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Meaning of ‘do evil in the sight of the LORD’
Do evil in the sight of the Lord is synonymous with apostasy. Any time the Bible says about a person or about a people that they did evil in the sight of the Lord, it means that they have turned away from the Lord – apostatized. The expression ‘do evil in the sight of the LORD‘ has many variants such as:
- did evil in the sight of the LORD
- sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD
- wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD
- did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD
These are the number of times the phrase and its variants were used in the Bible:
Used twice in Deuteronomy to express apostasy
When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: Deuteronomy 4:25
For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 31:29
Used 10 times in Judges to express apostasy
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: Judges 2:11
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. Judges 3:7
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. Judges 3:12
And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. Judges 4:1
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. Judges 6:1
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. Judges 3:12
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. Judges 10:6
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. Judges 13:1
Used thrice to express general apostasy in the era of the kings.
And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 1 Kings 14:22
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 2 Kings 17:17
For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. 2 Chronicles 29:6
Conclusion
Apostasy is everywhere in the Bible, being expressed with different words, phrases and idiomatic expressions, which, all together, broadens our understanding of the subject.