2 Kings 17:13

2Ki 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, [and by] all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments [and] my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

Ver. 13. Yet the Lord testified against Israel.] He left not himself without witness; but them utterly without excuse.

Turn you from your evil ways.] This was the voice of all the prophets; as of Christ and his apostles, Repent, amend your lives, which is the same.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 17:13. Yet the Lord testified against Israel — Against their false worship, and all their impieties. By all the prophets, and by all the seers — To whom he declared his mind by extraordinary revelations and visions, and by whom he published it, bearing witness from heaven to their doctrine, by eminent and glorious miracles. Abarbinel, in his commentary on these books, hath noticed one or more prophets in every king’s reign, both in Israel and Judah, from the time of Saul to Zedekiah, in whose time Jerusalem was laid desolate. The ten tribes had lately had among them two most singularly eminent for their zeal, courage, fidelity, and the wonders which they wrought, in the name of God, in confirmation of their divine mission and doctrine, namely, Elijah and Elisha: the latter of whom had been instrumental in rescuing them from their enemies sundry times, when all human means had failed, and their case appeared perfectly hopeless, and who had been mercifully continued to them, a faithful witness for God, and a burning and shining light, for about sixty years. And in the days of this very king, when Israel was carried away captive, they had Hoshea, Amos, Isaiah, and Micah. And in the days of the last king of Judah, when that tribe was carried captive, they had Jeremiah and Ezekiel. All these had made it their care to show both the kings and people their sins, and warn them of the fatal consequences of them; and to exhort, beseech, and urge them to turn from them, to the worship and service of the living and true God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, by the hand of.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 13. Yet the Lord testified against Israel] What rendered their conduct the more inexcusable was, that the Lord had preserved among them a succession of prophets, who testified against their conduct, and preached repentance to them, and the readiness of God to forgive, provided they would return unto him, and give up their idolatries.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) Yet the Lord testified against Israel.—Rather, And Jehovah adjured Israel . . . The verb means here, gave solemn warning, or charge. In 2Ki_17:15 it is repeated, with a cognate noun as object: “His testimonies which he testified against them;” or, his charges (i.e., precepts) which he had given them.

By all the prophets, and by all the seers.—The Hebrew text is, by the hand of all his prophets—namely, every seer. One or two MSS. and the Targum have prophet, instead of his prophets. The Syriac has “by the hand of all his servants the prophets, and all the seers.” The Vulg. and Arabic also have both nouns plural. Seers were such persons as, without belonging to the prophetic order, came forward in times of emergency upon a sudden Divine impulse. Thenius thinks Israel and Judah are mentioned together because the reference is to the time before the partition of the kingdom; more probably, because both apostatised, and prophets were sent to both.

And which I sent—i.e., the law which I sent. But—as according to later Jewish ideas, the prophets did not bring the Law, but only interpreted it—it seems better to understand with the Vulg. (“et sicut misi”) “and according to all that I sent to you (i.e., enjoined upon you) by my servants the prophets.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. the Lord testified against [R.V. unto] Israel and against [R.V. unto] Judah] The preposition is that which is usually rendered ‘in’. And God’s witness by His prophets was at first a witness of warning and exhortation, and his anger was long restrained and not at first grievously kindled against them.

by all the prophets, and by all the seers] R.V. by the hand of every prophet and of every seer. The R.V. has translated the consonants in the word which is rendered by A.V. ‘prophets’ but has divided them differently. As the A.V. has taken them there is no conjunction ‘and’ expressed, but by dividing the consonants in a different way the word becomes = ‘prophet and’. Thus the sense and grammar are complete, which they were not before.

Turn ye from your evil ways] For the language cf. Jer_7:3; Jer_18:11; Jer_25:5; Jer_26:13; Jer_35:15. But the same message was in substance preached by every one of the prophets from Samuel to Malachi.

by my servants] R.V. by the hand of my servants. As in the earlier part of this verse and again in verse 23, this Hebraism is preserved by the Revisers. It has become so rooted in the Biblical language of our country that there is no need to avoid a literal rendering of it.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers,.... Against their sins, reproving them for them, dehorting them from them, exhorting them to repent and leave them; as in all preceding reigns, by Ahijah the Shilonite, by Elijah and Elisha, by Hosea, Amos, and Micah, and others:

saying, turn ye from your ways; repent of them, and reform from them, worship of the calves particularly:

and keep my commandments, and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers; which was given them and enjoined them at Mount Sinai:

and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets; by whom he put them in mind of them, explained them, and urged obedience to them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

