2 Kings 3:2
in 2 Kings 3And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.
KJV
And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.
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This verse in 2 Kings 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
On the “evil” done by Ahab, see especially 1Ki 16:30-34. Jehoram, warned by the fate of his brother (2Ki 1:4 note), began his reign by a formal abolition of the Phoenician state religion introduced by Ahab - even if he connived at its continuance among the people 2Ki 10:26-27; and by a re-establishment of the old worship of the kingdom as arranged by Jeroboam.
This site's exposition
the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat
on 2 Kings 3:1-3
Jehoram is measured against both parents in one sentence: evil, but not like Ahab and Jezebel, since he puts away the image of Baal his father made. The reform stops short. He still cleaves to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the golden calves at Bethel and Dan, and the narrator uses the same refrain that opened at Jeroboam himself in 1 Ki 12:28 and will close the northern kingdom's story at 2 Ki 17:21-22. Every northern king in these books is weighed on that one scale, and a partial reform still fails it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord,....
But he did not destroy the worship of Baal among the people, for Jehu found it prevalent, ch. x. It was well to reform his family, but it was not enough; he ought to have used his power for the reforming of his kingdom. When he put away the image of Baal, he adhered to the worship of the calves, that politic sin of Jeroboam,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He put away the image of Baal - He abolished his worship; but he continued that of the calves at Dan and Beth-el.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעֲשֶׂ֤ה | vaiyaaseh | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַע֙ | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רַ֕ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כְאָבִ֖יו | kheaviv | like father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וּכְאִמּ֑וֹ | ukheimo | and like mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| וַיָּ֙סַר֙ | vaiyasar | and he removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַצְּבַ֣ת | matzevat | [the] sacred pillar of | H4676 → | 32 times |
| הַבַּ֔עַל | habaal | <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ה | ʾasah | he had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אָבִֽיו׃ | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
וַיַּעֲשֶׂ֤הand he did
vaiyaasehH6213 →2628 times
הָרַע֙the evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
רַ֕קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
כְאָבִ֖יוlike father his
kheavivH1 →1212 times
וּכְאִמּ֑וֹand like mother his
ukheimoH517 →220 times
וַיָּ֙סַר֙and he removed
vaiyasarH5493 →299 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַצְּבַ֣ת[the] sacred pillar of
matzevatH4676 →32 times
הַבַּ֔עַל<the> Baal
habaalH1168 →82 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֖הhe had made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
אָבִֽיו׃father his
ʾavivH1 →1212 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
Exodus 23:24You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Numbers 33:52
you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
- Deuteronomy 12:30–31
be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- Exodus 20:5
Through
1 Kings 21:25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
- 1 Kings 21:20
When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of…
- 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.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is…
- Proverbs 22:14
Through
2 Kings 10:18Then Jehu brought all the people together and said, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him a lot.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:31–32
And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then…
- 1 Kings 16:31–32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.