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2 Kings 15-17

Azariah’s Reign over Judah

15 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah. 2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done.[a] 4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 5 The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease[b] until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters,[c] while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[d] 7 Azariah passed away[e] and was buried[f] with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.

Zechariah’s Reign over Israel

8 In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for six months. 9 He did evil in the sight of[g] the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate[h] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam[i] and took his place as king. 11 The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[j] 12 His assassination fulfilled[k] the Lord’s message to Jehu, “Four generations of your descendants will rule on Israel’s throne.”[l] And that is how it happened.

13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s[m] reign over Judah. He reigned for one month[n] in Samaria. 14 Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to[o] Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh.[p] He killed him and took his place as king. 15 The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, including the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[q] 16 At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender.[r] He even ripped open the pregnant women.

Menahem’s Reign over Israel

17 In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He reigned for ten years in Samaria. 18 He did evil in the sight of[s] the Lord; he did not repudiate[t] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin.[u]

During his reign, 19 Pul[v] king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid[w] him[x] 1,000 talents[y] of silver to gain his support[z] and to solidify his control of the kingdom.[aa] 20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria.[ab] Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.

21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[ac] 22 Menahem passed away[ad] and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king.

Pekahiah’s Reign over Israel

23 In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for two years. 24 He did evil in the sight of[ae] the Lord; he did not repudiate[af] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 25 His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace.[ag] Pekah[ah] then took his place as king.

26 The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[ai]

Pekah’s Reign over Israel

27 In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for twenty years. 28 He did evil in the sight of[aj] the Lord; he did not repudiate[ak] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people[al] to Assyria. 30 Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him[am] and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah.

31 The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[an]

Jotham’s Reign over Judah

32 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done.[ao] 35 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple.

36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[ap] 37 In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah.[aq] 38 Jotham passed away[ar] and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.

Ahaz’s Reign over Judah

16 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David.[as] 3 He followed in the footsteps of[at] the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire,[au] a horrible sin practiced by the nations[av] whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

5 At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem.[aw] They besieged Ahaz,[ax] but were unable to conquer him.[ay] 6 (At that time King Rezin of Syria[az] recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there.[ba] Syrians[bb] arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) 7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent.[bc] March up and rescue me from the power[bd] of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked[be] me.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were[bf] in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute[bg] to the king of Assyria. 9 The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request;[bh] he[bi] attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people[bj] to Kir and executed Rezin.

10 When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there.[bk] King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design.[bl] 11 Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus.[bm] Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus.[bn] 12 When the king arrived back from Damascus and[bo] saw the altar, he approached it[bp] and offered a sacrifice on it.[bq] 13 He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord’s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord’s temple) and put it on the north side of the new[br] altar. 15 King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar[bs] offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.”[bt] 16 So Uriah the priest did exactly as[bu] King Ahaz ordered.

17 King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea”[bv] down from the bronze bulls that supported it[bw] and put it on the stone pavement. 18 He also removed the Sabbath awning[bx] that had been built[by] in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway to the Lord’s temple, on account of the king of Assyria.[bz]

19 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[ca] 20 Ahaz passed away[cb] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.

Hoshea’s Reign over Israel

17 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for nine years. 2 He did evil in the sight of[cc] the Lord, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him. 3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up to attack[cd] him; so Hoshea became his subject and paid him tribute. 4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt.[ce] Hoshea had sent messengers to King So[cf] of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him.[cg] 5 The king of Assyria marched through[ch] the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel[ci] to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.

A Summary of Israel’s Sinful History

7 This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of[cj] Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped[ck] other gods; 8 they observed the practices[cl] of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before them,[cm] and followed the example of the kings of Israel.[cn] 9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right.[co] They built high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the Lord had driven away before them did. Their evil practices made the Lord angry.[cp] 12 They worshiped[cq] the disgusting idols[cr] in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.[cs]

13 The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.”[ct] 14 But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors,[cu] who had not trusted the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey.[cv] They paid allegiance to[cw] worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord.[cx] They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.[cy] 16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky,[cz] and worshiped[da] Baal. 17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire,[db] and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry.[dc]

18 So the Lord was furious[dd] with Israel and rejected them;[de] only the tribe of Judah was left. 19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example.[df] 20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated[dg] them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence. 21 He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king.[dh] Jeroboam drove Israel away[di] from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin.[dj] 22 The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam and did not repudiate[dk] them. 23 Finally[dl] the Lord rejected Israel[dm] just as he had warned he would do[dn] through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.

The King of Assyria Populates Israel with Foreigners

24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners[do] from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria[dp] in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 When they first moved in,[dq] they did not worship[dr] the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. 26 The king of Assyria was told,[ds] “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people[dt] because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.” 27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you[du] deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.”[dv] 28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. He taught them how to worship[dw] the Lord.

