2 Kings 21:7

21:7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.¹

2 Kings 21:16

21:16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end,² in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord.³

2 Kings 16:2-4

16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem.⁴ He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David.⁵ 16:3 He followed in the footsteps of⁶ the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire,⁷ a horrible sin practiced by the nations⁸ whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 16:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

2 Kings 22:17

22:17 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices⁹ to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made.¹⁰ My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’”

2 Kings 22:2

22:2 He did what the Lord approved¹¹ and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps;¹² he did not deviate to the right or the left.

2 Kings 1:2-4

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria¹³ and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders,¹⁴ “Go, ask¹⁵ Baal Zebub,¹⁶ the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron.¹⁷ 1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.

¹tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”

²tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”

³tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

³map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the Lord his God, like David his father.”

⁴tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”

⁵sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.

⁶tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”

⁵tn Or “burned incense.”

⁶tn Heb “angering me with all the work of their hands.” The translation assumes that this refers to idols they have manufactured (note the preceding reference to “other gods,” as well as 19:18). However, it is possible that this is a general reference to their sinful practices, in which case one might translate, “angering me by all the things they do.”

⁶tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord.”

⁷tn Heb “and walked in all the way of David his father.”

⁷map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

⁸tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

⁹tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

¹⁰sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

⁸tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.