II Kings 17:26 · Bible study
2 Kings 17:26 Commentary: Fear and Ignorance
Hebrew · 6 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why did Assyrian settlers think lions came because they didn't know the 'manner' of the God of the land? A study in perception and providence.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The settlers interpret lion attacks as Yahweh's punishment for their ignorance of his proper worship.
- Key words: mishpat ('manner,' 'ordinance,' 'custom', the prescribed way to worship); shalach ('sent', divine agency).
- Main debate: Whether the settlers' perception of a localized deity is corrected or simply accommodated in the narrative.
- Theological theme: God's sovereignty over all lands and peoples, even when unrecognised; the danger of worship without genuine fear.
- Best use: A caution against reducing God to a manageable 'god of the land' and a call to teach his ways with care.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations which you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria don’t know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them; and behold, they kill them, because they don’t know the law of the god of the land.”
KJV King James Version 1769
Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the law of the god of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the law of the god of the land.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And they speak to the king of Asshur, saying, `The nations that thou hast removed, and dost place in the cities of Samaria, have not known the custom of the God of the land, and He sendeth among them the lions, and lo, they are destroying them, as they do not know the custom of the God of the land.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And they spoke to the king of Assyria saying, The nations that thou hast removed and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria know not the manner of thegod of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of thegod of the land.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And it was told the king of the Assyrians, and it was said: The nations which thou hast removed, and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria, know not the ordinances of the God of the land: and the Lord hath sent lions among them: and behold they kill them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Entonces dijeron ellos al rey de Asiria: Las gentes que tú traspasaste y pusiste en las ciudades de Samaria, no saben la costumbre del Dios de aquella tierra, y él ha echado leones en ellos, y he aquí los matan, porque no saben la costumbre del Dios de la tierra.
Então disseram eles ao rei da Assíria: As nações que tu transportaste e puseste nas cidades de Samaria, não sabem a costume do Deus daquela terra, e ele lançou leões neles, e eis que os matam, porque não sabem a costume do Deus da terra.
On dit au roi d’ Assyrie: Les nations que tu as transportées et établies dans les villes de Samarie ne connaissent pas la manière de servir le dieu du pays, et il a envoyé contre elles des lions qui les font mourir, parce qu’ elles ne connaissent pas la manière de servir le dieu du pays.
Und sie ließen dem König von Assyrien sagen: Die Heiden, die du hast hergebracht und die Städte Samarias damit besetzt, wissen nichts von der Weise Gottes im Lande; darum hat der HERR Löwen unter sie gesandt, und siehe, dieselben töten sie, weil sie nicht wissen um die Weise Gottes im Lande.
Daarom spraken zij tot den koning van Assyrie, zeggende: De volken, die gij vervoerd hebt, en hebt doen wonen in de steden van Samaria, weten de wijze des Gods van het land niet; daarom heeft Hij leeuwen onder hen gezonden, en ziet, zij doden hen, dewijl zij niet weten de wijze des Gods van het land.
Fu quindi detto al re d’Assiria: “Le genti che tu hai trasportate e stabilite nelle città della Samaria non conoscono il modo di servire l’iddio del paese; perciò questi ha mandato contro di loro de’ leoni, che ne fanno strage, perch’esse non conoscono il modo di servire l’iddio del paese”.
I powiedziano to królowi Assyryjskiemu, mówiąc: Narodowie, któreś przeniósł i osadził w miastach Samaryi, nie wiedzą obyczaju Boga onej ziemi; przetoż posłał na nie lwy, a oto je zabijają, dla tego, iż nie wiedzą obyczaju Boga onej ziemi.
И донесли царю Ассирийскому, и сказали: народы, которых ты переселил и поселил в городах Самарийских, не знают закона Бога той земли, и за то Он посылает на них львов, и вот они умерщвляют их, потому что они не знают закона Бога той земли.
