2Ki 17:13-14
And the Lord was not satisfied with the prohibitions of the law, but bore witness against the idolatry and image-worship of Israel and Judah through all His prophets, who exhorted them to turn from their evil way and obey His commandments. But it was all in vain; they were stiff-necked like their fathers. Judah is mentioned as well as Israel, although the historian is simply describing the causes of Israel’s rejection to indicate beforehand that Judah was already preparing the same fate for itself, as is still more plainly expressed in 2Ki 17:19, 2Ki 17:20; not, as Thenius supposes, because he is speaking here of that which took place before the division of the kingdom. The Chethîb כל־חזה כּל־נביאו is not to be read וכל־חזה כּל־נביא (Houbig., Then., Ew. §156, e.), but after the lxx כּל־חזה כּל־נביאו, “through all His prophets, every seer,” so that כּל־חזה is in apposition to כּל־נביאו, and serves to bring out the meaning with greater force, so as to express the idea, “prophets of every kind, that the Lord had sent.” This reading is more rhetorical than the other, and is recommended by the fact that in what follows the copula ו is omitted before חקּותי also on rhetorical grounds. וגו שׁלחתּי ואשׁר: “and according to what I demanded of you through my servants the prophets.” To the law of Moses there was added the divine warning through the prophets. את־ערפּם יקשׁוּ has sprung from Deu 10:16. The stiff-necked fathers are the Israelites in the time of Moses.