2 Kings 17:25
New International Version
When they first lived there, they did not worship the LORD; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.

New Living Translation
But since these foreign settlers did not worship the LORD when they first arrived, the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

English Standard Version
And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Berean Standard Bible
Now when the settlers first lived there, they did not worship the LORD, so He sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

New American Standard Bible
And at the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them that were killing some of them.

NASB 1995
At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.

NASB 1977
And it came about at the beginning of their living there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened at the beginning of their settlement there, that they did not fear Yahweh; therefore Yahweh sent lions among them which were killing them.

Amplified Bible
Now when they began to live there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.

Christian Standard Bible
When they first lived there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When they first lived there, they did not fear Yahweh. So the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

American Standard Version
And so it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not Jehovah: therefore Jehovah sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And from the beginning, when they dwelt there, they were not in awe of LORD JEHOVAH, and LORD JEHOVAH sent lionesses against them, and they were killing among them.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it was so at the beginning of their establishment there that they feared not the Lord, and the Lord sent lions among them, and they slew some of them.

Contemporary English Version
At first these people did not worship the LORD, so he sent lions to attack them, and the lions killed some of them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when they began to dwell there, they feared not the Lord: and the Lord sent lions among them, which killed them.

English Revised Version
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 killed some of them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When they first came to live there, they didn't worship the LORD. So the LORD sent lions to kill some of them.

Good News Translation
When they first settled there, they did not worship the LORD, and so he sent lions, which killed some of them.

International Standard Version
When they first began to live there, the settlers did not fear the LORD, so he sent lions among them, and they killed a few of them.

JPS Tanakh 1917
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 killed some of them.

Literal Standard Version
and it comes to pass, at the commencement of their dwelling there, they have not feared YHWH, and YHWH sends the lions among them, and they are destroying among them.

Majority Standard Bible
Now when the settlers first lived there, they did not worship the LORD, so He sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

New American Bible
When they first settled there, they did not venerate the LORD, so he sent lions among them that killed some of them.

NET Bible
When they first moved in, they did not worship the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them and the lions were killing them.

New Revised Standard Version
When they first settled there, they did not worship the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

New Heart English Bible
So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they didn’t fear Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Young's Literal Translation
and it cometh to pass, at the commencement of their dwelling there, they have not feared Jehovah, and Jehovah doth send among them the lions, and they are destroying among them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel's Cities Resettled by Foreigners
24Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. 25Now when the settlers first lived there, they did not worship the LORD, so He sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off.”…

Cross References
Leviticus 26:22
I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.

2 Kings 17:26
So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off."

2 Kings 17:32
So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed for themselves priests of all sorts to serve in the shrines of the high places.

Isaiah 15:9
The waters of Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring more upon Dimon--a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon the remnant of the land.

Jonah 1:9
"I am a Hebrew," replied Jonah. "I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land."


Treasury of Scripture

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.

they feared

2 Kings 17:28,32,34,41
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…

Joshua 22:25
For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.

Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

the Lord sent

2 Kings 2:24
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

1 Kings 13:24
And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

1 Kings 20:36
Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

Jump to Previous
Beginning Causing Commencement Death Destroying Dwelling Fear Feared First Killed Lions Slew Worship
Jump to Next
Beginning Causing Commencement Death Destroying Dwelling Fear Feared First Killed Lions Slew Worship
2 Kings 17
1. Hoshea the Last King of Israel
3. Being subdued by Shalmaneser, he conspires against him with So, king of Egypt
5. Samaria for sinning is led into captivity
24. The strange nations transplanted into Samaria make a mixture of religions.














(25) The Lord sent (the) lions.--In the interval between the Assyrian depopulation and the re-peopling of the land, the lions indigenous to the country had multiplied naturally enough. Their ravages were understood by the colonists as a token of the wrath of the local deity on account of their neglect of his worship. The sacred writer endorses this interpretation of the incident, probably remembering Leviticus 26:22. (Comp. Exodus 23:29; Ezekiel 14:15.)

Which slew.--The form of the verb implies a state of things which lasted some time. Literally, and they were killing among them.

Verse 25. - And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord. They were ignorant, i.e., of Jehovah, and paid him no religious regard. They brought with them their own forms of heathenism (see vers. 30, 31). Therefore the Lord sent lions among them. Lions are not now found in Palestine, nor indeed in any part of Syria, though they are numerous in Mesopotamia; but anciently they appear to have been tolerably common in all parts of the Holy Land (see the comment on 1 Kings 13:24). We may gather from what is said here that, though new settlers had been brought into the country by the Assyrians, yet still there had been a considerable decrease in the population, which had been favorable to the lions multiplying. The new settlers, it is to be noted, were placed in the towns (ver. 24); and it is probable that many of the country districts lay waste and desolate. Still, the writer views the great increase in the number of the lions as a Divine judgment, which it may have been, though based upon a natural circumstance. Which slew some of them. (For the great boldness of the Palestinian lion, see 1 Kings 13:24; 1 Kings 20:36; Proverbs 22:13; Isaiah 31:4; Isaiah 38:13; Jeremiah 5:6, etc.)

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now
וַיְהִ֗י (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

when [the settlers] first
בִּתְחִלַּת֙ (biṯ·ḥil·laṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8462: A commencement, rel, original

lived
שִׁבְתָּ֣ם (šiḇ·tām)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

there,
שָׁ֔ם (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

they did not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

worship
יָרְא֖וּ (yā·rə·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

the LORD,
יְהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

so He
יְהוָ֤ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

sent
וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח (way·šal·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

lions among them,
הָ֣אֲרָי֔וֹת (hā·’ă·rā·yō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 738: A lion

which
וַיִּֽהְי֥וּ (way·yih·yū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

killed [some]
הֹרְגִ֖ים (hō·rə·ḡîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

of them.
בָּהֶֽם׃ (bā·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


Links
2 Kings 17:25 NIV
2 Kings 17:25 NLT
2 Kings 17:25 ESV
2 Kings 17:25 NASB
2 Kings 17:25 KJV

2 Kings 17:25 BibleApps.com
2 Kings 17:25 Biblia Paralela
2 Kings 17:25 Chinese Bible
2 Kings 17:25 French Bible
2 Kings 17:25 Catholic Bible

OT History: 2 Kings 17:25 So it was at the beginning (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
2 Kings 17:24
Top of Page
Top of Page