For the Lord had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them.
Parallel translations
- WEB with whom Yahweh had made a covenant, and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them;
- KJV With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
- BSB For the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites and commanded them, “Do not worship other gods or bow down to them; do not serve them or sacrifice to them.
- NKJV with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them;
- NASB The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.
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
The narrator recalls God's covenant command that Israel worship no other gods. This standard exposes the settlers' failure and Israel's.
Overview
The text recalls the LORD's covenant charge: do not fear, bow to, serve, or sacrifice to other gods. This command, rooted in the first and second commandments, is the measure by which both Israel and the settlers stand condemned. Recalling it reminds readers that exclusive worship of the LORD lies at the very heart of the covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Judg 6:10I said to you, “I am Yahweh your God. You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not listened to my voice.’”
- Deut 4:23–27Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves an engraved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
- Exod 20:4–5“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
- Josh 23:16when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them. Then Yahweh’s anger will be kindled against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which he has given to you.”
- Josh 23:7that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them;
- Exod 34:12–17Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare in the middle of you:
- Exod 24:6–8Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
- Heb 8:6–13But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
- Jer 31:31–34“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
- Jer 10:5They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak: they must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
- 2 Kgs 17:15They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom Yahweh had commanded them that they should not do like them.
- Deut 13:1–18If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
- Deut 29:10–15All of you stand today in the presence of Yahweh your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel,
- Exod 19:5–6Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
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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 17:35 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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