2 Chronicles 20:6
in 2 Chronicles 20and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.
KJV
And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseJehoshaphat stood - What an instructive sight was this! The king who proclaimed the fast was foremost to observe it, and was on this occasion the priest of the people; offering in the congregation, without form or any premeditation, one of the most sensible, pious, correct, and as to its composition one of the most elegant prayers ever offered under the Old Testament dispensation.
This site's exposition
in front of the new courtyard
on 2 Chronicles 20:5-9
Jehoshaphat prays in the temple court and quotes Solomon's dedication back to God. Verse 9 restates Solomon's petition at 6:28-30: if disaster comes, the people will stand before the temple, and God will hear and save. He calls Abraham “Your friend”, a title Isaiah 41:8 and James 2:23 repeat.
This site's exposition
Power and might are in Your hand
The prayer begins with who God is: God in heaven, who rules “all the kingdoms of the nations”, with “Power and might” in His hand. The words echo David's blessing at 1 Chronicles 29:12. The king who proclaimed the fast leads the prayer himself, as Clarke observes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And said, O Lord God of our fathers,....
Is not thy dominion, supreme over kingdoms themselves, and universal, over all kingdoms, even those of the heathen that know thee not? Control these heathen then; set bounds to their daring threatening insults. Is there not in thy hand the power and might which none is able to withstand?
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jehoshaphat stood . . . in the house of the Lord, before the new court--that is, the great or outer court (2Ch 4:9) called the new court, probably from having been at that time enlarged or beautified.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And said, O Lord God of our fathers--This earnest and impressive prayer embraces every topic and argument which, as king and representative of the chosen people, he could urge.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Jehoshaphat’s appeal is threefold: (1) to God omnipotent 2Ch 20:6; (2) to “our God;” (3) the God especially “of this house” the temple. 2Ch 20:7 Abraham thy friend - Historically, this is the first use of this remarkable expression, afterward repeated (marginal references). The ground of the expression is to be found principally in Gen 18:23-33, where Abraham spoke with God as a man with his friend (compare Exo 33:11). 2Ch 20:8, 2Ch 20:9 The appeal recalls Solomon’s prayer (marginal references), which God had formally accepted by sending down fire from heaven to consume the accompanying offering.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֗ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֞ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾavoteinu | ancestors our | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הֲלֹ֨א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַתָּֽה־ | ʾatah- | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| ה֤וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בַּשָּׁמַ֔יִם | bashamayim | in the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| מוֹשֵׁ֔ל | moshel | [are] ruler | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בְּכֹ֖ל | bekhol | over all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַמְלְכ֣וֹת | mamlekhot | [the] kingdoms of | H4467 → | 117 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֑ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| וּבְיָדְךָ֙ | uveyadekha | and [are] in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כֹּ֣חַ | koach | power | H3581 → | 126 times |
| וּגְבוּרָ֔ה | ugevurah | and strength | H1369 → | |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| עִמְּךָ֖ | ʾimekha | [is] with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לְהִתְיַצֵּֽב׃ | lehityatzev | to hold ground | H3320 → | 48 times |
וַיֹּאמַ֗רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֞הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙ancestors our
ʾavoteinuH1 →1212 times
הֲלֹ֨א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
אַתָּֽה־[are] you
ʾatah-H859 →1094 times
ה֤וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
בַּשָּׁמַ֔יִםin the heavens
bashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְאַתָּ֣הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
מוֹשֵׁ֔ל[are] ruler
moshelH4910 →81 times
בְּכֹ֖לover all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מַמְלְכ֣וֹת[the] kingdoms of
mamlekhotH4467 →117 times
הַגּוֹיִ֑םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
וּבְיָדְךָ֙and [are] in hand your
uveyadekhaH3027 →1618 times
כֹּ֣חַpower
koachH3581 →126 times
וּגְבוּרָ֔הand strength
ugevurahH1369 →
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
עִמְּךָ֖[is] with you
ʾimekhaH5973 →1050 times
לְהִתְיַצֵּֽב׃to hold ground
lehityatzevH3320 →48 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 4:17This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it…
it leads to
- Daniel 2:21
He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Daniel 4:25
You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven,…
- Psalms 75:6–7
For exaltation comes neither from east nor west, nor out of the desert,
- 1 Samuel 2:8
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth…
- Jeremiah 27:5–7
By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Daniel 2:21
Through
Deuteronomy 4:39Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
it leads to
- Joshua 2:11
When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.
- Deuteronomy 4:35
You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
- 1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom,…
- Joshua 2:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.