2 Kings 17:23

Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator addresses the readers at the conclusion of the northern kingdom’s history, summarizing the divine judgment following Israel’s persistent adherence to Jeroboam’s sins. This statement occurs immediately before the account of Assyrian repopulation in Samaria.

The words — The verb הֵסִיר (he.Sir) literally means “he removed,” paired with פָּנָיו (pa.Nav), “his face,” to describe Yahweh’s act of withdrawing Israel from His presence.

The thread — The theme of prophetic warning and divine removal appears in 2 Kings 17:13, where Yahweh warns Israel through His servants the prophets, and in 1 Kings 14:16, which foretells Israel’s surrender due to Jeroboam’s sins. The historical execution of this judgment is recorded in 2 Kings 17:6.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that persistent disobedience triggers fulfilled prophetic judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine warnings are not merely threats but historical realities that reshape geopolitical and religious boundaries.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

Cross-references

2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
2 Kings 17:13 Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.”
1 Kings 14:16 So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
2 Kings 17:20 So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.
2 Kings 18:11 The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
Hosea 1:4 Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.
Amos 5:27 Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of Hosts.
1 Kings 13:2 And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”
2 Kings 17:18 So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained,
Micah 1:6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble in the open field, a planting area for a vineyard. I will pour her stones into the valley and expose her foundations.