TRV
Translation
King James Version
Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
KJV (with Strong's)
Unto this day H3117 they do H6213 after the former H7223 manners H4941: they fear H3373 not the LORD H3068, neither do H6213 they after their statutes H2708, or after their ordinances H4941, or after the law H8451 and commandment H4687 which the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 the children H1121 of Jacob H3290, whom he named H7760 H8034 Israel H3478;
Complete Jewish Bible
To this day they continue to follow their former [pagan] customs. They do not fear ADONAI. They do not follow the regulations, rulings, Torah or mitzvah which ADONAI ordered the descendants of Ya'akov, to whom he gave the name Isra'el,
Berean Standard Bible
To this day they are still practicing their former customs. None of them worship the LORD or observe the statutes, ordinances, laws, and commandments that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom He named Israel.
American Standard Version
Unto this day they do after the former manner: they fear not Jehovah, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law or after the commandment which Jehovah commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
World English Bible Messianic
To this day they do what they did before: they don’t fear the LORD, neither do they follow their statutes, or their ordinances, or the law or the commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
Geneva Bible (1599)
Vnto this day they doe after the olde maner: they neyther feare God, neyther doe after their ordinances, nor after their customes, nor after the Lawe, nor after the commandement, which the Lord commanded the children of Iaakob, whom he named Israel,
Young's Literal Translation
Unto this day they are doing according to the former customs--they are not fearing Jehovah, and are not doing according to their statutes, and according to their ordinances, and according to the law, and according to the command, that Jehovah commanded the sons of Jacob whose name He made Israel,
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Commentary on 2 Kings 17 verses 24–41
24 ¶ And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
29 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.
30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
Never was land lost, we say, for want of an heir. When the children of Israel were dispossessed, and turned out of Canaan, the king of Assyria soon transplanted thither the supernumeraries of his own country, such as it could well spare, who should be servants to him and masters to the Israelites that remained; and here we have an account of these new inhabitants, whose story is related here that we may take our leave of Samaria, as also of the Israelites that were carried captive into Assyria.
I. Concerning the Assyrians that were brought into the land of Israel we are here told, 1. That they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof, Kg2 17:24. It is common for lands to change their owners, but sad that the holy land should become a heathen land again. See what work sin makes. 2. That at their first coming God sent lions among them. They were probably insufficient to people the country, which occasioned the beasts of the field to multiply against them (Exo 23:29); yet, besides the natural cause, there was a manifest hand of God in it, who is Lord of hosts, of all the creatures, and can serve his own purposes by which he pleases, small or great, lice or lions. God ordered them this rough welcome to check their pride and insolence, and to let them know that though they had conquered Israel the God of Israel had power enough to deal with them - that he could have prevented their settling here, by ordering lions into the service of Israel, and that he permitted it, not for their righteousness, but the wickedness of his own people - and that they were now under his visitation. They had lived without God in their own land, and were not plagued with lions; but, if they do so in this land, it is at their peril. 3. That they sent a remonstrance of this grievance to the king their master, setting forth, it is likely, the loss their infant colony had sustained by the lions and the continual fear they were in of them, and stating that they looked upon it to be a judgment upon them for not worshipping the God of the land, which they could not, because they knew not how, Kg2 17:26. The God of Israel was the God of the whole world, but they ignorantly call him the God of the land, apprehending themselves therefore within his reach, and concerned to be upon good terms with him. Herein they shamed the Israelites, who were not so ready to hear the voice of God's judgments as they were, and who had not served the God of that land, though he was the God of their fathers and their great benefactor, and though they were well instructed in the manner of his worship. Assyrians begged to be taught that which Israelites hated to be taught. 