有人告訴 亞述 王 說：「你所 遷移 安置 在撒馬利亞 各城 的那些民，不 知道 那地 之神 的規矩，所以那神 叫 獅子 進入他們中間， 咬死 他們。」
So they said to the king of Assyria, The nations whom you have taken as prisoners and put in the towns of Samaria, have no knowledge of the way of the god of the land: so he has sent lions among them, causing their death, because they have no knowledge of his way.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Kings 17:26
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree on the core meaning: the Assyrian settlers interpreted the lion attacks as divine punishment for their ignorance of Yahweh's proper worship. The key term is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which Clarke, the Cambridge Bible, and Gill each define as 'the manner,' 'the judgment,' or 'the way in which the God of the land would desire to be worshipped.' The settlers viewed Yahweh as a local, territorial deity, a 'topical god' (Gill), whose anger required appeasement through correct ritual. The verb 'sent' (שָׁלַח, v.25) is a pointed assertion: the lions are not random predators but instruments of divine will. The king of Assyria's response (v.27), sending a priest to teach them 'the law of the god of the land', confirms that both the settlers and their ruler shared this worldview, seeing religion as a practical, location-based obligation rather than a personal covenant.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Pagan misinterpretation view: The settlers saw Yahweh as one god among many, limited to the land of Israel — a view the larger biblical narrative explicitly rejects.
- Divine accommodation view: God worked within the settlers' limited framework, using circumstances they could understand (lion attacks) to draw them toward knowledge of him.
- Providential judgment view: The lions represent God's direct judgment on the settlers for their failure to acknowledge him, consistent with his actions throughout Israel's history.
What is clear: The settlers were ignorant of Yahweh's prescribed worship, lion attacks occurred, and the king responded by sending a priest to teach them — establishing that knowledge of God's 'manner' matters.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of mishpat | The word refers to the proper manner or ordinance of worshipping Yahweh, including the statutes and judgments he gave Israel. | Some emphasize legal content (the law of Moses); others stress the cultural/customary dimension (how to approach the local deity). |
| God as a local deity | The settlers perceived Yahweh as a territorial god of Samaria, and the narrative reports this perception without endorsing it as the full truth. | Some argue God accommodated their limited understanding by acting within their framework; others see the narrative as exposing the falseness of that framework, since the God of Israel is Lord of all the earth. |
| The nature of the lions | The lions are sent by Yahweh as an act of judgment for the settlers' failure to fear him (v.25). | Whether this judgment is corrective (to drive them to instruction) or punitive (for their neglect) is not clearly resolved; both elements appear in the surrounding account. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The verse sits within the grim aftermath of Assyria's conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel (c. 722 BC). Under the standard neo-Assyrian policy of mass deportation and resettlement, the king of Assyria (likely Sargon II or his successor) moved peoples from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim into the depopulated cities of Samaria (v.24). This was a deliberate strategy to break national identities and prevent rebellion.
These transplanted peoples brought their own religions, as the subsequent verses (vv.29-31) catalogue. But the land they now occupied, Samaria, was not religiously neutral. The narrator has already set the stage in v.25: 'they didn't fear Yahweh. Therefore Yahweh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.' The settlers' report to the king (v.26) shows their own interpretation: the lions are the local deity's punishment for their ignorance of his mishpat, the specific ordinances by which he was to be worshipped (Clarke, Cambridge).
The report reflects an ancient Near Eastern assumption that each land was under the jurisdiction of its own god or gods. Gill cites 1 Kings 20:28 as a parallel: the Syrians thought Yahweh was a 'god of the hills.' The settlers understand the lion attacks not as random natural events but as a clear, ominous message: the god of this territory is angry because he is being ignored. Their solution is practical: learn his rules, pacify him. This is not faith or repentance; it is self-protective religion. The king's response (v.27), sending an Israelite priest to teach 'the law of the god of the land', operates entirely within this logic.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for verse 26. The verse is stable across the manuscript traditions. Minor variations in English translations (e.g., 'manner' vs 'judgment' vs 'ordinances') reflect different renderings of the Hebrew mishpat, not a difference in the underlying text.
Reception History
This passage has been read primarily as the aetiology of Samaritan religion. Jewish and Christian interpreters have noted that the imported priest (v.28) taught a partial, syncretistic worship that became characteristic of the Samaritans. Early church figures such as Jerome referenced this passage to discuss the danger of mingling true worship with pagan practices. In Reformation commentaries, both Catholic and Protestant writers used the verse to warn against worship that follows human tradition rather than God's explicit command. More recently, the passage has been valued for its insight into ancient Near Eastern religious psychology, the assumption that each territory had its own god whose requirements must be learned and satisfied. The settlers' pragmatic, fear-driven approach to God continues to serve as a caution against reducing faith to a set of territorial customs.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Ignorance does not neutralise divine holiness. The settlers did not know Yahweh's mishpat, but their ignorance did not shield them from the consequences of neglect. God's rights over the land, and over human hearts, remain even when unrecognised.
