1 Chronicles 5:25 But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

Bible > 1 Chronicles > Chapter 5 > Verse 25

◄ 1 Chronicles 5:25 ►

New International Version
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

New Living Translation
But these tribes were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They worshiped the gods of the nations that God had destroyed.

English Standard Version
But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

Berean Standard Bible
But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

King James Bible
And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

New King James Version
And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

New American Standard Bible
But they were untrue to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

NASB 1995
But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

NASB 1977
But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

Legacy Standard Bible
But they acted unfaithfully against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

Amplified Bible
But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the prostitute with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

Christian Standard Bible
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations God had destroyed before them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations God had destroyed before them.

American Standard Version
And they trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

Contemporary English Version
The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh were unfaithful to the God their ancestors had worshiped, and they started worshiping the gods of the nations that God had forced out of Canaan.

English Revised Version
And they trespassed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But Gad, Reuben, and half of the tribe of Manasseh were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They chased after the gods of the people of the land as if they were prostitutes. God had destroyed these people as the Israelites arrived.

Good News Translation
But the people were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and deserted him to worship the gods of the nations whom God had driven out of the land.

International Standard Version
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors by prostituting themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had exterminated right in front of them.

Majority Standard Bible
But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

NET Bible
But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and worshiped instead the gods of the native peoples whom God had destroyed before them.

New Heart English Bible
They trespassed against the God of their fathers, and prostituted themselves after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

World English Bible
They trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the prostitute after the gods of the peoples of the land whom God destroyed before them.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And they trespass against the God of their fathers, and go whoring after the gods of the peoples of the land whom God destroyed from their presence;

Young's Literal Translation
And they trespass against the God of their fathers, and go a-whoring after the gods of the peoples of the land whom God destroyed from their presence;

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will transgress against the God of their fathers, and they will commit fornication after the gods of the peoples of the land, which God destroyed from before them.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
But they forsook the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But they abandoned the God of their fathers, and they fornicated after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God took away before them.

New American Bible
However, they acted treacherously toward the God of their ancestors by prostituting themselves to follow the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

New Revised Standard Version
But they transgressed against the God of their ancestors, and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they denied the God of their fathers, and they went astray after gods of the nations of the Earth whom LORD JEHOVAH had destroyed from before them.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But they rebelled against the God of their fathers, and went a-whoring after the gods of the nations of the land, whom God cast out from before them.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Half-tribe of Manasseh
…24These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their families. 25But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

2 Kings 17:7-18
All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods / and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel. / The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities. ...

2 Kings 18:11-12
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. / This happened because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD their God, but violated His covenant—all that Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded—and would neither listen nor obey.

Judges 2:11-13
And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. / Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger, / for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

Hosea 4:12-13
My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God. / They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

Hosea 5:3-4
I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled. / Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.

Hosea 9:1
Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations, for you have played the harlot against your God; you have made love for hire on every threshing floor.

Jeremiah 3:6-10
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. / I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. / She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well. ...

Jeremiah 11:10
They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their fathers.

Ezekiel 23:30
have brought these things upon you, because you have prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

Psalm 106:35-39
but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. / They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. / They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. ...

Deuteronomy 31:16
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.

Deuteronomy 32:16-17
They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations. / They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.

2 Kings 17:33-34
They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away. / To this day they are still practicing their former customs. None of them worship the LORD or observe the statutes, ordinances, laws, and commandments that the LORD gave the descendants of Jacob, whom He named Israel.

2 Kings 17:40-41
But they would not listen, and they persisted in their former customs. / So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.

2 Chronicles 36:14
Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, following all the abominations of the nations, and they defiled the house of the LORD, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Treasury of Scripture

And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

and went.

Judges 2:17
And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.

Judges 8:33
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

2 Kings 17:7-18
For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, …

a whoring.

Exodus 34:15
Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

Judges 8:27
And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

2 Kings 17:7
For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

after the gods.

Judges 2:12
And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

2 Chronicles 25:14,15
Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them…

Psalm 106:34-39
They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: …

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Acted Astray A-Whoring Broke Destroyed Evil Faith Fathers Gods Harlot Peoples Played Presence Prostitute Prostituted Transgressed Treacherously Trespass Trespassed Unfaithful Whoring Worshipping

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1 Chronicles 5

1. Judah and Joseph preferred before Reuben, who forfeited his birthright.
3. Ruben's descendants; some of whom vanquish the Hagarites.
11. The chief men of Gad, and their habitations.
18. Ruben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, obtain a victory over the Hagarites.
23. The habitations and chief men of that half of Manasseh.
25. The captivity of the two tribes and half, for their sins.

