2 Chronicles 32:8
in 2 Chronicles 32With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
with him is an arm of flesh; but with us is Jehovah our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
KJV
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
⋯
This verse in 2 Chronicles 32
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2250: “Words To Rest On” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
IT is very beautiful reading, the story of Hezekiah, to see how the people always went with him. God had prepared the nation for a change and when the hour came, the man came with it. Under his father Ahaz, the people had been idolaters and had forsaken God. But, when Hezekiah became king, he had a zeal for the worship of Jehovah, and on the very threshold of his reign he began what proved to be a glorious reformation in the land.
This site's exposition
Be strong and courageous
on 2 Chronicles 32:7-8
The charge opens with “Be strong and courageous”, words spoken earlier to Joshua and to Asa. Adam Clarke hears Elisha’s word of 2 Kings 6:16 in “there is a greater One with us than with him”. Then “the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah”.
This site's exposition
only the arm of flesh
Jeremiah 17:5 uses the same picture of flesh for the man who trusts in man. Charles Spurgeon marks how often the people went with Hezekiah in this story, a nation that had followed idols under Ahaz. Here they lean on the king's words.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
With him is an arm of flesh,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib . . . was purposed to fight against Jerusalem--An account of the means taken to fortify Jerusalem against the threatened siege is given only in this passage.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2250: “Words To Rest On” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IT is very beautiful reading, the story of Hezekiah, to see how the people always went with him. God had prepared the nation for a change and when the hour came, the man came with it. Under his father Ahaz, the people had been idolaters and had forsaken God. But, when Hezekiah became king, he had a zeal for the worship of Jehovah, and on the very threshold of his reign he began what proved to be a glorious reformation in the land. He seems to have been a man who was attractive to the people and they took up his line of things at once with enthusiasm. Whether he proposed to break down the idols, to cleanse the Temple, or to bring tithes into the House of God, they made no objections, but, on the contrary, they followed his word with much vigor and earnestness. It is a grand thing when God sends a man who can guide others aright—especially when, in times of apostasy and spiritual declension, a leader is given who becomes a guide back to the old paths. We should feel exceedingly grateful whenever, in any place, God raises up a judge to deliver Israel and when the people serve God all the days of that judge. When our text comes in, the people of Judah were in great straits. The Assyrians, who were both cruel and barbarous in their treatment of others, had invaded the land and had captured all the country, with the exception of Jerusalem. The city of the Great King was yet untrod by the armies of the alien, but it looked as if it could not hold out very long, and Hezekiah encouraged his men of war by exciting their faith in their God. "Be strong and courageous," he said to them.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The faith, which Hezekiah’s words express, presently wavered, died away, and was succeeded by despair and submission (compare 2Ki 18:14-16 notes).
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עִמּוֹ֙ | imo | [is] with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| זְר֣וֹעַ | zeroa' | an arm of | H2220 → | |
| בָּשָׂ֔ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | |
| וְעִמָּ֜נוּ | veimanu | and [is] with us | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְעָזְרֵ֔נוּ | leazerenu | to help us | H5826 → | 81 times |
| וּלְהִלָּחֵ֖ם | ulehilachem | and to fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| מִלְחֲמֹתֵ֑נוּ | milchamotenu | battles our | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וַיִּסָּמְכ֣וּ | vaiyisamekhu | and they supported themselves | H5564 → | |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֖י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְחִזְקִיָּ֥הוּ | yechizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ פ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
עִמּוֹ֙[is] with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
זְר֣וֹעַan arm of
zeroa'H2220 →
בָּשָׂ֔רflesh
basarH1320 →
וְעִמָּ֜נוּand [is] with us
veimanuH5973 →1050 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
לְעָזְרֵ֔נוּto help us
leazerenuH5826 →81 times
וּלְהִלָּחֵ֖םand to fight
ulehilachemH3898 →177 times
מִלְחֲמֹתֵ֑נוּbattles our
milchamotenuH4421 →320 times
וַיִּסָּמְכ֣וּand they supported themselves
vaiyisamekhuH5564 →
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דִּבְרֵ֖י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
יְחִזְקִיָּ֥הוּHezekiah
yechizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃ פJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 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
Isaiah 41:10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your…
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Joshua 1:9
Through
Jeremiah 17:5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:8–9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Psalms 146:3–4
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Psalms 118:8–9
Through
2 Chronicles 20:17You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
it leads to
- Exodus 14:13–14
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never…
- Exodus 14:13–14
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonDivided kingdomHezekiahThe reforming king of Judah who trusted Jehovah against Sennacherib, spread the Assyrian letter before the LORD, was granted fifte…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2250: “Words To Rest On” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2250; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Chronicles.