2 Kings 17:35

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, saying, 'Do not fear other gods, do not bow down to them, do not serve them, and do not sacrifice to them.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּכְרֹ֨ת יְהוָ֤ה אִתָּם֙ בְּרִ֔ית וַיְצַוֵּ֣ם לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א תִֽירְא֖וּ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים וְלֹא־תִשְׁתַּחֲו֣וּ לָהֶ֔ם וְלֹ֣א תַעַבְד֔וּם וְלֹ֥א תִזְבְּח֖וּ לָהֶֽם׃

Transliteration

wa-yikrōt YHWH ʾittām bərît wa-yəṣawwēm lēmōr lōʾ tîrəʾû ʾĕlōhîm ʾăḥērîm wə-lōʾ-tištaḥăwû lāhem wə-lōʾ taʿabdûm wə-lōʾ tizbəḥû lāhem

Grammar Details

• *wa-yikrōt*: conjunction + Qal imperfect 3ms - and he cut/made
• *YHWH*: divine name - LORD/Yahweh
• *ʾittām*: preposition + 3mp suffix - with them
• *bərît*: feminine singular noun - covenant
• *wa-yəṣawwēm*: conjunction + Piel imperfect 3ms + 3mp suffix - and he commanded them
• *lēmōr*: Qal infinitive construct - saying
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *tîrəʾû*: Qal imperfect 2mp - you shall fear
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: masculine plural noun - gods
• *ʾăḥērîm*: masculine plural adjective - other
• *wə-lōʾ*: conjunction + negative particle - and not
• *tištaḥăwû*: Hishtaphel imperfect 2mp - you shall bow down
• *lāhem*: preposition + 3mp suffix - to them
• *taʿabdûm*: Qal imperfect 2mp + 3mp suffix - you shall serve them
• *tizbəḥû*: Qal imperfect 2mp - you shall sacrifice

Word Meanings

• *wa-yikrōt bərît*: made a covenant/cut a covenant (idiom)
• *tîrəʾû*: fear/revere/worship
• *tištaḥăwû*: bow down to/prostrate before/worship

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  The LORD made a covenant with them, and commanded them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  with whom Jehovah had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  and made a couenaunt with them, and commaunded them, and sayde: Feare none other goddes, and worshipe them not, and serue them not, and offer not vnto them:

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And with whom the Lord had made a couenant, and charged them, saying, Feare none other gods, nor bowe your selues to them, nor serue them, nor sacrifice to them:

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And the Lorde made an appoyntment with them, and charged them, saying: Feare none other gods, nor bowe your selues to them, nor serue them, nor sacrifice to them:

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  with whom Yahweh had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and Jehovah maketh with them a covenant, and chargeth them, saying, `Ye do not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them,

• American Standard Version (1901)

  with whom Jehovah had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• American Standard Version (1901)

  with whom Jehovah had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And the Lord made an agreement with them and gave them orders, saying, You are to have no other gods; you are not to give worship to them or be their servants or make them offerings:

• World English Bible (2000)

  with whom Yahweh had made a covenant, and commanded them, saying, "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them;

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  The LORD made a covenant with them and instructed them,“You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.

Referenced Verses

• Judg 6:10 : 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live.’ But you did not listen to my voice.
• Exod 34:12-17 : 12 Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, or they will become a snare in your midst. 13 Instead, you must destroy their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 For you must not worship any other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat from their sacrifices. 16 And when you take some of their daughters as wives for your sons, their daughters will lead your sons to prostitute themselves to their gods. 17 Do not make any molten gods for yourselves.
• Deut 4:23-27 : 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which He made with you, and not to make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything He has forbidden you. 24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25 When you have children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and if you act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will surely be quickly destroyed from the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not extend your days there but will be utterly destroyed. 27 The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will lead you.
• Exod 20:4-5 : 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the waters under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
• Josh 23:7 : 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you. Do not invoke the names of their gods, swear by them, serve them, or bow down to them.
• Josh 23:16 : 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land He has given you.
• Exod 24:6-8 : 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They said, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." 8 Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you concerning all these words."
• Deut 13:1-9 : 1 You must carefully follow everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or take away from it. 2 If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 3 and the sign or wonder he spoke to you about comes true, saying, 'Let us follow other gods, whom you have not known, and let us worship them,' 4 you must not listen to that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you truly love Him with all your heart and all your soul. 5 You must follow the LORD your God, fear Him, keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 6 But that prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he encouraged rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to lead you away from the path the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you. 7 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife of your embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods'—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 8 whether those gods are nearby or far away, from one end of the earth to the other— 9 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show no pity or compassion, and do not shield him. 10 Instead, you must put him to death. Your hand shall be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hand of all the people. 11 Stone him to death because he sought to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 12 All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do such wickedness among you. 13 If you hear about one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to live in, 14 that wicked men have come out from among you and led the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods'—gods you have not known— 15 then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. If the report is true and confirmed that such a detestable act has been done among you, 16 you must surely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword, devoting it and all that is in it, including its livestock, to complete destruction. 17 Gather all the spoil of that city into its public square and burn the city and all its plunder as a complete offering to the LORD your God. It must remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt. 18 Do not let any of the things set apart for destruction cling to your hand, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you, and increase you, as He swore to your ancestors.
• Deut 29:10-15 : 10 Your children, your wives, and the resident foreigner who lives among your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water. 11 You are entering into the covenant of the LORD your God and His oath, which the LORD your God is making with you today. 12 He is confirming you today as His people, and He will be your God, just as He promised you and swore to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 13 It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and this oath. 14 But also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God and with those who are not here with us today. 15 For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we passed through the nations you encountered on the way.
• 2 Kgs 17:15 : 15 They despised His statutes, His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His warnings He gave them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They imitated the nations around them, though the Lord had commanded them not to do so.
• Jer 10:5 : 5 They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field; they cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm—nor can they do any good.
• Jer 31:31-34 : 31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD. 33 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will anyone teach their neighbor or their brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.
• Heb 8:6-9 : 6 But now Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been established on better promises. 7 If that first covenant had been without fault, there would have been no need to seek a second one. 8 But finding fault with them, he says: 'Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.' 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and so I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbors or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their unrighteousness, and I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more. 13 By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
• Exod 19:5-6 : 5 Now, if you will carefully listen to My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations, for the whole earth is Mine. 6 You will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.