2 Chronicles 20:8
in 2 Chronicles 20They have lived in the land and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
KJV
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis 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
have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name
The third plea is the temple, built in the land for God's Name. Matthew Henry notes that the gift came from God's own hand, and so the house gave a ground to expect an answer. Clarke records that the Targum renders the phrase as for the name of your Word.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), not as if that merited any thing at God's hand, for of his own they gave him, but it was such a token of God's favourable presence with them that they had promised themselves he would hear and help them when, in their distress, they cried to him before that house,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they dwelt therein,.... From ages past, hitherto, since it was first given them, and they were put into the possession of it: and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name; a temple for his worship, honour, and glory, and for him to dwell in; and is a reason why it might be hoped he would protect them, especially when they prayed to him: saying; and he promised to hear and help them, as follows.
Here thy name is; here we are. Lord, help us, for the glory of thy name." (5.) He pleads the ingratitude and injustice of his enemies: "We are such as it will be thy glory to appear for; they are such as it will be thy glory to appear against; for, [1.] They ill requite our ancient kindnesses.
The Nineteenth Century2 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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Therein for thy name - “For the name of thy Word.” - Targum.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּ־ | vaiyeshevu- | and they have dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָ֑הּ | vah | in it | ||
| וַיִּבְנ֨וּ | vaiyivnu | and they have built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| לְךָ֧׀ | lekha | for <the> you | ||
| בָּ֛הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| מִקְדָּ֖שׁ | mikdash | a sanctuary | H4720 → | 75 times |
| לְשִׁמְךָ֥ | leshimkha | for name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּ־and they have dwelt
vaiyeshevu-H3427 →1079 times
בָ֑הּin it
vah
וַיִּבְנ֨וּand they have built
vaiyivnuH1129 →376 times
לְךָ֧׀for <the> you
lekha
בָּ֛הּin <the> it
bah
מִקְדָּ֖שׁa sanctuary
mikdashH4720 →75 times
לְשִׁמְךָ֥for name your
leshimkhaH8034 →864 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 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
2 Chronicles 2:4Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making…
it leads to
- Exodus 30:7
And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.
- Exodus 25:30
And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.
- 2 Chronicles 2:1
Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
- 1 Kings 8:18
But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.
- Leviticus 23:1–17
Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Exodus 30:7
Through
2 Chronicles 6:10Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
- 1 Kings 2:12
So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
- Ecclesiastes 1:4
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
- 1 Chronicles 29:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.