2 Chronicles 13:20
in 2 Chronicles 13Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck him down and he died.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and Jehovah smote him, and he died.
KJV
Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the Lord struck him, and he died.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe Lord struck him, and he died - Who died? Abijah or Jeroboam? Some think it was Jeroboam; some, that it was Abijah. Both rabbins and Christians are divided on this point; nor is it yet settled. The prevailing opinion is that Jeroboam is meant, who was struck then with that disease of which he died about two years after; for he did not die till two years after Abijah: see 1Ki 14:20; 1Ki 15:9. It seems as if Jeroboam was meant, not Abijah.
This site's exposition
pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him
on 2 Chronicles 13:19-20
Abijah pursues and takes border towns rather than the ten tribes themselves; JFB reads it as abandoning any wider conquest and settling for towns Jeroboam had absorbed, Bethel chief among them for its old associations reaching back to Jacob. Jeroboam never recovers strength in Abijah's short reign, and the Lord struck him, and he died; Clarke notes both rabbinic and Christian readers divided over whether Jeroboam or Abijah is meant, with the majority reading taking Jeroboam as the one struck, since he is recorded living roughly two more years past Abijah's own death at 1 Kings 14:20 and 15:9.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Lord struck him either with some bodily disease, of which he languished, or with melancholy and trouble of mind; his heart was broken, and vexation at his loss brought his head, probably by this time a hoary head, with sorrow to the grave. He escaped the sword of Abijah, but God struck him: and there is no escaping his sword.
Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He lived, indeed, two years after the death of Abijah (1Ki 14:20; But he had been threatened with great calamities upon himself and his house, and it is apparently to the execution of these threatenings, which issued in his death, that an anticipatory reference is here made.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Jeroboam’s death was a judgment upon him for his sins. Chronologically speaking, his death is here out of place, for he outlived Abijah at least two years (compare the marginal reference and 1Ki 15:9); but the writer, not intending to recur to his history, is naturally led to carry it on to its termination.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And Jeroboam could muster no more strength, etc., and the Lord smote him i.e., Jeroboam.
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. 4 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
10 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 |
| עָצַ֧ר | ʾatzar | he retained | H6113 → | 47 times |
| כֹּֽחַ־ | koach- | [the] strength of | H3581 → | 126 times |
| יָרָבְעָ֛ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| בִּימֵ֣י | bimei | in [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֲבִיָּ֑הוּ | ʾaviyahu | Abijah | H29 → | 25 times |
| וַיִּגְּפֵ֥הוּ | vaiyigefehu | and he struck him | H5062 → | 49 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיָּמֹֽת׃ פ | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָצַ֧רhe retained
ʾatzarH6113 →47 times
כֹּֽחַ־[the] strength of
koach-H3581 →126 times
יָרָבְעָ֛םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
בִּימֵ֣יin [the] days of
bimeiH3117 →2304 times
אֲבִיָּ֑הוּAbijah
ʾaviyahuH29 →25 times
וַיִּגְּפֵ֥הוּand he struck him
vaiyigefehuH5062 →49 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיָּמֹֽת׃ פand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 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
Acts 12:23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
it leads to
- Acts 10:25–26
As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
- Psalms 115:1
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Acts 14:14–15
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
- Daniel 5:18–24
As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
- Acts 10:25–26
Through
1 Samuel 26:10David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
it leads to
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Deuteronomy 31:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua…
- Genesis 47:29
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise…
- Romans 12:19
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.