2 Chronicles 11:17
in 2 Chronicles 11So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon for three years, because they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years; for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon.
KJV
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Three years - i. e., during the first three years of Rehoboam’s reign. In the fourth year an apostasy took place, which neutralized all the advantages of the immigration (marginal reference). In the fifth the apostasy was punished by the invasion and success of Shishak 2Ch 12:2.
This site's exposition
set their hearts to seek
on 2 Chronicles 11:16-17
After the priests, the faithful of the other tribes follow: such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel come to Jerusalem to sacrifice, the verb Chronicles uses to measure every reign, already planted at 1 Chr 16:10-11 and returning through the book to 2 Chr 15:2, if ye seek him, he will be found of you. Their arrival strengthens the kingdom of Judah for three years, during which they walked in the way of David and Solomon. Albert Barnes notes the count matters: the fourth year brings Rehoboam's own apostasy at 12:1, and the fifth brings Shishak, so the three good years are bounded on both sides by the reign the Chronicler actually measures him by.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), not only by the addition of so many persons to it, who, it is likely, brought what they could of their effects with them, but by their piety and their prayers they procured a blessing upon the kingdom which was a sanctuary to them. It is the interest of a nation to protect and encourage religion and religious people, and adds more than any thing to its strength.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The priests and Levites, refusing to take part in the idolatrous ceremonies, were ejected from their living [2Ch 11:13, 14]. Along with them a large body of the people who faithfully adhered to the instituted worship of God, offended and shocked by the impious innovations, departed from the kingdom.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they strengthened the kingdom of Judah--The innovating measures of Jeroboam were not introduced all at once. But as they were developed, the secession of the most excellent of his subjects began, and continuing to increase for three years, lowered the tone of religion in his kingdom, while it proportionally quickened its life and extended its influence in that of Judah.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
For three years they walked in the way of David - During this time he prospered; but for fourteen years after this he and the people were unfaithful to the Lord, except at such intervals as the hand of God’s judgments was upon them.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְחַזְּקוּ֙ | vaychazeku | and they strengthened | H2388 → | 291 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַלְכ֣וּת | malkhut | [the] kingdom of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַֽיְאַמְּצ֛וּ | vayametzu | and they strengthened | H553 → | 41 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רְחַבְעָ֥ם | rechavam | Rehoboam | H7346 → | 50 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לְשָׁנִ֣ים | leshanim | for years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| שָׁל֑וֹשׁ | shaloosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָֽלְכ֗וּ | halekhu | they walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּדֶ֧רֶךְ | bederekh | in [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| דָּוִ֛יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וּשְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | ushelomoh | and Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לְשָׁנִ֥ים | leshanim | for years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| שָׁלֽוֹשׁ׃ | shaloosh | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
וַֽיְחַזְּקוּ֙and they strengthened
vaychazekuH2388 →291 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַלְכ֣וּת[the] kingdom of
malkhutH4438 →91 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַֽיְאַמְּצ֛וּand they strengthened
vayametzuH553 →41 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
רְחַבְעָ֥םRehoboam
rechavamH7346 →50 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֖הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לְשָׁנִ֣יםfor years
leshanimH8141 →877 times
שָׁל֑וֹשׁthree
shalooshH7969 →432 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הָֽלְכ֗וּthey walked
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
בְּדֶ֧רֶךְin [the] way of
bederekhH1870 →707 times
דָּוִ֛ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וּשְׁלֹמֹ֖הand Solomon
ushelomohH8010 →291 times
לְשָׁנִ֥יםfor years
leshanimH8141 →877 times
שָׁלֽוֹשׁ׃three
shalooshH7969 →432 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
Hosea 6:4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:34–37
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Hosea 11:8
How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within…
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Psalms 106:12–13
Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.
- Matthew 13:21
But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
- Psalms 78:34–37
Through
2 Chronicles 12:1After Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he and all Israel with him forsook the Law of the LORD.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 12:13
Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of…
- 2 Chronicles 26:13–16
Under their authority was an army of 307,500 trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.
- 1 Kings 14:22–24
And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.
- 2 Chronicles 12:13
About 2 Chronicles

Who and where
4 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 (…
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonSolomonDavid's son and the third king of Israel; the temple-builder and wisdom-king, to whom Psalms 72 and 127 are ascribed.
- PersonDivided kingdomRehoboamSolomon's son whose refusal of the elders' counsel at Shechem — answering the people with scorpions — tore ten tribes from the hou…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