- God speaks through events the world misreads. The settlers saw angry local deity; the biblical narrator (v.25) names the lions as sent by Yahweh, the God of Israel, who is also Lord of all creation.
- Half-knowledge leads to syncretism. After the priest taught them (v.28), the settlers 'feared Yahweh' but also kept their own gods (v.33). Learning the right forms without heart transformation becomes empty religion.
Five-point outline
- The setting: Assyria's policy of deportation and resettlement (v.24).
- The crisis: Lions attack the newcomers (v.25).
- The diagnosis: The settlers conclude they lack 'the manner of the God of the land' (v.26).
- The remedy: The king sends a priest to teach them (v.27-28).
- The outcome: A mixed worship that is neither faithful nor abandoned (v.29-33).
Illustration hooks
- A new neighbour moves into a town with strict recycling rules they don't know about, and gets a fine. The fine feels unfair, but the rules were already in place. The settlers faced a similar collision with a spiritual reality they had not acknowledged.
- When a family visits a country where they don't speak the language, even simple tasks become confusing. The settlers understood they were in a 'new country' spiritually and needed a translator, the priest.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God punish people who honestly don't know about him?
- How do we tell the difference between a natural disaster and divine judgment?
- Is it enough to worship God in the right way, even if our hearts are still attached to other things?
Leading a Discussion
This verse opens a window into how people who do not know God interpret his actions. The Assyrian settlers saw the lion attacks as a local deity's anger. The biblical narrator sees Yahweh, the Lord of all, acting in history. As you discuss, pay attention to how the same event can be read with different frameworks, and what it takes to move from superstition to true knowledge of God.
Discussion questions
- What does the settlers' report tell us about their understanding of God? Where does it match what the Bible says, and where does it fall short?
- The word mishpat (translated 'manner,' 'custom,' 'ordinance') appears twice in this verse. From the context, what do you think it includes? Why would ignorance of it be so serious?
- Compare v.25 ('they didn't fear Yahweh') with v.33 ('they feared Yahweh, and served their own gods'). Is there a difference between fearing God and truly worshipping him? What does that look like in practice?
- Gill notes that the settlers took Yahweh to be a 'topical deity.' How does the rest of Scripture correct this view? (Consider Psalm 24:1, 1 Kings 8:27, etc.)
- The king's response (v.27) is to send a priest. Was that an adequate solution? Why or why not?
- How do we sometimes treat God as a 'local deity', relevant to Sunday but not to the rest of our lives?
- What does this passage teach about the importance of teaching and passing on the mishpat of God?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Samuel 8:9 | Now therefore, listen to their voice. However, you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the way of the king who will reign over them.” |
| I Samuel 10:25 | Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. |
| II Kings 17:27 | Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land.” |
| Amos 8:14 | Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god, Dan, lives,’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’ they will fall, and never rise up again.” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the Hebrew word translated as "manner" actually means judgment or a prescribed rule. His point is that the phrase refers to a specific, established way of worshipping that the local deity required, not merely a general custom or preference.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary notes that the king of Assyria would naturally agree with the colonists: each land had its own god requiring a specific form of worship. The "manner of the God of the land" refers to the particular rituals thought to match that deity's character and desires.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes stress that the new settlers in Samaria suffered from lions because they did not know the proper way to worship Israel’s God. Their ignorance of His prescribed manner of worship brought divine judgment, showing that God requires His people to approach Him according to His revealed order.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the new settlers viewed the God of Israel as a local deity restricted to that land. They attributed the lion attacks to their ignorance of His specific laws and worship practices, not to any natural cause, seeing divine judgment in their suffering.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that the qualification “but not as the kings of Israel before him” refers only to Hoshea’s immediate predecessors, not all previous kings. He finds no evidence that Hoshea abandoned Jeroboam’s calf-worship or converted genuinely. The modification is slight and political, not a sign of true religious reform.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry points out that the new settlers of Samaria wanted to honor the Lord but only on their own terms, mixing His worship with their own idols. Their appointment of the lowest people as priests reveals they had no regard for true worship. This syncretism was not genuine fear of the Lord.