They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
What does 2 Kings 17:33 mean?
The terror of the Almighty will sometimes produce a forced or feigned submission in unconverted men; like those brought from different countries to inhabit Israel.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside 2 Kings 17:29-33 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Kings 17:33
Understand the passage thus: "They (the colonists) served their own gods after the manner of the nations from which they (the government) removed them," i. e., after the manner of their own countrymen at home.
Key words
- feared
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They feared the Lord, and served their own gods,.
- LORD
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They feared the Lord, and served their own gods,.
- served
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They feared the Lord, and served their own gods,.
Context in 2 Kings 17
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2 Kings 17 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as decline of Judah. Second Kings follows the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, recounts the decline of both kingdoms, and ends with Jerusalem’s fall and a faint glimmer of Davidic continuity. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prophetic witness, judgment, and exile in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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