and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.
Parallel translations
- WEB Also Judah didn’t keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
- KJV Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
- NKJV Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
- NASB Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God either, but they followed the customs which Israel had introduced.
- NLT But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the Lord their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Even Judah failed to keep God's commandments and followed Israel's practices. The southern kingdom is warned by its sister's fall.
Overview
The narrator pauses to indict Judah as well, noting that it too walked in the corrupt ways of Israel. This sober aside warns that Judah is not immune and foreshadows its own later exile to Babylon. It guards readers against self-righteousness, reminding them that all have sinned and stand in need of God's mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 2 Kgs 16:3Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- 1 Kgs 14:22–23And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.
- 2 Chr 21:11Jehoram had also built high places on the hills of Judah; he had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.
- 2 Chr 21:13but you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab prostituted itself. You have also killed your brothers, your father’s family, who were better than you.
- Ezek 16:51–52Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous.
- Jer 3:8–11She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- 2 Kgs 8:27And Ahaziah walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
- Ezek 22:2–16“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations
- 2 Kgs 8:18And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Jer 2:28But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Ezek 23:4–13The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 17:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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