2 Kings 17:29 kjv
Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
2 Kings 17:29 nkjv
However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt.
2 Kings 17:29 niv
Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places.
2 Kings 17:29 esv
But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived.
2 Kings 17:29 nlt
But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods. In town after town where they lived, they placed their idols at the pagan shrines that the people of Samaria had built.
2 Kings 17 29 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 4:28 | And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. | Warning against foreign gods |
| Deut 12:2-4 | You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations... served their gods... and you shall not worship YHWH your God in that way. | Command to destroy pagan worship sites |
| Ex 23:24 | You shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor follow their practices... you shall surely tear them down and break their pillars in pieces. | Command to reject and destroy idols |
| Lev 18:3 | You shall not do according to the deeds of the land of Egypt... nor according to the deeds of the land of Canaan... neither shall you walk in their statutes. | Prohibition against pagan practices |
| Num 33:52 | ...you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places. | Destroying all forms of pagan worship |
| 1 Ki 11:7 | Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. | Kings leading to high place idolatry |
| 1 Ki 12:31 | He also made houses on high places, and appointed priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. | Jeroboam's illegitimate worship at high places |
| 2 Ki 17:7-18 | A broader explanation for Israel's exile, including serving other gods, building high places, and practicing divination. | Context of Israel's widespread idolatry |
| 2 Ki 23:5 | And he did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places around Jerusalem... | Josiah's reforms against high places |
| Jer 2:27-28 | Say to wood, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave me birth.' ...But where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them arise... | Prophet's denunciation of idolatry |
| Jer 3:6 | YHWH said... "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the prostitute." | Israel's spiritual prostitution/idolatry |
| Jer 19:5 | ...they have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal... | Horrific practices on high places |
| Ez 6:3-4 | ...Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: "Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. And your altars shall become desolate…" | God's judgment on high places |
| Hos 4:13 | They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. | People sacrificing on high places |
| Amos 5:25-26 | "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings... for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You carried your portable shrines, too, and images of your gods..." | Early pattern of idolatry |
| Acts 7:41 | And they made a calf in those days, and brought an offering to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. | Example of early idolatry (Golden Calf) |
| 1 Cor 10:20 | No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. | Pagan worship connected to demons |
| Gal 4:8 | Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. | Contrast with true God |
| Jn 4:20-22 | Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship... you worship what you do not know; we worship what we know... | Samaritan worship dispute (historical root) |
| Eph 2:12 | Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. | Without the true God |
| 1 Thes 1:9 | ...how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven... | Conversion from idols to living God |
2 Kings 17 verses
2 Kings 17 29 Meaning
2 Kings 17:29 describes how the foreign nations, whom the king of Assyria settled in the former territory of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), persisted in their original idolatrous practices. Despite being in the land where YHWH was to be exclusively worshipped, they each established their own national deities. They placed these idols in the existing "high places" and shrines, or built new ones patterned after them, in every city where they resided. This highlights the deep-seated nature of their polytheistic beliefs and the syncretism that became characteristic of the region.
2 Kings 17 29 Context
The verse is set immediately after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria, recounted in 2 Kings 17:1-6, and a lengthy theological explanation for this exile in 2 Kings 17:7-23, which attributes Israel's downfall to their persistent idolatry and disobedience to YHWH's covenant. The Assyrian king's policy was to depopulate rebellious areas and resettle them with peoples from other conquered lands, thereby weakening local identity and preventing future rebellions. Verses 24-28 describe the initial settlement of these diverse foreign nations and their problem with lions, which they interpreted as the "god of the land" (YHWH) showing displeasure because they did not know "the law of the god of the land." As a result, one exiled Israelite priest was sent back to teach them how to worship YHWH. However, 2 Kings 17:29 (and subsequent verses) clearly shows that this attempt led not to exclusive worship of YHWH, but to a syncretistic blend of their traditional pagan practices with some superficial acknowledgement of YHWH. This chapter provides the foundational explanation for the religious and ethnic distinctiveness of the "Samaritans" in later Israelite and New Testament history, highlighting their mixed religious identity from its origins.
2 Kings 17 29 Word analysis
- However (אַךְ - ʾakh): A strong adversative particle, indicating a contrasting point or reservation. It marks a shift from the attempt to learn about YHWH to the persistent reality of polytheism. It conveys a sense of "but still" or "nevertheless."
