1 Kings 16:31

KJV1611 – Modern English

And as if it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיְהִי֙ הֲנָקֵ֣ל לֶכְתּ֔וֹ בְּחַטֹּ֖אות יָרָבְעָ֣ם בֶּן־נְבָ֑ט וַיִּקַּ֨ח אִשָּׁ֜ה אֶת־אִיזֶ֗בֶל בַּת־אֶתְבַּ֙עַל֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ צִידֹנִ֔ים וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֣ד אֶת־הַבַּ֔עַל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ לֽוֹ׃

Transliteration

And wayəhî to-be-hānāqēl lekəttô in-ḥaṭṭōʾwt yārāḇəʿām son-of-nəḇāṭ and-wayyiqqaḥ woman ʾet-ʾîzeḇel daughter-of-ʾetbaʿal melek of-ṣîḏōnîm and-wayyēlek and-wayyaʿăḇōḏ ʾet-the-baʿal and-wayyištaḥû to-him

Grammar Details

• *wayəhî*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and it was/became
• *hānāqēl*: hiphil infinitive construct + interrogative particle - was it light/easy thing
• *lekəttô*: preposition + qal infinitive construct + 3rd masculine singular suffix - for his walking/going
• *ḥaṭṭōʾwt*: noun feminine plural construct - sins of
• *yārāḇəʿām*: proper name - Jeroboam
• *nəḇāṭ*: proper name - Nebat
• *wayyiqqaḥ*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he took
• *ʾîzeḇel*: proper name - Jezebel
• *ʾetbaʿal*: proper name - Ethbaal
• *melek*: noun masculine singular construct - king of
• *ṣîḏōnîm*: proper name - Sidonians
• *wayyēlek*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he went
• *wayyaʿăḇōḏ*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he served
• *baʿal*: proper name - Baal
• *wayyištaḥû*: waw-consecutive + hishtaphel imperfect 3rd masculine singular - and he bowed down/worshipped

Word Meanings

• *wayəhî*: and it happened/came to pass/was
• *hānāqēl*: was it a trivial thing/light matter
• *lekəttô*: his walking/going
• *ḥaṭṭōʾwt*: sins/offenses
• *baʿal*: lord/master/Baal [deity]

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  As if it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he also married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  And he thoughte it but a small matter to walke in the synnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat: and toke Iesabel the doughter of Eth Baal kynge of Sidon to wife, and wente and serued Baal, and worshiped him.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  For was it a light thing for him to walke in the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, except hee tooke Iezebel also the daughter of Ethbaal King of the Zidonians to wife, and went and serued Baal, and worshipped him?

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  For it seemed vnto him but a light thing to walke in the sinnes of Ieroboam the sonne of Nabat: He toke Iezabel also the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonites to wyfe, and went and serued Baal, and worshipped him.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  It happened, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And it cometh to pass -- hath it been light his walking in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat? -- then he taketh a wife, Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and goeth and serveth Baal, and boweth himself to it,

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And as if copying the evil ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was a small thing for him, he took as his wife Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon, and became a servant and worshipper of Baal.

• World English Bible (2000)

  It happened, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal.

Referenced Verses

• 2 Kgs 10:18 : 18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
• 2 Kgs 17:16 : 16 They left all the commandments of the LORD their God, made for themselves cast images, even two calves, made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
• Judg 18:7 : 7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish, and saw the people that were there, how they dwelt securely like the Zidonians, quiet and secure, and there was no magistrate in the land to put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Zidonians and had no business with anyone.
• 1 Kgs 21:25-26 : 25 But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
• Deut 7:3-4 : 3 Neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take for your son. 4 For they will turn your son away from following me, that they may serve other gods: so the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and destroy you suddenly.
• Judg 2:11 : 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
• Judg 3:7 : 7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.
• Judg 10:6 : 6 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and did not serve Him.
• Judg 10:12 : 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand.
• Josh 23:12-13 : 12 Otherwise, if you do at all turn back, and join to the remnant of these nations, even those that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you: 13 Know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
• Gen 6:2 : 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves from all whom they chose.
• Gen 30:15 : 15 She said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? Would you also take away my son's mandrakes?" Rachel said, "Therefore, he shall lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."
• Num 16:9 : 9 Does it seem like a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?
• Neh 13:23-29 : 23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab; 24 and their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of each people. 25 So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. 26 Did not King Solomon of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, pagan women caused even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you to do all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women? 28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore, I drove him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
• Isa 7:13 : 13 And he said, Hear now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
• Ezek 8:17 : 17 Then he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
• Ezek 16:20 : 20 Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Is this of your whoredoms a small matter,
• Ezek 16:47 : 47 Yet you have not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, you were corrupted more than they in all your ways.
• Ezek 34:18 : 18 Does it seem a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but you must foul the rest with your feet?
• Rev 2:20 : 20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
• 2 Kgs 9:30-37 : 30 And when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out at a window. 31 And as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, Is it peace, you Zimri, who slew his master? 32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? Who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trampled her underfoot. 34 And when he had come in, he ate and drank, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. 35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the plot of Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel: 37 And the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the plot of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
• 1 Kgs 11:1-2 : 1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites. 2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the children of Israel, You shall not go to them, nor shall they come to you: for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods: Solomon clung to these in love.
• 1 Kgs 11:4-8 : 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as David his father did. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the hill before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And likewise he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
• 1 Kgs 18:4 : 4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
• 1 Kgs 18:19 : 19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.
• 1 Kgs 19:1-2 : 1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
• 1 Kgs 21:5-9 : 5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is your spirit so sad, that you eat no bread? 6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it; and he answered, I will not give you my vineyard. 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry: I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10 And set two men, worthless fellows, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You blasphemed God and the king. And then carry him out and stone him, that he may die. 11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, and as it was written in the letters she had sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 And two men, worthless fellows, came in and sat before him; and the men bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.