2 Kings 17:16-20

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, ¹  and worshiped ²  Baal. 17:17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, ³  and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. ⁴ 

17:18 So the Lord was furious ⁵  with Israel and rejected them; ⁶  only the tribe of Judah was left. 17:19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example. ⁷  17:20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated ⁸  them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence.

¹ 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.

² tn Or “served.”

³ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.

⁴ tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering him.”

⁵ tn Heb “very angry.”

⁶ tn Heb “turned them away from his face.”

⁷ tn Heb “they walked in the practices of Israel which they did.”

⁸ tn Or “afflicted.”