2 Chronicles 14:4
in 2 Chronicles 14He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and commanded Judah to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
KJV
And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers,.... To pray to him, and him only, and attend his worship and service; this he did by a public edict: and to do the law and the commandment: to observe all the laws of God, moral, ceremonial, and civil.
This site's exposition
did that which was good and right
on 2 Chronicles 14:2-5
Asa's reform runs point by point: the altars of strange gods, the high places, the images and the groves come down, and he commands Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and do the law and the commandment, the seeking refrain the Chronicler tracks through every reign that follows. Kings and Chronicles do not agree on the detail: 1 Kings 15:14 says the high places were not removed under Asa, while this chapter says they were, the same tension the record states again of Jehoshaphat at 2 Chronicles 17:6 against 20:33. Henry reads the reform as ground recovered since Solomon's old age, when idolatry first got a foothold and went unchecked.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), they being a great provocation to a jealous God and a great temptation to a careless unthinking people. He hoped by destroying the idols to reform the idolaters, which he aimed at, rather than to ruin them. He revived and established the pure worship of God; and, since the priests did their part in attending God's altars, he obliged the people to do theirs (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
): He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and not the gods of the heathen, and to do the law and the commandments, that is, to observe all divine institutions, which many had utterly neglected. In doing this, the land was quiet before him,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And he commanded Judah to seek unlike the Ten Tribes, who sought other, new Gods, which came up of late, and did not seek the God of their fathers.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִֽיהוּדָ֔ה | lihudah | to Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לִדְר֕וֹשׁ | lidroosh | to seek | H1875 → | 164 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבוֹתֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾavoteihem | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְלַעֲשׂ֖וֹת | velaasot | and to observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַתּוֹרָ֥ה | hatorah | the law | H8451 → | 219 times |
| וְהַמִּצְוָֽה׃ | vehamitzvah | and the commandment | H4687 → | 181 times |
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לִֽיהוּדָ֔הto Judah
lihudahH3063 →819 times
לִדְר֕וֹשׁto seek
lidrooshH1875 →164 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבוֹתֵיהֶ֑םancestors their
ʾavoteihemH1 →1212 times
וְלַעֲשׂ֖וֹתand to observe
velaasotH6213 →2628 times
הַתּוֹרָ֥הthe law
hatorahH8451 →219 times
וְהַמִּצְוָֽה׃and the commandment
vehamitzvahH4687 →181 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
Amos 5:4For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live!
it leads to
- Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2
So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him,…
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Psalms 14:2
The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Isaiah 55:3
Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
- Zephaniah 2:3
Through
2 Chronicles 30:19who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 19:3
However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart on seeking God.”
- Proverbs 23:26
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
- 2 Chronicles 19:3
Through
2 Chronicles 29:21They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And the king commanded the priests, the descendants of…
it leads to
- Leviticus 4:3–14
If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
- Leviticus 4:3–14
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.