2 Chronicles 29:11
in 2 Chronicles 29Now, my sons, do not be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, to minister before Him, and to burn incense.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My sons, be not now negligent; for Jehovah hath chosen you to stand before him, to minister unto him, and that ye should be his ministers, and burn incense.
KJV
My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 29
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD
on 2 Chronicles 29:10-11
Hezekiah's resolve echoes the renewals Asa led at 15:12 and Jehoiada at 23:16, a pattern Chronicles returns to whenever a reign turns. Verse 11 addresses the Levites by their calling: “the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him”. What Hezekiah warns against is negligence.
This site's exposition
the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him
Gill marks Hezekiah's address, my sons, the word of a father to his household from a king of twenty-five. The duties run from standing before the LORD to burning incense, which the law kept for Aaron's sons at Numbers 16:40. The charge takes in the priests along with the Levites.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. 17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the L ORD : so they sanctified the house of the L ORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v16-17
My sons,....
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בָּנַ֕י | banai | O sons my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּשָּׁל֑וּ | tishalu | you be negligent | H7952 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָכֶ֞ם | vakhem | <in> you | ||
| בָּחַ֣ר | bachar | he has chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַעֲמֹ֤ד | laamod | to stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנָיו֙ | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹ | leshareto | to serve him | H8334 → | 97 times |
| וְלִהְי֥וֹת | velihyot | and to be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| מְשָׁרְתִ֥ים | mesharetim | servants | H8334 → | 97 times |
| וּמַקְטִרִֽים׃ ס | umaktirim | and makers of smoke | H6999 → | 116 times |
בָּנַ֕יO sons my
banaiH1121 →4930 times
עַתָּ֖הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּשָּׁל֑וּyou be negligent
tishaluH7952 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בָכֶ֞ם<in> you
vakhem
בָּחַ֣רhe has chosen
bacharH977 →171 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַעֲמֹ֤דto stand
laamodH5975 →521 times
לְפָנָיו֙<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
לְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹto serve him
lesharetoH8334 →97 times
וְלִהְי֥וֹתand to be
velihyotH1961 →3559 times
ל֖וֹof him
lo
מְשָׁרְתִ֥יםservants
mesharetimH8334 →97 times
וּמַקְטִרִֽים׃ סand makers of smoke
umaktirimH6999 →116 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Deuteronomy 10:8At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 21:5
And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every…
- Deuteronomy 18:5
For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.
- Numbers 3:6
“Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.
- Numbers 4:15
When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they…
- Numbers 6:23–26
“Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
- Deuteronomy 21:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.