What Does 2 Kings 17:36 Mean?
But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him you shall stand in awe of, and him you shall bow down to, and to him you shall slaughter.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.THE KEY
Awe, bowing, and sacrifice all point to the one who brings you up from מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, the two narrows).
THE MEANING
The LORD brings you up out of constriction with great power and an arm extended toward you. Your awe, bowing, and sacrifice are directed to him; the verse locates allegiance in the one who brings you out.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that the power which confines you deserves your ultimate fear; the verse places awe with the one who brings you out.
THE ROOT
תִּירָאוּ
tira'u
GROWS FROM
ירא
To fear or stand in awe; when God is the object, the word carries awe and reverence.
“stand in awe of” in this verse is tira'u. This word family holds both alarm and reverence. Here it directs awe toward the one who brings you out, so fear is more than fright: it names an allegiance grounded in deliverance.
ALSO GROWS
yir'ah: Fear, awe, reverence
יִרְאָה
This noun names the inward response that the verse directs toward the deliverer.
mora: Dread, awe
מוֹרָא
This related word shows the root’s range from dread to reverence, both held in the verse’s command to fear.
תִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ
tishtachavu
GROWS FROM
שחה
To bow low or prostrate oneself.
“bow down to” in this verse is tishtachavu. The Hebrew verb describes a body’s posture. The English word worship can sound abstract, while this root makes the allegiance visible in the act of bowing.
ALSO GROWS
hishtachavah: To bow down or prostrate oneself
הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה
This related form names the same bodily posture commanded in the verse.
mishtachavim: Those bowing down
מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים
This participle names people by the posture they take, making the verse’s allegiance embodied.
תִּזְבְּחוּ
tizbechu
GROWS FROM
זבח
To slaughter in a sacrificial act.
The verb carries the concrete act of slaughter, so the verse speaks of material sacrifice, not only inward devotion. Its word family also names the altar and the sacrificial meal.
ALSO GROWS
zevach: Sacrifice or sacrificial meal
זֶבַח
This noun names the offering made through the act described by the verse’s verb.
mizbeach: Altar
מִזְבֵּחַ
This related word names the place associated with sacrifice, showing how the act extends into a concrete setting.
THE PATTERN
The one who brings people out of bondage is the one to whom their awe, service, and worship belong.
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before my face.Stand in awe of the LORD your God; him you serve, and to him you cling, and by his nature you swear.Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Adversary, for it is written, You shall bow down to the LORD your God, and serve him alone.THE THREAD
You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a zealous God, visiting the crookedness of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.The Hebrew verb translated “worship” here shares its root with “bow down thyself” in Exodus. That shared word makes the posture concrete: the allegiance named here is the same embodied bow that Exodus refuses to rival powers.
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