2 Kings 17:29

Verse

Nevertheless, the people of each nation continued to make their own gods in the cities where they had settled, and they set them up in the shrines that the people of Samaria had made on the high places.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

And every nation made gods for themselves, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the towns where they were living.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the temples of the high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities where they dwelt.

Free Bible Version

But the people of the different nations went on making their own gods in the towns where they had settled, and they placed them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.

Geneva Bible 1599

Howbeit euery nation made their gods, and put them in the houses of the hie places, which the Samaritanes had made, euery nation in their cities, wherein they dwelt.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Translation for Translators

But the people who returned from Babylon and started to live in Samaria and continued to make their own idols. They placed them in the shrines that the Israelis had built there. The people of each people-group made idols in the cities in which they were living.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Every ethnic group made gods of their own, and put them in the high places that the Samaritans had made—every ethnic group in the cities where they lived.

Noah Webster Bible

Yet, 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 in which they dwelt.

World English Bible

However 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 in which they lived.

Young's Literal Translation

and they are making each nation its gods, and place [them] in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans have made, each nation in their cities where they are dwelling.

Context

Samaria Resettled

²⁸Thus one of the priests they had carried away came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should worship the LORD.²⁹Nevertheless, the people of each nation continued to make their own gods in the cities where they had settled, and they set them up in the shrines that the people of Samaria had made on the high places.³⁰The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,

Summary

This verse describes how the Assyrian king resettled people from various nations in the cities of Samaria after deporting the Israelites. These foreigners struggled with understanding the ways of the God of the land and ended up creating their own mix of worship practices. The passage highlights the consequences of not following God's commands and the importance of staying faithful to Him. It serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of syncretism and the need to wholeheartedly serve the one true God.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Every nation made gods of their own - That is, they made gods after the fashion of those which they had worshipped in their own country.

John Gill Bible Commentary

Howbeit, every nation made gods of their own,.... Served and worshipped those they brought with them, and which were the work of their own hands, even the nations, or those out of the nations, mentioned Kg2 17:24 these, notwithstanding the instructions they had about the worship of the God of Israel, retained and served their own deities: and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt; as the Israelites had built high places everywhere for idolatry, and put images in them, Kg2 17:9 these Heathens placed their gods there in the room of them, which were as follow. these Heathens placed their gods there in the room of them, which were as follow. 2 Kings 17:30 kg2 17:30 kg2 17:30 kg2 17:30And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth,.... That is, those that came from Babylon made and served an idol of this name, which, according to the Jewish writers (u), were the figures of an hen and chickens; but others suppose them to be the Pleiades, or seven stars, the stars being had in great veneration by the Babylonians; though others rather think those Succothbenoth, "tabernacles", or "booths of the daughters", as the words may be rendered, have respect to the apartments in the temple of Venus, or Mylitta with the Babylonians and Assyrians, in which women once in their lives prostituted themselves to whomsoever asked them, in honour of Venus; of which filthy practice of theirs Herodotus (w) makes mention; and Valerius Maximus speaks (x) of a temple of Sicca Venus, which is near in sound to this, where the like impurities were committed: and the men of Cuth made Nergal; which, according to the Jews, was in the likeness of a cock; but others, because the first part of the word signifies a lamp, suppose fire is meant, worshipped by the Persians, from whom it is thought these men came; but rather the word signifies, as Hillerus (y) observes, the fountain of light, and denotes the sun, worshipped by the Babylonians, Cuth being a province of theirs; from hence one of the princes of Babylon had part of his name, Jer 39:3. and the men of Hamath made Ashima; which, the Jews say, was in the form of a goat, without any wool on it, or an ape (z); but according to Hillerus (a), with the Arabs, Ashima is the name of a lion, a symbol of the sun, under which form it might be worshipped; unless Ashima is the same with Shamaim, the heavens, worshipped by the Heathens; we read of the Ashemath of Samaria, by which they swore, Amo 8:14, though that was before these men came thither. (u) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 63. 2. (w) Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 199. (x) L. 2. c. 6. sect. 15. (y) Onomastic. Sacr. p. 601. (z) David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 17. 2. (a) Onomast. Sacr. p. 609.

2 Kings 17:29

Samaria Resettled

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

And every nation made gods for themselves, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the towns where they were living.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the temples of the high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities where they dwelt.

Free Bible Version

But the people of the different nations went on making their own gods in the towns where they had settled, and they placed them in the shrines of the high places that the people of Samaria had made.

Geneva Bible 1599

Howbeit euery nation made their gods, and put them in the houses of the hie places, which the Samaritanes had made, euery nation in their cities, wherein they dwelt.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

Every ethnic group made gods of their own, and put them in the high places that the Samaritans had made—every ethnic group in the cities where they lived.

Noah Webster Bible

Yet, 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 in which they dwelt.

World English Bible

However 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 in which they lived.

Young's Literal Translation

and they are making each nation its gods, and place [them] in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans have made, each nation in their cities where they are dwelling.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Every nation made gods of their own - That is, they made gods after the fashion of those which they had worshipped in their own country.

John Gill Bible Commentary

2 Kings 17:29

Verse

Context

Samaria Resettled

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

2 Kings 17:29

Samaria Resettled

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary