2 Chronicles 36:12
in 2 Chronicles 36And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God; he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of Jehovah.
KJV
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 36
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old
on 2 Chronicles 36:11-13
Verse 12 names a failure Kings does not record. Zedekiah “did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD”, though a living voice of God was in his city. He had sworn loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar by God's name, John Wesley notes, so his rebellion carries perjury.
This site's exposition
did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet
Humbling oneself is the Chronicler's test: Rehoboam humbled himself in 12:6 and 7, Manasseh in 33:12, Josiah in 34:27, and each found mercy. Zedekiah is the last king measured by it. Adam Clarke notes these kings ruled as deputies of God and held the throne only while they were faithful.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
10 ), and, as mean a figure as he made, whoever would not humble themselves before him found that it was at their peril. (2.) If he had but been true to his covenant with the king of Babylon, that would have prevented his ruin; but he rebelled against him, though he had sworn to be his faithful tributary, and perfidiously violated his engagements to him,
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The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Did that which was evil - Was there ever such a set of weak, infatuated men as the Jewish kings in general? They had the fullest evidence that they were only deputies to God Almighty, and that they could not expect to retain the throne any longer than they were faithful to their Lord; and yet with all this conviction they lived wickedly, and endeavored to establish idolatry in the place of the worship of their Maker! After bearing with them long, the Divine mercy gave them up, as their case was utterly hopeless.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
On Zedekiah’s character, see 2Ki 24:19 note.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord What is the evil?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
who adjured him by God as is explained in Ezekiel (17:12): “Say now to the rebellious house, etc.” The entire chapter was written regarding Jehoiachin and Zedekiah: (verse 13f.) “took its king and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon,” refers to Jehoiachin and his company.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֣עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָרַ֔ע | hara' | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֖י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהָ֑יו | ʾelohav | God his | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִכְנַ֗ע | nikhna' | he humbled himself | H3665 → | 36 times |
| מִלִּפְנֵ֛י | milifnei | from to before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֥הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִ֖יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| מִפִּ֥י | mipi | from [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיַּ֣עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הָרַ֔עthe evil
hara'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֖יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהָ֑יוGod his
ʾelohavH430 →2601 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִכְנַ֗עhe humbled himself
nikhna'H3665 →36 times
מִלִּפְנֵ֛יfrom to before
milifneiH6440 →2123 times
יִרְמְיָ֥הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִ֖יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
מִפִּ֥יfrom [the] mouth of
mipiH6310 →498 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
2 Chronicles 33:23but he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done; instead, Amon increased his guilt.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 33:12
And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 33:19
His prayer and how God received his plea, as well as all his sin and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled…
- Jeremiah 7:26
Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 28:22
In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
- Jeremiah 8:12
Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish…
- 2 Chronicles 33:12
Through
Jeremiah 27:12And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!
it leads to
- Jeremiah 28:1
In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to…
- Jeremiah 38:17
Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live,…
- Ezekiel 17:11–21
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Jeremiah 28:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.