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2 Kings 17:16

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Kings 17:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
2 Kings 17:16 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Kings 17

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
14Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God.
15And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and [went] after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them.
16And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
17And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
18Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
19Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, etc.] Which their idolatry led them to; and indeed he that offends in one point is guilty of them all, (<590210>James 2:10) and made them molten images, [even] two calves; which they set up at Dan and Bethel, in the times of their first king Jeroboam, (<111328>1 Kings 13:28,29) and made a grove; as Ahab, another of their kings, did, (<111633>1 Kings 16:33) and worshipped all the host of heaven: not the angels, sometimes so called, but, besides the sun and moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus: and served Baal; which was service to the sun, as Abarbinel interprets it; this was the god of the Zidonians Ahab worshipped, having…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“In 2 Kings 17:10 there is a reference to the old high-place worship, which was professedly a worship of Yahweh, but with unauthorized rites and emblems; here the reference is to Ahab’s setting up a grove to Baal in the city of Samaria (marginal reference). And worshipped all the host of heaven - Astral worship has not hitherto been mentioned as practiced by the Israelites. Moses had warned against it Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3, so that it no doubt existed in his day, either among the Canaanite nations or among the Arabians Job 31:26-28. Perhaps it was involved to some extent in the Baal worship of the Phoenicians, for Baal and Astarte were probably associated in the minds of their…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Left all - They grew worse and worse; from a partial disobedience to some of God's laws, they fell by degrees to a total apostacy from all. The host - The stars, as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 17:18”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“17:16-17 all the commands of the Lord: The narrator lists specific examples of Israel’s disobedience: the two calves made from metal erected at Dan and Bethel (1 Kgs 12:28-30), the Canaanite fertility symbol known as an Asherah pole (2 Kgs 13:6; 17:10; 1 Kgs 14:23; 16:33; Mic 5:14), the persistent worship of Baal (1 Kgs 16:31-33; Hos 2:13; 13:1), and the detestable Molech rites (2 Kgs 16:3; Ps 106:37).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“molten images: Exo 32:4, Exo 32:8; Kg1 12:28; Psa 106:18-20; Isa 44:9, Isa 44:10 a grove: Kg2 17:10; Kg1 14:15, Kg1 14:23, Kg1 15:13, Kg1 16:33 worshipped: Deu 4:19; Jer 8:2 Baal: Kg2 10:18-28, Kg2 11:18; Kg1 16:31, Kg1 22:53 4 Kings (2 Kings) 17:17”
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Related study paths

Read 2 Kings 17 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification