Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
What does 2 Kings 17:40 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
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Keep this verse inside 2 Kings 17:39-41 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 2 Kings 17:40
Howbeit, they did not hearken, but did after their former manner. They did not repent of their idolatries, but persisted in them, and even when they were in captivity in Assyria, or such of them as were left in the land.
Key words
- Howbeit
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Howbeit, they did not hearken, but did after their former manner.
- hearken
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Howbeit, they did not hearken, but did after their former manner.
- after
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Howbeit, they did not hearken, but did after their former manner.
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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