Hoshea receives a qualified negative evaluation for his leadership as king of Israel. While he did not do what was acceptable to Yahweh, his faults were less disgraceful than those of his predecessors.

For the expression did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, see 1 Kgs 11.6 and 2 Kgs 3.2.

Yet not as …: In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence at this point. It might begin “However, he was not as bad as….”

The kings of Israel who were before him; that is, the previous rulers of the same northern kingdom over which Hoshea now reigned. Frequently, Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat, is mentioned as the prime example of a bad ruler in Israel whose example was followed by others. But in this case kings is plural and refers to several unnamed predecessors of Hoshea, but the list undoubtedly includes Jeroboam.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .