What Does 2 Kings 17:2 Mean in the King James?

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.

2 Kings 17:2 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The verse measures evil against what came before without letting a lesser evil become goodness.

THE MEANING

A harmful act remains harmful even when it is less severe than what came before. The verse holds both truths together: the pattern can lessen, while the deed still stands exposed in God’s sight.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie that doing less harm than those before you makes your actions good.

THE ROOT

הָרַע

hāraʿ

GROWS FROM

רעע

To be bad or cause harm.

This word names evil as harm, while its related verb describes doing harm. The comparison with earlier kings changes the measure of the act, not what the root reveals about its nature.

ALSO GROWS

raʿ: Bad, evil, harmful.

רַע

This branch names the quality the verse still sees, even though the act is less severe than what came before.

hēreaʿ: To do evil or cause harm.

הֵרֵעַ

This branch makes the connection between the named evil and the harmful action that gives it substance.

THE PATTERN

Scripture distinguishes degrees of wrongdoing while still holding each person’s deeds answerable.

And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

1 Kings 16:30 · KJVThe same measure runs in the other direction: evil is named, and then its scale is set against what came before.

Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

Ezekiel 18:30 · KJVThe verse keeps judgment tied to each person’s own ways rather than flattening every deed into the same measure.

But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

Matthew 11:22 · KJVThe comparison marks different degrees of judgment without treating the deeds as interchangeable.

THE THREAD

And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.

1 Kings 16:30 · KJV

Both verses use ⁨הָרַע⁩ (hāraʿ, the evil), from ⁨רעע⁩ (rāʿaʿ, to be bad or cause harm). One places the deed below what came before; the other places it above all that came before. The shared root shows that comparison can change the degree without changing the name of the harm.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us