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2 Chronicles 34:30

in 2 Chronicles 34

And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites—all the people small and great—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, both great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of Jehovah.

KJV

And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord.

This verse in 2 Chronicles 34

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
The writer has characteristically substituted “Levites” for the “prophets” of 2Ki 23:2. No doubt Josiah was accompanied by priests, prophets, and Levites, but the writer of Kings thought it enough to mention the two former, and merged the Levites in the mass of the people. The writer of Chronicles, on the other hand, thinks the presence of Levites too important to he omitted, and as the prophets could be but few in number, passes them over.

This site's exposition

summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem

on 2 Chronicles 34:29-31

Where Kings has prophets, Chronicles names “the priests and the Levites,” a change Albert Barnes calls typical of this book's credit to the Levites. The king himself reads the covenant “in their hearing”. He then stands by the pillar and makes the covenant before he binds the nation to it.

This site's exposition

all the people small and great

The whole people, small and great, heard the book read, as Deuteronomy 31:10 to 13 required the law to be read before all Israel. Matthew Henry notes that the terms of the covenant were read so that the people could enter it knowing what they bound themselves to.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The articles of agreement between God and Israel being read, that they might intelligently covenant with God, both king and people with great solemnity did as it were subscribe the articles. The king in his place covenanted to keep God's commandments with all his heart and soul, according to what was written in the book (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Much of this we had 2 Kings xxii. 1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the L ORD , and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:87%@v1-3

The words behind it

26 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּ֣עַלand he went up

    vaiyaalH5927 →890 times

  • הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • בֵּית־[the] house of

    beit-H1004 →2046 times

  • יְ֠הוָהYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • אִ֨ישׁ<the> person of

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • יְהוּדָ֜הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • וְיֹשְׁבֵ֣יand [the] inhabitants of

    veyosheveiH3427 →1079 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • וְהַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙and the priests

    vehakohanimH3548 →750 times

  • וְהַלְוִיִּ֔םand the Levites

    vehalviyimH3881 →291 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הָעָ֖םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • מִגָּד֣וֹלfrom great

    migadolH1419 →526 times

  • וְעַד־and unto

    vead-H5704 →1261 times

  • קָטָ֑ןsmall

    katanH6996 →101 times

  • וַיִּקְרָ֣אand he read aloud

    vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times

  • בְאָזְנֵיהֶ֗םin ears their

    veazeneihemH241 →187 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • דִּבְרֵי֙[the] words of

    divreiH1697 →1440 times

  • סֵ֣פֶר[the] scroll of

    seferH5612 →186 times

  • הַבְּרִ֔יתthe covenant

    haberitH1285 →284 times

  • הַנִּמְצָ֖אwhich had been found

    hanimtza'H4672 →455 times

  • בֵּ֥ית[the] house of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Exodus 24:7

    Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 31:11–13

      when all Israel comes before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law in the hearing of all Israel.

    • Exodus 24:3–4

      When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”

    • Hebrews 9:18–23

      That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

    • Colossians 4:16

      After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

    • Acts 13:15

      After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”

  • Through

    2 Kings 23:2

    And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people small and great—and in their hearing…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 22:8

      Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.

    • Deuteronomy 31:10–13

      Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,

    • Revelation 20:12

      And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Chronicles

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.