God raised up a succession of prophets and seers, who repeated and enforced the warnings of the Law, and breathed into the old words a new life. Among this succession were, in Israel, Ahijah the Shilonite 1Ki 14:2, Jehu the son of Hanani 1Ki 16:1, Elijah, Micaiah the son of Imlah 1Ki 22:8, Elisha, Jonah the son of Amittai 2Ki 14:25, Oded 2Ch 28:9, Amos, and Hosea; in Judah, up to this time, Shemaiah 2Ch 11:2; 2Ch 12:5, Iddo 2Ch 12:15; 2Ch 13:22, Azariah the son of Oded 2Ch 15:1, Hanani 2Ch 16:7, Jehu his son 2Ch 19:2, Jahaziel the son of Zechariah 2Ch 20:14, Eliezer the son of Dodavah (2Ch 20:37), Zechariah the son of Jehoiada 2Ch 24:20, another Zechariah 2Ch 26:5, Joel, Micah, and Isaiah, besides several whose names are not known. Some of these persons are called “prophets,” others “seers.” Occasionally, the same person has both titles (as Iddo and Jehu the son of Hanani), which seems to show that there was no very important distinction between them.

Probably the conjecture is right that “prophet” נביא nâbı̂y' in strictness designates the official members of the prophetical order only, while “seer” חזה chôzeh is applicable to all, whether members of the order or not, who receive a prophetical revelation.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Seers. See 1 Kings ix. 9. (Menochius) --- God never ceased to admonish the rebels. (Haydock) --- Jeremias xxv. 5. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Testified against Israel; disowned, and gave testimony against their false worship, which they would fasten upon him, and against all their impieties.

By all the prophets, and by all the seers; to whom he declared his mind by extraordinary revelations and visions, and by whom he published it to you, bearing witness from heaven to their doctrine by eminent and glorious miracles.

According to all the law which I commanded your fathers; whereby he accuseth them of partiality, that they observed only those laws of God which they might safely keep, and lived in the constant breach of others, which their kings forbade them to observe.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. By all the prophets, and by all the seers — Prophets of every kind had been sent to warn them. Besides many of less note, there were Elisha, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah, who uttered memorable warnings and admonitions for Israel.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yet the Lord testified rather, and the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers. A "seer" is, properly, one who sees visions; a "prophet," one inspired to pour forth utterances. But the words were used as synonyms. (1Sa_9:9) Ever since the revolt of Jeroboam, there had been a succession of prophets in both countries whose office it had been to rebuke sin and to enforce the precepts of the Law. In Judah there had been Shemaiah, contemporary with Rehoboam; (2Ch_11:2 2Ch_12:5) Iddo, contemporary with Abijah; (2Ch_13:22) Azariah, with; (2Ch_15:1) Hanani, with the same; (2Ch_16:7) Jehu, the son of Hanani, with Jehoshaphat; (2Ch_19:2) Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, with the same; (2Ch_20:14) Eliezer, the son of Dodavah, also contemporary with the same; (2Ch_20:37) Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, contemporary with; (2Ch_24:20) another Zechariah, contemporary with Uzziah; (2Ch_26:5) Joel, Micah, and Isaiah, besides several whose names are unknown. In Israel, the succession had included Ahijah the Shilonite, contemporary with Jeroboam; (1Ki_14:2) Jehu, the son of Hanani, with Baasha; (1Ki_16:1) Elijah, and Micaiah the son of Imlah, with Ahab (1Ki_22:8) and Ahaziah; (2Ki_1:3) Elisha, with Jehoram, John, Jehoahaz, and Joash; (2Ki 3:11-13:14) Jonah, with Jeroboam II; (2Ki_14:25) Hosea and Amos, with the (Hos_1:1; Amo_1:1) and Oded, (2Ch_28:9) contemporary with Pekah. God had never left himself without living witness. Besides the written testimony of the Law, he had sent them a continuous series of prophets, who "repeated and enforced the teaching of the Law by word of month, breathing into the old words a new life, applying them to the facts of their own times, urging them on the consciences of their hearers, and authoritatively declaring to them that the terrible threatenings of the Law were directed against the very sins which they habitually practiced." The prophets continually addressed them in the Name of God, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. This was the general burden of the prophetical teaching, both in Israel and in Judah, both before the captivity of Israel and afterwards (see Hos_12:6 Hos_14:2; Joe_2:12, Joe_2:13; Amo_5:4-15; Isa_1:16-20 Isa_31:6; Jer_3:7, Jer_3:14; Eze_14:6 Eze_18:30, etc.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Seers - To whom he declared his mind, by Revelations and visions, and by whom he published it, bearing witness, from heaven to their doctrine by eminent and glorious miracles.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

The narrative continues to summarize Yahweh's judgment on Israel.

Yahweh had testified ... by every prophet

Yahweh spoke through the prophets.

Turn from your evil ways

"Stop doing the evil things you have been doing"

I sent to you by my servants the prophets

The prophets were sent by Yahweh to remind the people of God's Laws and to obey them.

translationWords

Yahweh

testimony

prophet

turn

evil

command

statute

law

ancestor

send

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And Adonoy warned. He warned [=ויעד] them.

Prophets of all visions. Prophets of all visions. There is חוזה that is a noun, such as, ”And with the grave have we made a boundary [=חוזה].”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.