And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam's family shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam — The oracle offers small mercy: the child alone receives proper burial. The phrase רַק־הוּא יָבוֹא לִקְבוּרָה (he alone shall come to the grave) provides poignant exception to the general judgment. The phrase כִּי־נִמְצָא בּוֹ דָּבָר־טוֹב אֶל־יְהוָה (in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD) suggests the child possessed nascent piety that commanded divine respect—the innocent victim of his father's sin.

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