29 But each of these nations made[dx] its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria[dy] had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth,[dz] the people from Cuth made Nergal,[ea] the people from Hamath made Ashima,[eb] 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak,[ec] and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire as an offering to Adrammelech and Anammelech,[ed] the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 At the same time they worshiped[ee] the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places.[ef] 33 They were worshiping[eg] the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.

34 To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship[eh] the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave[ei] the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. 35 The Lord made a covenant with them[ej] and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. 36 Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability;[ek] bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 37 You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods. 38 You must never forget the covenant I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. 39 Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” 40 But they[el] paid no attention; instead they observed their earlier practices. 41 These nations were worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons are doing just as their fathers have done, to this very day.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 15:3 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”
  2. 2 Kings 15:5 tn Traditionally, “he was a leper.” But see the note at 5:1.
  3. 2 Kings 15:5 tn The precise meaning of בֵית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhofshit), “house of […?],” is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.
  4. 2 Kings 15:6 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Azariah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  5. 2 Kings 15:7 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  6. 2 Kings 15:7 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
  7. 2 Kings 15:9 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  8. 2 Kings 15:9 tn Heb “turn away from.”
  9. 2 Kings 15:10 tc The MT reads, “and he struck him down before the people and killed him” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). However, the reading קָבָל עָם (qaval ʿam), “before the people,” is problematic to some because קָבָל is a relatively late Aramaic term. Nevertheless, the Aramaic term qobel certainly antedates the writing of Kings. The bigger problem seems to be the unnecessary intrusion of an Aramaic word at all here. Most interpreters prefer to follow Lucian’s Greek version and read “in Ibleam” (בְיִבְלְעָם, beyivleʿam). Cf. NAB, TEV.
  10. 2 Kings 15:11 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
  11. 2 Kings 15:12 tn Heb “that was.”
  12. 2 Kings 15:12 tn “sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” sn See the note at 2 Kgs 10:30.
  13. 2 Kings 15:13 sn Azariah was also known by the name Uzziah.
  14. 2 Kings 15:13 tn Heb “a month of days.”
  15. 2 Kings 15:14 tn Heb “and came to.”
  16. 2 Kings 15:14 tn Heb “went up from Tirzah and arrived in Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria.”
  17. 2 Kings 15:15 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he conspired, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
  18. 2 Kings 15:16 tn Heb “then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, for it would not open, and he attacked.”tn Instead of “Tiphsah,” the LXX has “Tirzah,” while Lucian’s Greek version reads “Tappuah.” For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171.
  19. 2 Kings 15:18 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  20. 2 Kings 15:18 tn Heb “turn away from.”
  21. 2 Kings 15:18 tc The MT of v. 18 ends with the words, “all his days.” If this phrase is taken with what precedes, then one should translate, “[who encouraged Israel to sin] throughout his reign.” However, it may be preferable to emend the text to בְּיֹמָיו (beyomayv), “in his days,” and join the phrase to what follows. The translation assumes this change.
  22. 2 Kings 15:19 sn Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-Pileser III (cf. 15:29). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171-72.
  23. 2 Kings 15:19 tn Heb “gave.”
  24. 2 Kings 15:19 tn Heb “Pul.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  25. 2 Kings 15:19 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75,000 pounds of silver (cf. NCV “about seventy-four thousand pounds”); NLT “thirty-seven tons”; CEV “over thirty tons”; TEV “34,000 kilogrammes.”
  26. 2 Kings 15:19 tn Heb “so his hands would be with him.”
  27. 2 Kings 15:19 tn Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”
  28. 2 Kings 15:20 tn Heb “and Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over the prominent men of means, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver for each man.”
  29. 2 Kings 15:21 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Menahem, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
  30. 2 Kings 15:22 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  31. 2 Kings 15:24 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  32. 2 Kings 15:24 tn Heb “turn away from.”
  33. 2 Kings 15:25 tn Heb “and he struck him down in Samaria in the fortress of the house of the king, Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men from the sons of the Gileadites, and they killed him.”sn The precise identity of Argob and Arieh, as well as their relationship to the king, are uncertain. The usual assumption is that they were officials assassinated along with Pekahiah, or that they were two of the more prominent Gileadites involved in the revolt. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 173.
