, evil in the sight of the LORD according to his fathers. Barnes points ahead to Jeremiah's own detailed indictment of this king (Jer 22:13-19), written by a prophet who watched the reign firsthand. Judah ends the chapter a tributary kingdom, its own throne filled and renamed at a foreign king's pleasure, the shape the exile will take in full within twenty years.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the L ORD , to walk after the L ORD , and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:93%@v3
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. Amon and Manasseh; see 2Ki 23:32.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֖ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כְּכֹ֥ל | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשׂ֖וּ | ʾasu | they had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֲבֹתָֽיו׃ | ʾavotav | ancestors his | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֖עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כְּכֹ֥לaccording to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשׂ֖וּthey had done
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
אֲבֹתָֽיו׃ancestors his
ʾavotavH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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 36:31I will punish him and his descendants and servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the calamity about which I…
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Jeremiah 19:15
“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and on all the villages around it every disaster I have pronounced against…
- Jeremiah 23:34
As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household.
- Jeremiah 35:17
Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against…
- Jeremiah 44:4–14
Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets again and again, saying: ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate.’
- Proverbs 29:1
Through
2 Kings 23:32And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 21:2–7
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.
- 2 Kings 21:21–22
He walked in all the ways of his father, and he served and worshiped the idols his father had served.
- 2 Kings 21:2–7
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.