Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Chronicles
Second Chronicles runs from the glory of Solomon and his temple to the fall of Judah and the promise of return, tracing the kings of Judah and holding up true worship as the measure of the nation's faithfulness. It opens with a young king asking God for wisdom. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
Second Chronicles continues the priestly retelling of Israel's history for the returned exiles. It opens with Solomon: his request for wisdom, his building of the temple, and the glory of his reign. From there it follows the kings of Judah through revival and decline, measuring each by his faithfulness to God and true worship, until the nation falls to Babylon. It closes on a note of hope: the decree of Cyrus that lets the people go home.
This commentary covers 2 Chronicles verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Solomon's temple, where God's glory dwelt, points forward to Christ, in whom the fullness of God dwells, and to His people as the temple of the living God. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
This book is complete, all thirty-six chapters, from the glory of Solomon's temple to the fall of Jerusalem and the decree of Cyrus that opens the way home.
Author
Not named in the book; Jewish tradition credits Ezra the scribe.
Setting
From Solomon's reign and temple to the exile and the promise of return.
Key People
Solomon, the kings of Judah, and the reforming prophets.
Theme
A nation stands or falls by true worship of the living God.
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
2 Chronicles Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
2 Chronicles 1:1-17
Ask! What Shall I Give You?
God offers Solomon anything he desires, and Solomon asks for wisdom to shepherd God's people rather than wealth or long life, so God grants him wisdom and riches besides.
Read Chapter 1 →2 Chronicles 2:1-18
Great Is Our God Above All Gods
Solomon prepares to build the temple and sends to Huram of Tyre, confessing that great is our God above all gods, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain. Huram blesses the LORD who made heaven and earth, a foreshadowing of the nations coming to worship the one true God.
Read Chapter 2 →2 Chronicles 3:1-17
In Mount Moriah
Solomon builds the temple on Mount Moriah, where God appeared to David and where Abraham offered Isaac. The veil is woven with cherubim, and two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, stand before the house, proclaiming that God establishes and God is strength.
Read Chapter 3 →2 Chronicles 4:1-22
Sacrifice, Washing, and Light
The furnishings of the temple, the brazen altar of sacrifice, the molten sea and lavers for washing, and within, the golden altar, the shewbread, and the lampstands of pure gold, each a shadow of drawing near to God, all pointing to Christ.
Read Chapter 4 →2 Chronicles 5:1-14
The Glory of the LORD Filled the House
The ark is brought into the most holy place, and as the singers and trumpeters praise God with one voice, 'For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever,' the cloud of God's glory fills the temple so that the priests cannot stand to minister.
Read Chapter 5 →2 Chronicles 6:1-42
Hear Thou From Heaven, and Forgive
Solomon's prayer of dedication: marveling that God would dwell with men whom the heavens cannot contain, pleading that God hear prayer toward the house and forgive, even foreseeing exile and asking mercy for His people if they repent with all their heart in a far country.
Read Chapter 6 →2 Chronicles 7:1-22
If My People Shall Humble Themselves
Fire falls from heaven and the glory fills the house, and the people worship. God appears by night with His great promise: if His people humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, He will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Read Chapter 7 →2 Chronicles 8:1-18
So the House of the LORD Was Perfected
Solomon's building works, his care to keep the holy places set apart, and his faithfulness to establish the temple worship exactly as Moses commanded and David had ordered, so that the house of the LORD was perfected, the great work rightly finished.
Read Chapter 8 →2 Chronicles 9:1-31
A Greater Than Solomon
The Queen of Sheba comes doubting and leaves overwhelmed, 'the half was not told me,' blessing the LORD who set Solomon on the throne. Solomon surpasses all kings in wisdom and wealth, the golden summit of the monarchy, a shadow of the greater than Solomon, Christ.
Read Chapter 9 →2 Chronicles 10:1-19
The King Hearkened Not Unto the People
Rehoboam rejects the old men's counsel of kindness for the young men's harshness, threatening scorpions instead of whips, and the ten tribes tear away. Human folly and God's sovereignty meet: the cause was of God, fulfilling His word through Ahijah.
Read Chapter 10 →2 Chronicles 11:1-23
Such As Set Their Hearts to Seek the LORD
Rehoboam obeys God's word and does not fight his brethren. As Jeroboam sets up calf-worship in the north and casts off the Levites, the priests and all who set their hearts to seek the LORD come to Jerusalem to worship the true God, strengthening Judah.