  34. 2 Kings 15:25 tn Heb “He.” The proper name Pekah has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  35. 2 Kings 15:26 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah, and all that he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
  36. 2 Kings 15:28 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  37. 2 Kings 15:28 tn Heb “turn away from.”
  38. 2 Kings 15:29 tn Heb “them.”
  39. 2 Kings 15:30 tn Heb “and struck him down and killed him.”
  40. 2 Kings 15:31 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekah, and all that he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
  41. 2 Kings 15:34 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Uzziah his father had done.”
  42. 2 Kings 15:36 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jotham, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  43. 2 Kings 15:37 tn Heb “the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin…and Pekahiah….”
  44. 2 Kings 15:38 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  45. 2 Kings 16:2 tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the Lord his God, like David his father.”
  46. 2 Kings 16:3 tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”
  47. 2 Kings 16:3 sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
  48. 2 Kings 16:3 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
  49. 2 Kings 16:5 tn Heb “went up to Jerusalem for battle.”
  50. 2 Kings 16:5 tn That is, Jerusalem, Ahaz’s capital city.
  51. 2 Kings 16:5 tn Heb “they were unable to fight.” The object must be supplied from the preceding sentence. Elsewhere when the Niphal infinitive of לָחָם (lakham) follows the verb יָכֹל (yakhol), the infinitive appears to have the force of “prevail against.” See Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9; and the parallel passage in Isa 7:1.
  52. 2 Kings 16:6 tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ʾaram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ʾedom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.
  53. 2 Kings 16:6 tn Heb “from Elat.”
  54. 2 Kings 16:6 tc The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac version, and some mss of the Targum and Vulgate, read “Syrians” (Heb “Arameans”). The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the LXX, Targums, and Vulgate, reads “Edomites.”
  55. 2 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-Pileser’s subject.
  56. 2 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “hand, palm.”
  57. 2 Kings 16:7 tn Heb “who have arisen against.”
  58. 2 Kings 16:8 tn Heb “that was found.”
  59. 2 Kings 16:8 tn Or “bribe money.”
  60. 2 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “listened to him.”
  61. 2 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “the king of Assyria.”
  62. 2 Kings 16:9 tn Heb “it.”
  63. 2 Kings 16:10 tn Heb “in Damascus.”
  64. 2 Kings 16:10 tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”
  65. 2 Kings 16:11 tn Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”
  66. 2 Kings 16:11 tn Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”
  67. 2 Kings 16:12 tn Heb “and the king.”
  68. 2 Kings 16:12 tn Heb “the altar.”
  69. 2 Kings 16:12 tn Or “ascended it.”
  70. 2 Kings 16:14 tn The word “new” is added in the translation for clarification.
  71. 2 Kings 16:15 tn That is, the newly constructed altar.
  72. 2 Kings 16:15 tn Heb “for me to seek.” The precise meaning of בָּקַר (baqar), “seek,” is uncertain in this context. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189.
  73. 2 Kings 16:16 tn Heb “according to all that.”
  74. 2 Kings 16:17 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
  75. 2 Kings 16:17 tn Heb “that [were] under it.”
  76. 2 Kings 16:18 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מוּסַךְ (musakh; Qere) / מִיסַךְ (misakh; Kethib) is uncertain. For discussion see HALOT 557 s.v. מוּסַךְ and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189-90.
  77. 2 Kings 16:18 tn Heb “that they built.”
  78. 2 Kings 16:18 sn It is doubtful that Tiglath-Pileser ordered these architectural changes. Ahaz probably made these changes so he could send some of the items and materials to the Assyrian king as tribute. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 190, 193.
  79. 2 Kings 16:19 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Ahaz, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  80. 2 Kings 16:20 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  81. 2 Kings 17:2 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  82. 2 Kings 17:3 tn Heb “went up against.”
  83. 2 Kings 17:4 tn Heb “and the king of Assyria found in Hoshea conspiracy.”
  84. 2 Kings 17:4 sn For discussion of this name, see HALOT 744 s.v. סוֹא and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 196.
  85. 2 Kings 17:4 tn Heb “and bound him in the house of confinement.”
  86. 2 Kings 17:5 tn Heb “went up against.”
  87. 2 Kings 17:6 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
  88. 2 Kings 17:7 tn Heb “and from under the hand of.” The words “freed them” for stylistic reasons replace the term “under.”
  89. 2 Kings 17:7 tn Heb “feared.”
  90. 2 Kings 17:8 tn Heb “walked in the customs.”
  91. 2 Kings 17:8 tn Heb “before the sons of Israel.”
  92. 2 Kings 17:8 tn Heb “and [the practices of] the kings of Israel which they did.”
