2 Chronicles 32:19
in 2 Chronicles 32They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth—the work of human hands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they spake of the God of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
KJV
And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
spoke further against the LORD God
on 2 Chronicles 32:16-19
Sennacherib’s servants press the same argument in writing and aloud. Letters go out “mocking the LORD, the God of Israel”. Verse 19 states the blasphemy: “They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth”.
This site's exposition
the God of Jerusalem
The phrase the work of human hands is the Chronicler's verdict on the gods Assyria had beaten. Hezekiah's prayer at 2 Kings 19:18 makes the same point, that those gods were wood and stone. The God of Jerusalem made the hands.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), because that was the place he had chosen to put his name there, and because that was the place which was now threatened by the enemy and which the divine Providence had under its special protection.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
After, &c. - An emphatical preface, signifying, that notwithstanding all his zeal for God, God saw fit to exercise him with a sore trial. And God ordered it at this time, that he might have an opportunity of shewing himself strong, on the behalf of his returning people. It is possible, we may be in the way of our duty, and yet meet with trouble and danger.
And they spake against the God of Jerusalem,.... The only living and true God, whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem professed to be their God, and who was worshipped by them in the temple there: as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man; they made no difference between the one and the other, but spoke as freely and as contemptibly of the one as of the other, see Isa 36:19.
The real answer God gave to Sennacherib's blasphemies, and to Hezekiah's prayers, in the total rout of the Assyrian army, to the shame of Sennacherib and the honour of Hezekiah,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
with a loud voice in Judean, etc. to frighten them and to terrify them Here he relates the matter in generalities, but in II Kings (19) and in Isaiah (37) it is thoroughly elaborated upon.
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְדַבְּר֔וּ | vaydaberu | and they spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | concerning | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֖י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| כְּעַ֗ל | keal | as on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֱלֹהֵי֙ | ʾelohei | [the] gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַמֵּ֣י | ʾamei | [the] peoples of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה | maaseh | [the] work of | H4639 → | 236 times |
| יְדֵ֥י | yedei | [the] hands of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הָאָדָֽם׃ ס | haadam | <the> humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
וַֽיְדַבְּר֔וּand they spoke
vaydaberuH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־concerning
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֱלֹהֵ֖י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
כְּעַ֗לas on
kealH5921 →5755 times
אֱלֹהֵי֙[the] gods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
עַמֵּ֣י[the] peoples of
ʾameiH5971 →1873 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה[the] work of
maasehH4639 →236 times
יְדֵ֥י[the] hands of
yedeiH3027 →1618 times
הָאָדָֽם׃ ס<the> humankind
haadamH120 →551 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
Deuteronomy 4:28And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…
- Jeremiah 16:13
So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you…
- Isaiah 46:7
They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not…
- Deuteronomy 28:36
The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- Ezekiel 20:39
And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you…
- Deuteronomy 28:64
Through
Isaiah 2:8Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
it leads to
- Psalms 115:4–8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Revelation 9:20
Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze,…
- Psalms 115:4–8
Through
2 Kings 19:18They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
it leads to
- Acts 17:29
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
- Acts 17:29
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.