2 Kings 17:8

8 and lived by the customs of the nations that the LORD had forced out of the Israelites' way. They also did what their kings wanted them to do.

2 Kings 17:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 17:8

And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast
out from before the children of Israel
Meaning the Canaanites, in whose idolatrous ways they walked, and whom they imitated; though their ejection out of the land should have been a warning to them, and they were the more inexcusable, as they were particularly cautioned against walking in them, ( Leviticus 18:3 )

and of the kings of Israel, which they had made;
their laws and statutes, to worship the golden calves, and not go up to Jerusalem to worship.

2 Kings 17:8 In-Context

6 In Hoshea's ninth year as king of Israel, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and took the Israelites to Assyria as captives. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 The Israelites sinned against the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt [and rescued them] from the power of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). They worshiped other gods

8 and lived by the customs of the nations that the LORD had forced out of the Israelites' way. They also did what their kings wanted them to do.

9 The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that weren't right: They built for themselves illegal places of worship in all of their cities, from the [smallest] watchtower to the [largest] fortified city.

10 They set up sacred stones and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah on every high hill and under every large tree.