So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.
Parallel translations
- WEB So these nations feared Yahweh, and also served their engraved images. Their children likewise, and their children’s children, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.
- KJV So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
- NKJV So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
- NASB So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, just as their fathers did, they do to this day.
- NLT So while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.
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 resettled nations in Samaria outwardly feared Yahweh while still serving their idols, a divided loyalty passed down for generations. It shows that mingling worship of the true God with idolatry is not true faith.
Overview
This verse closes the account of how Assyria repopulated the northern kingdom with foreign peoples who blended a fear of Yahweh with continued idol worship. Such syncretism is precisely the half-hearted devotion God condemns, for he calls for whole-hearted, exclusive worship (Exodus 20:3). The phrase 'to this day' marks the persistence of this compromised religion among the people later called Samaritans. The gospel answers this divided heart by giving a new heart that loves God singly through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 6:24No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- 1 Kgs 18:21Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
- Zeph 1:5those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
- 2 Kgs 17:32–33So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed for themselves priests of all sorts to serve in the shrines of the high places.
- Josh 24:14–20Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
- Rev 3:15–16I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!
- Ezra 4:1–3When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of 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 17:41 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.