2 Chronicles 20:3
in 2 Chronicles 20Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
KJV
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
General fasts had been previously observed by the Israelites (e. g. Jdg 20:26; 1Sa 7:6); but we do not hear of any fast having been “proclaimed” by authority before this.
This site's exposition
proclaimed a fast
on 2 Chronicles 20:3-4
Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and “set his face to seek the LORD”, the verb Chronicles measures every king by, and “he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah”. The people gathered “from all the cities of Judah to seek Him”. The crisis becomes an assembly before it becomes a campaign.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Fasting from bodily refreshments, upon such extraordinary occasions, is a token of self-judging for the sins we have committed (we own ourselves unworthy of the bread we eat, and that God might justly withhold it from us), and of self-denial for the future; fasting for sin implies a resolution to fast from it, though it has been to us as a sweet morsel.
And Jehoshaphat feared,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Jehoshaphat feared - He found that he could not possibly stand against such a numerous army, and therefore could not expect to be delivered except by the strong arm of God. To get this assistance, it was necessary to seek it; and to get such extraordinary help, they should seek it in an extraordinary way; hence he proclaimed a universal fast, and all the people came up to Jerusalem to seek the Lord.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּרָ֕א | vaiyira' | and he was afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֧ן | vaiyiten | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֛ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פָּנָ֖יו | panav | face his | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לִדְר֣וֹשׁ | lidroosh | to seek | H1875 → | 164 times |
| לַיהוָ֑ה | layahweh | <to> Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּקְרָא־ | vaiyikra'- | and he proclaimed | H7121 → | 733 times |
| צ֖וֹם | tzom | a fast | H6685 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וַיִּרָ֕אand he was afraid
vaiyira'H3372 →315 times
וַיִּתֵּ֧ןand he gave
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֛טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פָּנָ֖יוface his
panavH6440 →2123 times
לִדְר֣וֹשׁto seek
lidrooshH1875 →164 times
לַיהוָ֑ה<to> Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּקְרָא־and he proclaimed
vaiyikra'-H7121 →733 times
צ֖וֹםa fast
tzomH6685 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 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
Daniel 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:10–13
For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- James 5:16–18
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Esther 4:16
“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 1:4–11
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
- Jeremiah 29:10–13
Through
Joel 1:14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
it leads to
- Joel 2:15–16
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a sacred assembly.
- Leviticus 23:36
For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made by fire to…
- 2 Chronicles 20:13
Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD.
- Joel 2:15–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. H. Bennett, The Books of Chronicles (Expositor's Bible).