4. That the king of Assyria took care to have them taught the manner of the God of the land (Kg2 17:27, Kg2 17:28), not out of any affection to that God, but to save his subjects from the lions. On this errand he sent back one of the priests whom he had carried away captive. A prophet would have done them more good, for this was but one of the priests of the calves, and therefore chose to dwell at Bethel for old acquaintance' sake, and, though he might teach them to do better than they did, he was not likely to teach them to do well, unless he had taught his own people better. However, he came and dwelt among them, to teach them how they should fear the Lord. Whether he taught them out of the book of the law, or only by word of mouth, is uncertain. 5. That, being thus taught, they made a mongrel religion of it, worshipped the God of Israel for fear and their own idols for love (Kg2 17:33): They feared the Lord, but they served their own gods. They all agreed to worship the God of the land according to the manner, to serve the Jewish festivals and rites of sacrificing, but every nation made gods of their own besides, not only for their private use in their own families, but to be put in the houses of their high places, Kg2 17:9. The idols of each country are here named, Kg2 17:30, Kg2 17:31. The learned are at a loss for the signification of several of these names, and cannot agree by what representations these gods were worshipped. If we may credit the traditions of the Jewish doctors, they tell us that Succoth-Benoth was worshipped in a hen and chickens, Nergal in a cock, Ashima in a smooth goat, Nibhaz in a dog, Tartak in an ass, Adrammelech in a peacock, Anammelech in a pheasant. Our own tell us, more probably, that Succoth-Benoth (signifying the tents of the daughters) was Venus. Nergal, being worshipped by the Cuthites, or Persians, was the fire, Adrammelech and Anammelech were only distinctions of Moloch. See how vain idolaters were in their imaginations, and wonder at their sottishness. Our very ignorance concerning these idols teaches us the accomplishment of that word which God has spoken, that these false gods should all perish (Jer 10:11); they are all buried in oblivion, while the name of the true God shall continue for ever. 6. This medley superstition is here said to continue unto this day (Kg2 17:41), till the time when this book was written and long after, above 300 years in all, till the time of Alexander the Great, when Manasse, brother to Jaddus the high priest of the Jews, having married the daughter of Sanballat, governor of the Samaritans, went over to them, got leave of Alexander to build a temple in Mount Gerizim, drew over many of the Jews to him, and prevailed with the Samaritans to cast away all their idols and to worship the God of Israel only; yet their worship was mixed with so much superstition that our Saviour told them they knew not what they worshipped, Joh 4:22.
II. Concerning the Israelites that were carried into the land of Assyria. This historian has occasion to speak of them (Kg2 17:22), showing that their successors in the land did as they had done (after the manner of the nations whom they carried away), they worshipped both the God of Israel and those other gods; but what did the captives do in the land of their affliction? Were they reformed, and brought to repentance, by their troubles? No, they did after the former manner, Kg2 17:34. When the two tribes were afterwards carried into Babylon, they were cured by it of their idolatry, and therefore, after seventy years, they were brought back with joy; but the ten tribes were hardened in the furnace, and therefore were justly lost in it and left to perish. This obstinacy of theirs is here aggravated by the consideration, 1. Of the honour God had put upon them, as the seed of Jacob, whom he named Israel, and from him they were so named, but were a reproach to that worthy name by which they were called. 2. Of the covenant he made with them, and the charge he gave them upon that covenant, which is here very fully recited, that they should fear and serve the Lord Jehovah only, who had brought them up out of Egypt (Kg2 17:36), that, having received his statutes and ordinances in writing, they should observe to do them for evermore (Kg2 17:37), and never forget that covenant which God had made with them, the promises and conditions of that covenant, especially that great article of it which is here thrice repeated, because it had been so often inculcated and so much insisted on, that they should not fear other gods. He had told them that, if they kept close to him, he would deliver them out of the hand of all their enemies (Kg2 17:39); yet when they were in the hand of their enemies, and stood in need of deliverance, they were so stupid, and had so little sense of their own interest, that they did after the former manner (Kg2 17:40), they served both the true God and false gods, as if they knew no difference. Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone. So they did, and so did the nations that succeeded them. Well might the apostle ask, What then, Are we better than they? No, in no wise, for both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, Rom 3:9.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 24–41. Public domain.
