And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB To this day they do what they did before. They don’t fear Yahweh, and they do not follow the statutes, or the ordinances, or the law, or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
- KJV Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
- BSB To this day they are still practicing their former customs. None of them worship the LORD or observe the statutes, ordinances, laws, and commandments that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom He named Israel.
- NKJV To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel,
- NASB To this day they act in accordance with the earlier customs: they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes, their ordinances, the Law, or the commandments which the Lord commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel.
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
To this day they continue their old ways and do not truly fear the LORD or keep His law. Their professed reverence is not genuine obedience.
Overview
The narrator clarifies that, despite outward gestures, the people do not actually fear the LORD or follow the commandments He gave Israel. Their religion persists in the old syncretistic pattern down to the writer's day. This verse exposes that mere ritual acknowledgment of God, without obedient faith, falls short of the worship He requires.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 32:28He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
- Gen 35:10God said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel.” He named him Israel.
- Isa 48:1“Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by Yahweh’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness
- 2 Kgs 17:33They feared Yahweh, and also served their own gods, after the ways of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
- 2 Kgs 17:25So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they didn’t fear Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
- 1 Kgs 18:31Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Yahweh’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
- 2 Kgs 17:27–28Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land.”
- 1 Kgs 18:11Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’
- 1 Kgs 11:31He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you
- Gen 33:20He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel.
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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 17:34 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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