and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.
- KJV And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
- NKJV and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
- NASB They also followed the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.
- NLT They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of 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
Israel adopted the pagan customs God had driven out and the practices their own kings introduced. They embraced both Canaanite and royally sponsored sin.
Overview
The people walked in the very statutes of the nations God had dispossessed for those sins. They also followed the corrupt innovations of Israel's kings, especially Jeroboam's calf worship. By imitating the nations rather than remaining holy, Israel forfeited the distinct, set-apart calling God had given them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 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.
- Deut 18:9When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
- Lev 18:3You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.
- Ps 106:35but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
- Deut 12:30–31be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- 1 Kgs 16:31–33And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
- Hos 5:11Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.
- 2 Kgs 17:19and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced.
- Jer 10:2This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by the signs in the heavens, though the nations themselves are terrified by them.
- 1 Kgs 12:28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
- Mic 6:16You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”
- Lev 18:27–30For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled.
- 2 Kgs 21:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- 1 Kgs 21:26He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.)
- 2 Kgs 16:10Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.
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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 17:8 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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