2 Chronicles 7:19
in 2 Chronicles 7But if you turn away and forsake the statutes and commandments I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
KJV
But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
⋯
This verse in 2 Chronicles 7
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
But if you turn away and forsake the statutes
on 2 Chronicles 7:19-22
The warning matches the promise in weight: serving other gods brings Israel uprooted “from the soil I have given them”. The exile that closes the book at 36:15-21 carries the warning out. The answer names one cause, “Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the L ORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the L ORD , saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v3-4
He knew their proneness to backslide into that sin. He threatened it as certain that, if they did so, it would certainly be the ruin of both church and state.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
But should you turn away. This means: you and the Israelite nation.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I shall cast from before Me according to the condition between Me and you, viz. (Lev.: 14): “But if you do not heed Me.” What does it say there? (verse 31): “And I shall make your sanctuaries desolate.”
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. 2 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תְּשׁוּב֣וּן | teshuvun | you will turn away ! | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אַתֶּ֔ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וַעֲזַבְתֶּם֙ | vaazavtem | and you will forsake | H5800 → | 215 times |
| חֻקּוֹתַ֣י | chukotai | statutes my | H2708 → | |
| וּמִצְוֹתַ֔י | umitzvotai | and commandments my | H4687 → | 181 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֖תִּי | natati | I have set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִפְנֵיכֶ֑ם | lifneikhem | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗ם | vahalakhtem | and you will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַעֲבַדְתֶּם֙ | vaavadtem | and you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲחֵרִ֔ים | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖ם | vehishtachavitem | and you will bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לָהֶֽם׃ | lahem | to them |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
תְּשׁוּב֣וּןyou will turn away !
teshuvunH7725 →1056 times
אַתֶּ֔םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
וַעֲזַבְתֶּם֙and you will forsake
vaazavtemH5800 →215 times
חֻקּוֹתַ֣יstatutes my
chukotaiH2708 →
וּמִצְוֹתַ֔יand commandments my
umitzvotaiH4687 →181 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֖תִּיI have set
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לִפְנֵיכֶ֑ם<to> before you
lifneikhemH6440 →2123 times
וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗םand you will go
vahalakhtemH1980 →1546 times
וַעֲבַדְתֶּם֙and you will serve
vaavadtemH5647 →288 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםgods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲחֵרִ֔יםother
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖םand you will bow down
vehishtachavitemH7812 →172 times
לָהֶֽם׃to them
lahem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 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
1 Chronicles 28:9As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
- James 4:8–11
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their…
- Jeremiah 29:13
Through
Deuteronomy 28:15If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
it leads to
- Malachi 2:2
If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse…
- Malachi 2:2
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.