John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 2. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him .] He did not worship Baal, as some of them had done; and he could not worship the calves, as all of them had, for they were carried away by the Assyrians in the former captivities, as the Jews say; and who also observe f190 , that he removed the garrisons set on the borders of the land to watch the Israelites, that they might not go up to Jerusalem; and this being done on the fifteenth of Ab, that day was afterwards observed as a festival on that account; and they further remark f191 , that the captivity of the ten tribes was in the reign of this king, who was better than the rest, to show that it was not barely the sins of the kings on whom the Israelites would cast the blame, that they were carried captives, but their own, according to ( Hosea 5:3).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-6 - When the measure of sin is filled up, the Lord will forbear no longer The inhabitants of Samaria must have endured great affliction. Some of the poor Israelites were left in the land. Those who were carrie captives to a great distance, were mostly lost among the nations.
Original Hebrew ויעשׂ6213 הרע7451 בעיני5869 יהוה3068 רק7535 לא3808 כמלכי4428 ישׂראל3478 אשׁר834 היו1961 לפניו׃6440
