2 Kings 17:8-11

17:8 they observed the practices ¹  of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before Israel, and followed the example of the kings of Israel. ²  17:9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. ³  They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. ⁴  17:10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 17:11 They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the Lord had driven away from before them. Their evil practices made the Lord angry. ⁵ 

2 Kings 17:16-17

17:16 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, ⁶  and worshiped ⁷  Baal. 17:17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ⁸  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ⁹ 

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¹ tn Heb “walked in the customs.”

² tn Heb “and [the practices of] the kings of Israel which they did.”

³ tn The meaning of the verb וַיְחַפְּאוּ (vayÿkhappÿ’u), 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.

⁴ sn That is, from the city’s perimeter to the central citadel.

⁵ tn Heb “and they did evil things, angering the Lord.”

⁶ tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ 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.

⁷ tn Or “served.”

⁸ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.

⁹ tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”