The Meaning of 2 Kings 17:21 Explained

2 Kings 17:21

KJV: For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.

YLT: for He hath rent Israel from the house of David, and they make Jeroboam son of Nebat king, and Jeroboam driveth Israel from after Jehovah, and hath caused them to sin a great sin,

Darby: For Israel had rent the kingdom from the house of David; and they had made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king; and Jeroboam violently turned Israel from following Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin.

ASV: For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For he rent  Israel  from the house  of David;  and they made Jeroboam  the son  of Nebat  king:  and Jeroboam  drave  {08675;05077:08686} Israel  from following  the LORD,  and made them sin  a great  sin. 

What does 2 Kings 17:21 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 17:13-26 - The End Of Stiff-Necked Disobedience
There are three leading counts in this terrible indictment against Judah and Israel: (1) idolatry; (2) the ignoring of the Law; and (3) disregard of the many warnings brought them by prophets and seers. And all were aggravated by the fact that they sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. How greatly the complexion of our sins is deepened, when we remember the anguish by which we have been redeemed!
Interwoven with the black catalogue of sin are golden threads of tender love, 2 Kings 17:13. But note the remarkable expression of 2 Kings 17:15, that we resemble the objects we adore, Psalms 115:8. Israel, as we have seen, was never restored. Those that returned to Judah with Ezra were for the most part Jews. Yet many Hebrews became believers in Christ, and were added to the Church at Pentecost and afterward, 1 Peter 1:1-2. Paul gives us a far horizon in Romans 11:25-27; and who can tell, in these days when the Turkish Empire is trembling to its foundations, whether we are not very near that hour of the restoration of Israel and the restitution of all things! [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 17

1  Hoshea the Last King of Israel
3  Being subdued by Shalmaneser, he conspires against him with So, king of Egypt
5  Samaria for sinning is led into captivity
24  The strange nations transplanted into Samaria make a mixture of religions

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 17:21 mean?

For He tore Israel from the house of David and they made king - Jeroboam son of Nebat then drove Israel from following Yahweh and made them commit a sin great
כִּֽי־ קָרַ֣ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מֵעַל֙ בֵּ֣ית דָּוִ֔ד וַיַּמְלִ֖יכוּ אֶת־ יָרָבְעָ֣ם בֶּן־ נְבָ֑ט [וידא] (וַיַּדַּ֨ח) יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵאַחֲרֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה וְהֶחֱטֵיאָ֖ם‪‬ חֲטָאָ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה

קָרַ֣ע  He  tore 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרַע  
Sense: to tear, tear in pieces.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
בֵּ֣ית  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
דָּוִ֔ד  of  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
וַיַּמְלִ֖יכוּ  and  they  made  king 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יָרָבְעָ֣ם  Jeroboam 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָרָבְעָם  
Sense: the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel when the kingdom split at the death of Solomon and the 0 tribes split off from Judah and Benjamin and the kingdom under Solomon’s son Rehoboam; idolatry was introduced at the beginning of his reign.
בֶּן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
נְבָ֑ט  of  Nebat 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְבָט  
Sense: an Ephraimite of Zereda, father of king Jeroboam I of the northern kingdom of Israel.
(וַיַּדַּ֨ח)  drove 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָדָא 
Sense: (Hiphil) exclude, drive away, thrust aside.
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
מֵאַחֲרֵ֣י  from  following 
Parse: Preposition-m
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וְהֶחֱטֵיאָ֖ם‪‬  and  made  them  commit 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: חָטָא 
Sense: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness.
חֲטָאָ֥ה  a  sin 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֲטָאָה  
Sense: sin, sin offering.
גְדוֹלָֽה  great 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.