2 Kings 8:19
in 2 Kings 8Yet for the sake of His servant David, the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah, since He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit Jehovah would not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give unto him a lamp for his children alway.
KJV
Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.
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This verse in 2 Kings 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verseYet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake,.... Not for his merits, but for the mercy he assured him of: as he promised him to give to him always a light, and to his children; or a kingdom, as the Targum; therefore he would not utterly destroy the tribe, nor suffer the sceptre or government to depart from it till the Messiah came, see Psa 132:11.
This site's exposition
the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah
Judah's king marries into Ahab's house and does evil, yet “the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah”. The promise to David spares Jerusalem again at 19:34. Each king is measured by his own conduct and by a covenant he did not make, and here the covenant prevails.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But when the Messiah, was once come, there was no more need of any succession, and the scepter might and did without any inconvenience depart from Judah, and from all the succeeding branches of David's family, because the Messiah was to hold the kingdom forever in his own person, though not in so gross a way as the carnal Jews imagined.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To give him alway a light - To give him a successor in his own family.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָבָ֤ה | ʾavah | he was willing | H14 → | 54 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְהַשְׁחִ֣ית | lehashchit | to destroy | H7843 → | 146 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לְמַ֖עַן | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| דָּוִ֣ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| עַבְדּ֑וֹ | avdo | servant his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָֽמַר־ | ʾamar- | he had said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֗וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| לָתֵ֨ת | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| נִ֛יר | nir | a lamp | H5216 → | |
| לְבָנָ֖יו | levanav | to sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּמִֽים׃ | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָבָ֤הhe was willing
ʾavahH14 →54 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְהַשְׁחִ֣יתto destroy
lehashchitH7843 →146 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
לְמַ֖עַןfor [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
דָּוִ֣דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
עַבְדּ֑וֹservant his
avdoH5650 →799 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
אָֽמַר־he had said
ʾamar-H559 →5305 times
ל֗וֹto him
lo
לָתֵ֨תto give
latetH5414 →2011 times
ל֥וֹto him
lo
נִ֛ירa lamp
nirH5216 →
לְבָנָ֖יוto sons his
levanavH1121 →4930 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּמִֽים׃the days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 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
1 Kings 11:36I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:13
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 11:13
Through
Isaiah 37:35‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
it leads to
- Isaiah 38:6
And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
- 2 Kings 20:6
I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for…
- Isaiah 31:5
Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”
- Ephesians 1:14
who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.
- Isaiah 43:25
I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.
- Isaiah 38:6
Through
2 Samuel 7:15But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I moved out of your way.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
- Psalms 89:28
I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast.
- 1 Samuel 15:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.