And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of Israel secretly did things that were not right against Yahweh their God; and they built high places for themselves in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;
- BSB The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities.
- NKJV Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.
- NASB And the sons of Israel did things secretly against the Lord their God which were not right. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city.
- NLT The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.
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 secretly did wrong against the LORD and built high places in every town. Idolatry spread to every corner of the land.
Overview
The people quietly committed acts contrary to God's law and erected unauthorized worship sites everywhere, from watchtower to fortified city. The pervasiveness of these high places shows how thoroughly idolatry had saturated the nation. What may have begun as secret compromise became open, widespread rebellion against the LORD.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Kgs 18:8He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
- Ezek 8:12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
- Job 31:27And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
- Deut 13:6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
- Hos 12:11Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
- Deut 27:15Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
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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 17:9 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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