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John ChrysostomAD 407
HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 33.1
How, then, did the Samaritans not know what they worshiped? Because they thought that God was confined to a place and divisible; at least it was in that way that they worshiped him. And it was in this spirit that they sent to the Persians and announced that the God of this place was displeased with them. According to this, their idea of him was no greater than their conception of their idols. Therefore, they continued to worship both evil spirit and him, combining things that were altogether incompatible. But the Jews for the most part were free of this taint and knew that he is God of the universe, even though not all of them [were faithful].
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Second Kings 17:34 provides a stark and enduring assessment of the spiritual condition of the foreign peoples resettled in Samaria by the Assyrians, alongside any remaining Israelites, following the Northern Kingdom's exile. It highlights their persistent failure to genuinely revere the LORD and adhere to His divine commands, instead continuing their inherited syncretistic religious practices. This verse serves as a poignant indictment of their superficial faith and underscores the enduring consequences of spiritual compromise, contrasting their disobedience with the covenantal expectations placed upon the descendants of Jacob, whom God named Israel.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse is situated within a lengthy theological explanation in 2 Kings 17 for the catastrophic fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria in 722 BC. Following the deportation of the Israelites (2 Kings 17:6), the Assyrian king resettled the land with various foreign peoples (2 Kings 17:24). These new inhabitants initially faced divine judgment (lions sent by the LORD, cf. 2 Kings 17:25) because they did not "know the manner of the God of the land." In response, an exiled Israelite priest was sent back to teach them. However, this instruction led not to exclusive monotheistic worship, but to a syncretistic blend where they feared the LORD alongside their own ancestral gods (2 Kings 17:33). Verse 34 functions as a summary statement, emphasizing that this spiritual compromise and failure to truly obey God's commands persisted "unto this day," meaning up to the time the historical account was written, serving as a lasting theological commentary on their spiritual state.
Historical & Cultural Context: The historical backdrop is the Assyrian Empire's policy of population transfer, designed to break nationalistic resistance and integrate conquered territories. After conquering Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, the Assyrians deported large segments of the Israelite population and imported peoples from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim. These foreign peoples brought their own deities and religious practices. The problem arose when they attempted to integrate the worship of the LORD, whom they recognized as the "god of the land," into their existing polytheistic frameworks. This was a direct violation of the Mosaic covenant, which demanded exclusive worship of Yahweh (Exodus 20:3). The resulting religious blend, often referred to as Samaritan syncretism, continued for centuries, shaping the religious landscape of the region and leading to ongoing tensions with the returning exiles of Judah.
Key Themes: The central theme in 2 Kings 17 and specifically in verse 34 is the consequences of covenant disobedience and spiritual syncretism. The fall of Israel is explicitly attributed to their idolatry and failure to keep God's commands (2 Kings 17:7-18). The new inhabitants of Samaria perpetuate this pattern, demonstrating a profound lack of true reverence or "fear of the LORD," which is understood not as terror, but as a deep, obedient awe that leads to exclusive devotion and adherence to God's revealed will. Their failure to follow God's "statutes, ordinances, law, and commandment" underscores the theme of divine law and human accountability. The verse also subtly touches on the theme of God's sovereignty over the land and its inhabitants, as even foreign peoples are expected to acknowledge and properly worship the God who governs the territory. This narrative serves as a cautionary tale against superficial faith and the blending of divine truth with human traditions or other religious practices.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
The enumeration of these terms emphasizes that the foreign peoples, unlike the children of Jacob (Yaʻăqôb, H3290), failed to obey any aspect of God's comprehensive covenantal demands, highlighting the depth of their spiritual alienation.