Berean Study Bible

But they were unfaithful
The Hebrew root for "unfaithful" is "מָעַל" (ma'al), which conveys a sense of treachery or betrayal. This word is often used in the context of breaking a covenant or trust. In the historical context of Israel, faithfulness to God was paramount, as the covenant established with their forefathers was the foundation of their identity and relationship with God. The use of "unfaithful" here underscores a serious breach in their spiritual commitment, highlighting a turning away from the exclusive worship and obedience owed to Yahweh.

to the God of their fathers
This phrase emphasizes the continuity of faith that was expected to be passed down through generations. The "God of their fathers" refers to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had established a covenant with the patriarchs. This covenant was not just a personal agreement but a communal and generational one, binding the descendants to the same faith and obedience. The mention of "fathers" serves as a reminder of the historical and spiritual heritage that the Israelites were abandoning.

and prostituted themselves
The Hebrew word "זָנָה" (zanah) is used here, which literally means to commit fornication or to act as a harlot. This metaphorical language is powerful, depicting Israel's idolatry as spiritual adultery. In the ancient Near Eastern context, idolatry was often associated with literal acts of prostitution in pagan worship practices. Thus, this phrase conveys not only a spiritual betrayal but also a moral and ethical decline, as the Israelites engaged in the abominable practices of the surrounding nations.

to the gods of the peoples of the land
This phrase indicates the specific nature of Israel's unfaithfulness: idolatry. The "gods of the peoples of the land" refers to the deities worshiped by the Canaanites and other neighboring nations. These gods were often associated with fertility, war, and nature, and their worship included rituals that were abhorrent to Yahweh. The Israelites' adoption of these practices represented a direct violation of the first commandment, which prohibited the worship of any god but Yahweh.

whom God had destroyed before them
This phrase serves as a stark reminder of God's past actions on behalf of Israel. The "destruction" of these peoples and their gods was part of God's judgment against their wickedness and a means of purifying the land for His chosen people. By turning to these same gods, the Israelites were not only rejecting God's sovereignty but also disregarding His mighty acts of deliverance and judgment. This highlights the tragic irony of their unfaithfulness: they were embracing the very things from which God had delivered them.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25, 26) The captivity of the three eastern tribes. A fuller account may be read in 2Kings 17:6-18.

(25) They transgressed against the God of their fathers.--Rather, were faithless or untrue to Him (Joshua 7:1, "committed a trespass").

Went a whoring after the gods of the people (peoples).--Jehovah was the true Lord (Ba'al) and Husband (Ish) of Israel. Apostasy from Him is, in the prophetic language, whoredom. (See Hos. 1 Chronicles 1, 2, especially 2:16, and 1 Chronicles 3) According to Kings 50100 the fatal sin of Israel evinced itself: (1) in the worship of the high places; (2) in adoration of the heavenly bodies, and the productive powers of nature; (3) in the practice of magic and divination.

The people of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.--Comp. Numbers 21:21-35, and Joshua 12:6; Psalm 135:10-12. The reduction of the Canaanites was, to the mind of the chronicler, a Divine work. He is not thinking only of such extraordinary events as were told of the battle of Beth-boron (Joshua 10:11-14). All the incidents of the conquest were the Lord's doing, whether He acted through the agency of sun and moon, or storm and tempest, or the good swords of Joshua and his warriors. From the same standpoint, he ascribes the Assyrian invasions to a direct impulse from the God of Israel (1Chronicles 5:26). The Assyrian kings themselves were wont to regard their campaigns as a fulfilment of the bidding of their Divine protectors, Istar, Bel, and other imaginary beings. It was not given to them to attain to the higher vision of the Hebrew prophets and priests, who saw but one guiding and controlling power at the summit of the world. (Comp. Isaiah 10:5-15.) . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 25, 26. - The "transgressors" here described include manifestly not this half-tribe Manasseh alone, but the other tribes of Israel of whom this chapter has treated. Verse 25. - And they went a-whoring (וַיַּזְנוּ); so 2 Chronicles 21:11, 13. This verb, in one form of its root or another, occurs as many as ninety-seven times in the Pentateuch, Judges, Joshua, Psalms, Proverbs; and prophets, for only twice in Kings and four times in Chronicles, in all the rest of the Old Testament writings.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

But they were unfaithful
וַיִּֽמְעֲל֔וּ (way·yim·‘ă·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 4603: To cover up, to act covertly, treacherously

to the God
בֵּאלֹהֵ֖י (bê·lō·hê)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

of their fathers,
אֲבוֹתֵיהֶ֑ם (’ă·ḇō·w·ṯê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 1: Father

and they prostituted
וַיִּזְנ֗וּ (way·yiz·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

themselves with
אַחֲרֵי֙ (’a·ḥă·rê)
Preposition
Strong's 310: The hind or following part

the gods
אֱלֹהֵ֣י (’ĕ·lō·hê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

of the peoples
עַמֵּי־ (‘am·mê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

of the land,
הָאָ֔רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

whom
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

God
אֱלֹהִ֖ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

had destroyed
הִשְׁמִ֥יד (hiš·mîḏ)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8045: To be exterminated or destroyed

before them.
מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ (mip·pə·nê·hem)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6440: The face

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OT History: 1 Chronicles 5:25 They trespassed against the God of their (1 Chron. 1Ch iCh i Ch 1 chr 1chr)