- every nation (כָּל-גּוֹי וָגוֹי - kol-goy va-goy): The repetition of goy (nation) emphasizes that this was not an isolated incident but a widespread, consistent practice among all the diverse groups brought in by Assyria. Goyim refers to Gentiles, non-Israelite peoples.
- still made (הָיוּ עֹשִׂים - hayu osim): Literally "they were making," implying a continuous or habitual action. It underscores their persistence in pagan worship, a continuation of their old ways even in a new land and after encountering consequences (lions).
- gods of its own (אֱלֹהָיו אֵת - elohav et): Literally "its gods," referring to the specific deities, idols, or forms of worship peculiar to each of their native cultures. This highlights the inherent polytheistic worldview that each nation maintained. The plural form elohim here clearly denotes false gods.
- and put them (וַיַּשִּׂמוּ - vayyasimu): Action verb, denoting the establishment and placement of these idols for worship. It implies setting up altars or shrines.
- in the shrines (בְּבֵית הַבָּמוֹת - be-beit ha-bamot): Literally "in the house of the high places." Bet (house/shrine) and bamah (high place). These were structures dedicated to worship.
- on the high places (אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ שֹׁמְרוֹן בְּמָקוֹם בְּבָמוֹת - asher asu shomron bamakom bebamot): This phrase indicates that they utilized or replicated the very structures and locations previously associated with the corrupted worship in Israel.
- high places (בָּמוֹת - bamot): Refers to localized altars or worship sites, often on hills or raised platforms. These were condemned throughout the Books of Kings when used for pagan worship or even for unauthorized Yahwistic worship, contravening the command for centralized worship in Jerusalem (Deut 12).
- which the Samaritans had made (אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ הַשֹּׁמְרוֹנִים - asher asu ha-shomronim): This is a key phrase. It indicates that the new inhabitants of the land of Samaria (the people who would become known as "Samaritans") either utilized existing Israelite "high places" which had been built for idolatry or adopted that practice themselves, building new ones. It solidifies the idea of continuous idolatry tied to the region, albeit now by different hands.
- every nation in the cities where they lived (כָּל-גּוֹי וָגוֹי בֶּעָרִים אֲשֶׁר יָשְׁבוּ שָׁם - kol-goy va-goy be-ʿarim asher yashvu sham): Reinforces the pervasive and localized nature of their idolatry. It suggests that their religious practices were integrated into the daily life of their specific settlements, preventing a unified worship of YHWH.
2 Kings 17 29 Bonus section
- The passage reveals the failure of mere geographic relocation or even partial divine judgment (like the lions) to genuinely change the heart or religious practice. True spiritual transformation requires a radical turning to God, which these nations did not exhibit.
- The continued use of "high places" shows a cyclical pattern of spiritual corruption. Israel was judged partly for their use of these unauthorized worship sites; now the new inhabitants perpetuate the same sin, though with different gods.
- This verse contributes significantly to understanding the "Samaritan" question in later Jewish history and the New Testament (e.g., Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4). Their religious distinctiveness, and perceived unorthodoxy by the Jews, stems directly from this mixed origin and practice described in 2 Kings 17.
- The fact that they made their own gods and put them in places highlights human agency in creating and propagating false religion, rather than responding to divine revelation.
2 Kings 17 29 Commentary
2 Kings 17:29 vividly illustrates the depth of spiritual perversion following the exile of the Northern Kingdom. It underscores that despite being uprooted from their homelands and resettled in the land YHWH claimed as His own, the diverse foreign nations continued their polytheistic ways. They didn't genuinely abandon their false gods; instead, they replicated their pagan cultic practices within their new environment, utilizing the "high places" that had already been a snare for Israel. This was not a superficial adoption of YHWH's worship as taught by the priest but a true syncretism—a blending of deities and rites. This action not only perpetuated idolatry in the former territory of Israel but also laid the foundation for the eventual religious friction between later Judahites and "Samaritans" because the latter's origins were deeply intertwined with a mixed, compromised worship that embraced pagan gods alongside a partial recognition of YHWH. It is a powerful testament to humanity's default inclination toward idolatry and rejection of exclusive worship of the one true God, setting the stage for centuries of religious dispute.