Read Chapter 11 →2 Chronicles 12:1-16
They Humbled Themselves; The LORD Is Righteous
Grown strong, Rehoboam forsakes the law, and Shishak of Egypt invades. When the king and princes humble themselves and confess 'The LORD is righteous,' God grants some deliverance. His epitaph: he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.
Read Chapter 12 →2 Chronicles 13:1-22
They Relied Upon the LORD God of Their Fathers
Outnumbered two to one, Abijah stands for the true worship of God against Jeroboam, declaring 'God himself is with us for our captain.' When Judah, ambushed, cries out, God routs the northern army, and Judah prevails because they relied upon the LORD.
Read Chapter 13 →2 Chronicles 14:1-15
We Rest on Thee
Asa does right, removes the idols, and commands Judah to seek the LORD, and because they sought Him God gives the land rest. When a vast Ethiopian army invades, Asa cries out in faith, 'we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude,' and God routs the enemy.
Read Chapter 14 →2 Chronicles 15:1-19
If Ye Seek Him, He Will Be Found of You
The prophet Azariah brings a Spirit-given word: 'The LORD is with you, while ye be with him.' Encouraged, Asa purges the idols and leads Judah into a covenant to seek the LORD with all their heart, and He is found of them and gives them rest.
Read Chapter 15 →2 Chronicles 16:1-14
The Eyes of the LORD Run To and Fro
Asa's sad decline: he relies on Syria instead of the LORD and is rebuked by Hanani, who declares that God's eyes search the earth to strengthen the perfect heart. Asa hardens, and even in his final illness seeks the physicians and not the LORD.
Read Chapter 16 →2 Chronicles 17:1-19
They Taught in Judah, and Had the Book of the Law
Jehoshaphat seeks the LORD and is established, his heart lifted up in God's ways. He sends princes, Levites, and priests with the book of the law throughout Judah to teach the people, and the fear of the LORD falls on the surrounding nations.
Read Chapter 17 →2 Chronicles 18:1-34
Even What My God Saith, That Will I Speak
Jehoshaphat's unwise alliance with Ahab draws him into war. Against four hundred flattering prophets, Micaiah speaks only God's true word. Ahab dies as foretold, and Jehoshaphat, endangered, cries out and the LORD helps him, mercy to an erring servant.
Read Chapter 18 →2 Chronicles 19:1-11
Ye Judge Not for Man, but for the LORD
Jehoshaphat is rebuked for helping the ungodly yet commended for preparing his heart to seek God. Chastened, he appoints judges throughout Judah, charging them to rule in the fear of the LORD, who is with them in the judgment, without partiality or bribe.
Read Chapter 19 →2 Chronicles 20:1-37
The Battle Is Not Yours, but God's
A vast army threatens Judah, and Jehoshaphat gathers the nation to pray, 'our eyes are upon thee.' God answers, 'the battle is not yours, but God's; stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD.' Judah believes, sends singers before the army, and God sets ambushes as they praise.
Read Chapter 20 →2 Chronicles 21:1-20
The LORD Would Not Destroy the House of David
Wicked Jehoram, married to Ahab's daughter, leads Judah into idolatry and murders his brothers, yet God will not destroy David's house for His covenant's sake. Elijah's letter foretells judgment, and Jehoram dies unmourned of the disease God announced.
Read Chapter 21 →2 Chronicles 22:1-12
Hid Him From Athaliah
Ahaziah is ruined by the wicked counsel of his mother and the house of Ahab. When he dies, Athaliah murders all the royal seed, but the infant Joash is stolen away and hidden in the house of God six years, so the lamp of David was not put out.
Read Chapter 22 →2 Chronicles 23:1-21
Behold, the King's Son Shall Reign
Jehoiada the priest reveals the hidden heir and crowns Joash the rightful king of David's line. The usurper Athaliah is slain, and the people covenant to be the LORD's, tearing down the house of Baal, a picture of the true King enthroned.
Read Chapter 23 →2 Chronicles 24:1-27
They Would Not Give Ear
Joash does right while Jehoiada lives and repairs the temple, but after the priest's death he forsakes the LORD for idols and refuses the prophets, even stoning Jehoiada's son Zechariah. A warning against borrowed faith, ingratitude, and rejecting God's messengers.