  93. 2 Kings 17:9 tn The meaning of the verb וַיְחַפְּאוּ (vayekhappeʾu), translated here “said,” is uncertain. Some relate it to the verbal root חָפַה (khafah), “to cover,” and translate “they did it in secret” (see BDB 341 s.v. חָפָא). However, the pagan practices specified in the following sentences were hardly done in secret. Others propose a meaning “ascribe, impute,” which makes good contextual sense but has little etymological support (see HALOT 339 s.v. חפא). In this case Israel claimed that the Lord authorized their pagan practices.
  94. 2 Kings 17:11 tn Heb “and they did evil things, angering the Lord.”
  95. 2 Kings 17:12 tn Or “served.”
  96. 2 Kings 17:12 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
  97. 2 Kings 17:12 tn Heb “about which the Lord had said to them, ‘You must not do this thing.’”
  98. 2 Kings 17:13 tn Heb “obey my commandments and rules according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.”
  99. 2 Kings 17:14 tn Heb and they stiffened their neck like the neck of their fathers.”
  100. 2 Kings 17:15 tn Or “and his warnings he had given them.”
  101. 2 Kings 17:15 tn Heb “They went [or, ‘followed’] after.” This idiom probably does not mean much if translated literally. It is found most often in Deuteronomy or in literature related to the covenant. It refers in the first instance to loyalty to God and to His covenant or His commandments (1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (to “abandon” or “forget” God, Judg 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the Lord was the true God or Baal was. The idiom is often found followed by “to serve and to worship” or “they served and worshiped” such and such a god or entity (Jer 8:2; 11:10; 13:10; 16:11; 25:6; 35:15).
  102. 2 Kings 17:15 tn Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” The words “to the Lord” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. There is an obvious wordplay on the verb “became worthless” and the noun “worthless thing”, which is probably to be understood collectively and to refer to idols as it does in Jer 8:19; 10:8; 14:22; Jonah 2:8.
  103. 2 Kings 17:15 tn Heb “and [they walked] after the nations which were around them, concerning which the Lord commanded them not to do like them.”
  104. 2 Kings 17:16 tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsevaʾ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.
  105. 2 Kings 17:16 tn Or “served.”
  106. 2 Kings 17:17 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.
  107. 2 Kings 17:17 tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”
  108. 2 Kings 17:18 tn Heb “very angry.”
  109. 2 Kings 17:18 tn Heb “turned them away from his face.”
  110. 2 Kings 17:19 tn Heb “they walked in the practices of Israel which they did.”
  111. 2 Kings 17:20 tn Or “afflicted.”
  112. 2 Kings 17:21 tn Heb “and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.”
  113. 2 Kings 17:21 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) assumes the verb is נָדָא (nadaʾ), an alternate form of נָדָה (nadah), “push away.” The marginal reading (Qere) assumes the verb נָדָח (nadakh), “drive away.”
  114. 2 Kings 17:21 tn Heb “a great sin.”
  115. 2 Kings 17:22 tn Heb “turn away from.”
  116. 2 Kings 17:23 tn Heb “until.”
  117. 2 Kings 17:23 tn Heb “the Lord turned Israel away from his face.”
  118. 2 Kings 17:23 tn Heb “just as he said.”
  119. 2 Kings 17:24 tn The object is supplied in the translation.
  120. 2 Kings 17:24 sn In vv. 24-29 Samaria stands for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.
  121. 2 Kings 17:25 tn Heb “in the beginning of their living there.”
  122. 2 Kings 17:25 tn Heb “fear.”
  123. 2 Kings 17:26 tn Heb “and they said to the king of Assyria, saying.” The plural subject of the verb is indefinite.
  124. 2 Kings 17:26 tn Heb “Look, they are killing them.”
  125. 2 Kings 17:27 tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.
  126. 2 Kings 17:27 tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.
  127. 2 Kings 17:28 tn Heb “fear.”
  128. 2 Kings 17:29 sn The verb “make” refers to the production of idols. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 210-11.
  129. 2 Kings 17:29 tn Heb “Samaritans.” This refers to the Israelites who had been deported from the land.
  130. 2 Kings 17:30 sn No deity is known by the name Sukkoth Benoth in extant Mesopotamian literature. For speculation as to the identity of this deity, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 211.
  131. 2 Kings 17:30 sn Nergal was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld.
  132. 2 Kings 17:30 sn This deity is unknown in extra-biblical literature. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 211-12.
  133. 2 Kings 17:31 sn Nibhaz and Tartak were two Elamite deities. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 212.
  134. 2 Kings 17:31 sn Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim are unknown in extra-biblical literature. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 212.
  135. 2 Kings 17:32 tn Heb “feared.”
  136. 2 Kings 17:32 tn Heb “and they appointed for themselves from their whole people priests for the high places and they were serving for them in the house[s] of the high places.”
  137. 2 Kings 17:33 tn Heb “fearing.”
  138. 2 Kings 17:34 tn Heb “fear.”
  139. 2 Kings 17:34 tn Heb “commanded.”
  140. 2 Kings 17:35 sn That is, the descendants of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).
  141. 2 Kings 17:36 tn Heb “and outstretched arm.”
  142. 2 Kings 17:40 sn This refers to the foreigners whom the king of Assyria settled in the land (see v. 35a).
New English Translation (NET)

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