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several significant literary devices to convey its powerful message. Repetition and Enumeration are evident in the listing of "statutes, ordinances, law and commandment," which serves to emphasize the comprehensive nature of the divine law that was disregarded. This cumulative phrasing underscores the totality of the peoples' disobedience, indicating that no aspect of God's revealed will was truly observed. Furthermore, the phrase "Unto this day" functions as a Historical Marker, grounding the narrative in the author's present and highlighting the enduring legacy of the syncretistic practices. This device transforms the historical account into a timeless theological warning. Finally, there is a clear Contrast drawn between the divine commands given to the "children of Jacob, whom he named Israel," and the current "former manners" of the foreign inhabitants. This contrast accentuates the profound spiritual chasm between covenant fidelity and syncretistic compromise, serving as a powerful indictment of their false worship.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The theological implications of 2 Kings 17:34 are profound, extending beyond the immediate historical context to universal principles of divine-human relationship. The verse underscores God's demand for exclusive worship and wholehearted obedience, rejecting any form of syncretism or partial commitment. The lack of "fear of the LORD" is presented as the root cause of their disobedience, revealing that true reverence for God is foundational to all genuine spiritual life and adherence to His will. This passage serves as a powerful reminder that outward religious observance without inward transformation and exclusive devotion is meaningless to God. It highlights the enduring tension between God's holy standards and humanity's propensity for spiritual compromise, a theme that resonates throughout biblical history.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
2 Kings 17:34 serves as a timeless mirror for self-examination, challenging believers to assess the depth and exclusivity of their own devotion to God. In a world saturated with competing loyalties and diverse ideologies, the temptation to blend Christian faith with secular values, cultural norms, or personal preferences remains potent. This verse calls us to a radical commitment, reminding us that true "fear of the LORD" is not about being afraid of God, but about holding Him in such reverential awe that it compels us to obey His "statutes, ordinances, law, and commandment" above all else. It warns against a superficial faith that merely adds God to a pantheon of other priorities, rather than enthroning Him as the sole sovereign of our lives. Our obedience is the tangible evidence of our genuine reverence and exclusive devotion, a commitment that must permeate every aspect of our existence, from our private thoughts to our public actions.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "unto this day" signify in this verse?
Answer: The phrase "unto this day" (עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, ‘ad hayyom hazzeh) is a common historical marker in biblical narratives. In 2 Kings 17:34, it signifies that the syncretistic religious practices and the lack of true fear of the LORD described in the preceding verses were not a temporary phenomenon but continued to persist up to the time the book of Kings was being composed or edited. It emphasizes the enduring nature of the spiritual compromise and serves as a lasting theological indictment against the inhabitants of Samaria, highlighting the long-term consequences of their failure to genuinely worship Yahweh alone.
Why is "they fear not the LORD" such a critical indictment?
Answer: The phrase "they fear not the LORD" (לֹא יָרְאוּ אֶת־יְהוָה, lo' yare'u 'et-YHWH) is a critical indictment because, in biblical theology, the "fear of the LORD" is synonymous with genuine reverence, obedient submission, and exclusive devotion to God. It is not merely terror, but a profound awe that leads to acknowledging God's sovereignty and adhering to His commands. As Proverbs 9:10 states, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Therefore, the absence of this fear indicates a fundamental spiritual deficiency, a lack of true relationship with God, and explains their continued disobedience to His "statutes, ordinances, law and commandment." It means they did not truly honor Him as the one true God, despite their outward acknowledgment.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While 2 Kings 17:34 describes the failure of the foreign inhabitants of Samaria to genuinely fear and obey the LORD, it powerfully sets the stage for the ultimate fulfillment found in Jesus Christ. Where these peoples failed to give God exclusive devotion and adhere to His commands, Jesus perfectly embodied the "fear of the LORD" in His earthly life. He lived a life of absolute obedience and reverence to the Father (John 8:29), fulfilling every "statute, ordinance, law, and commandment" (Matthew 5:17). The syncretism of Samaria, where people mixed their own gods with the worship of Yahweh, is overcome in Christ, who declares that true worship is "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24), demanding exclusive devotion to the one true God through Him. Through His atoning sacrifice, Jesus provides the means for humanity, both Jew and Gentile, to enter into a new covenant relationship where God's law is no longer merely external commands but is written on the heart by the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10). Thus, the failure highlighted in 2 Kings 17:34 points to the profound need for a Savior who would not only perfectly obey God but also enable His people to genuinely fear, love, and obey Him from the heart.