Read Chapter 24 →2 Chronicles 25:1-28
But Not With a Perfect Heart
Amaziah does right but with a divided heart. Warned not to trust a hired army, he frets over the cost and is told the LORD can give much more. Yet after victory he worships the gods of defeated Edom and refuses rebuke, sealing his ruin.
Read Chapter 25 →2 Chronicles 26:1-23
When He Was Strong, His Heart Was Lifted Up
Uzziah sought God and prospered, marvellously helped till he was strong. But when strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, and he was struck with leprosy for presumptuously burning incense, a warning that success can be more perilous than failure.
Read Chapter 26 →2 Chronicles 27:1-9
He Prepared His Ways Before the LORD
Jotham does right, and, learning from his father Uzziah's fatal presumption, he enters not into the temple. Though the people still do corruptly, he holds to what is right, and the secret of his strength is given in a sentence: he became mighty because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.
Read Chapter 27 →2 Chronicles 28:1-27
This Is That King Ahaz
Ahaz plunges Judah into idolatry, even burning his children in the fire, and in his distress trespasses yet more against the LORD, shutting the doors of the temple. Yet grace pierces the dark: the prophet Oded turns back a triumphant army, and captives are clothed, fed, and carried home.
Read Chapter 28 →2 Chronicles 29:1-36
He Opened the Doors of the House of the LORD
In the first month of his reign Hezekiah opens the doors his father Ahaz shut, cleanses the temple, and rouses the Levites: the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him. Atonement is made for all Israel, the song of the LORD begins with the burnt offering, and the people rejoice that God had prepared them, for the thing was done suddenly.
Read Chapter 29 →2 Chronicles 30:1-27
Turn Again Unto the LORD
Hezekiah summons all Israel to keep the passover, pleading turn again unto the LORD, for he is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face if ye return. God gives Judah one heart, Hezekiah prays that the good LORD pardon all who prepare their hearts though not cleansed, God heals the people, and great joy fills Jerusalem as had not been since Solomon.
Read Chapter 30 →2 Chronicles 31:1-21
He Did It With All His Heart, and Prospered
After the passover the people break the idols in pieces and bring in the firstfruits and tithes abundantly, until the offerings lie in heaps and the priests have enough to eat and plenty left, for the LORD hath blessed his people. Hezekiah wrought that which was good and right and truth, and in every work sought his God with all his heart, and prospered.
Read Chapter 31 →2 Chronicles 32:1-33
With Us Is the LORD Our God
Sennacherib invades and blasphemes, but Hezekiah trusts: with him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us. Hezekiah and Isaiah pray and cry to heaven, and the LORD sends an angel to destroy the Assyrian host. Later Hezekiah's heart is lifted up, he humbles himself, and God leaves him to try him, to know all that was in his heart.
Read Chapter 32 →2 Chronicles 33:1-25
Then Manasseh Knew That the LORD He Was God
Manasseh, the worst king of Judah, fills the temple with idols, practices witchcraft, and makes Judah do worse than the heathen. Yet taken captive to Babylon, in affliction he humbles himself greatly, prays, and is heard and restored, and casts out the idols. His son Amon sins like him but humbles not himself, and perishes, the fatal difference.
Read Chapter 33 →2 Chronicles 34:1-33
He Began to Seek After the God of David
Young Josiah seeks the God of David while yet a youth, purges the idols, and repairs the temple, where the long-lost book of the law is found. Hearing it read, he rends his clothes; God honors his tender heart, because thine heart was tender and thou didst humble thyself, I have even heard thee; and he makes a covenant to follow the LORD with all his heart.
Read Chapter 34 →2 Chronicles 35:1-27
There Was No Passover Like to That
Josiah keeps the greatest passover since the days of Samuel, its glory lying in exact obedience to the recovered word. But warned by Necho in words that came from the mouth of God, he would not turn his face, went to war at Megiddo, and was slain. All Judah mourned, and Jeremiah lamented, for the last good king had fallen.
Read Chapter 35 →2 Chronicles 36:1-23
Till There Was No Remedy
The last kings do evil, and Zedekiah humbles not himself before Jeremiah speaking from the mouth of the LORD. God sends His messengers rising up betimes because he had compassion, but they mock them till there was no remedy, and Jerusalem burns. Yet the book ends in hope: the LORD stirs up Cyrus, and the door home swings open, let him go up.
Read Chapter 36 →