2 Chronicles 30:19
in 2 Chronicles 30who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that setteth his heart to seek God, Jehovah, the God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
KJV
That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 30
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe sanctuary - With that purification which was required of them that came in God's sanctuary. So he calls it to distinguish from that internal purity which they are here acknowledged to have. The great thing required in our attendance on God's ordinances is, that we prepare our heart to seek him; that the inward man be engaged, that we make heart work of it.
This site's exposition
they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written
on 2 Chronicles 30:18-20
“May the LORD, who is good, provide atonement for everyone” “who sets his heart on seeking God”, the measure Chronicles applies to every king. Then “the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people”, which John Gill reads as forgiveness, citing Psalm 41:4 and Psalm 103:3.
This site's exposition
who sets his heart on seeking God
The prayer names the Chronicler's central measure and weighs it above the outward rules of cleansing. John Wesley explains the purification of the sanctuary as the washing required of those who came into God's house. Spurgeon preached this text to believers who felt unfit to come to the Lord's Table.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"What shall we do," says Hezekiah, "about the passover? It is a very comfortable ordinance, and has been long neglected. The time has elapsed for this year; we cannot go about it immediately; the congregation is thin, the people have not notice, the priests are not prepared,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
BRETHREN, it should be much to our joy that we do not serve under the ceremonial Law, nor live within the legal dispensation. The legal economy exhibited to the people a multitude of types and figures and consequently it laid down many rules and rituals—and these were enacted with such solemn and terrible penalties that the people were in constant fear of offending and found obedience irksome by reason of the weakness of their flesh and the unspirituality of their minds. As for our Lord Jesus, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
BRETHREN, it should be much to our joy that we do not serve under the ceremonial Law, nor live within the legal dispensation. The legal economy exhibited to the people a multitude of types and figures and consequently it laid down many rules and rituals—and these were enacted with such solemn and terrible penalties that the people were in constant fear of offending and found obedience irksome by reason of the weakness of their flesh and the unspirituality of their minds. As for our Lord Jesus, His yoke is easy and His burden is light. But concerning the Law, even Peter speaks of it as "a yoke which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." We are now brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God, a liberty which those who had been in the bondage could best appreciate. Those who are still under legal restrictions feel the pressure of them when they see the liberty of others. Sitting at dinner with a Samaritan who considered himself under the Law of the Pentateuch, I noticed that the worthy man refused first one dish and then another, and at length he exclaimed, "Moses very hard," evidently feeling that the limit upon his diet involved a good deal of self-denial. Some of us could cheerfully bear such small matters as abstinence from certain meats and drinks, but if we were surrounded with regulations and prescriptions entering into minute details, our life would be full of cares and we should feel ill at ease. We have attained the liberty of the Gospel and we are not called upon to observe days, and months and years—nor to border our garments with a certain color, nor to trim our hair by rule. Neither are we called to practice different washing and purifying, or to observe laws and regulations amounting to a continual round of rites.
How the passage was read
On 2 Chronicles 30:1-27On 2 Chronicles 30:1-27
The Passover held a month late
Hezekiah's great Passover is kept in the SECOND month, and that is not an irregularity he invented: the Law itself provides a one-month make-up date for those unclean or far off (Numbers 9:10–11, the “Second Passover”). Hezekiah applies the provision nationally because the priests and the people could not be ready in time. Notice the chapter's heart: many northerners ate the Passover ritually unclean, and the king prays for them, “may the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God,” and the LORD heals the people. The feast's paperwork bends; the seeking heart is heard.
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
for they ate the Passover sacrifice not as it is written not in accordance with halachah, for they ate it in a state of uncleanness, for Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, etc.
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.
Sources: Numbers 9:10–11 (the Second-Passover provision) · Mishnah Pesachim 9:1 (the provision in the oral law)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| לְבָב֣וֹ | levavo | [one who] heart his | H3824 → | 252 times |
| הֵכִ֔ין | hekhin | he has directed | H3559 → | 217 times |
| לִדְר֛וֹשׁ | lidroosh | to seek | H1875 → | 164 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֥ים׀ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבוֹתָ֑יו | ʾavotav | ancestors his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְלֹ֖א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כְּטָהֳרַ֥ת | ketohorat | according to [the] purification of | H2893 → | |
| הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃ ס | hakodesh | the holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
לְבָב֣וֹ[one who] heart his
levavoH3824 →252 times
הֵכִ֔יןhe has directed
hekhinH3559 →217 times
לִדְר֛וֹשׁto seek
lidrooshH1875 →164 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֥ים׀<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבוֹתָ֑יוancestors his
ʾavotavH1 →1212 times
וְלֹ֖אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
כְּטָהֳרַ֥תaccording to [the] purification of
ketohoratH2893 →
הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃ סthe holy place
hakodeshH6944 →469 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
Proverbs 23:26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
it leads to
- Psalms 119:2
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.
- Psalms 119:9–11
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.
- Deuteronomy 6:5
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
- Matthew 10:37–38
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- Psalms 119:2
Through
Psalms 10:17You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear,
it leads to
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- 2 Chronicles 34:27
because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and you have…
- Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- 1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Psalms 145:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2131: “To Those Who Feel Unfit for Communion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.