2 Chronicles 1:10
in 2 Chronicles 1Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?
KJV
Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 1
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Ask, and I will give it to you
on 2 Chronicles 1:7-10
The night vision runs parallel to 1 Kings 3:5-15, and Chronicles compresses it. Chronicles has “a people as numerous as the dust of the earth,” wording Kings does not use. It recalls the promise to Abraham and Jacob that their offspring would be like the dust of the earth.
This site's exposition
grant me wisdom and knowledge
Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge for the office itself, the skill to lead and govern the multitude of verse 9. Henry reads the plea as grace sought for a duty God had already laid on him. The closing question confesses the task too great for any man.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"There was no wise man like you before you, and there will not be after you." Therefore, because the Lord had given [Solomon] an abundance of prudence, "like the sand of the sea," that he might judge his people "in wisdom," thus he could exercise many virtues at the same time.
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON THEOLOGY, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 2(28).21 · Written before 390.
proposed
The truth, and the whole Word, is full of difficulty and obscurity; and as it were with a small instrument we are undertaking a great work, when with merely human wisdom we pursue the knowledge of the self-existent, and in company with, or not apart from, the senses, by which we are borne hither and thither and led into error, we apply ourselves to the search after things that are only to be grasped by the mind, and we are unable by meeting bare realities with bare intellect to approximate somewhat more closely to the truth and to mold the mind by its concepts.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and I shall go forth before this people and come in And also, a king requires a wise heart to know how to judge, and I am young and tender.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Since this was in your heart For a person does not request this thing unless he has the fear of Heaven in his heart, as it is stated (Ex.:21): “But you must seek out from the people men of ability, God-fearing men.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַתָּ֗ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| חָכְמָ֤ה | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וּמַדָּע֙ | umada' | and knowledge | H4093 → | 6 times |
| תֶּן־ | ten- | give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִ֔י | li | to me | ||
| וְאֵֽצְאָ֛ה | veetzeah | so let me go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָֽעָם־ | haom- | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְאָב֑וֹאָה | veavoah | so I may come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יִשְׁפֹּ֔ט | yishpot | will he judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמְּךָ֥ | ʾamekha | people your | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הַגָּדֽוֹל׃ ס | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
עַתָּ֗הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
חָכְמָ֤הwisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
וּמַדָּע֙and knowledge
umada'H4093 →6 times
תֶּן־give
ten-H5414 →2011 times
לִ֔יto me
li
וְאֵֽצְאָ֛הso let me go out
veetzeahH3318 →1067 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָֽעָם־the people
haom-H5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וְאָב֑וֹאָהso I may come
veavoahH935 →2568 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יִשְׁפֹּ֔טwill he judge
yishpotH8199 →202 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמְּךָ֥people your
ʾamekhaH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הַגָּדֽוֹל׃ ס<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 3:9Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
it leads to
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:16
How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 5:14
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
- James 1:5
Through
2 Samuel 5:2Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel,…
it leads to
- Matthew 2:6
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…
- Micah 5:4
He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to…
- Ezekiel 34:23
I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- Matthew 2:6
Through
Proverbs 4:7Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:12
For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16–18
And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON THEOLOGY, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 2(28).21; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 11.2.