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2 Chronicles 2:4

in 2 Chronicles 2

Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Jehovah our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

KJV

Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

This verse in 2 Chronicles 2

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
The symbolic meaning of “burning incense” is indicated in Rev 8:3-4. Consult the marginal references to this verse. The solemn feasts - The three great annnual festivals, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of tabernacles Lev. 23:4-44; Deut. 16:1-17.

This site's exposition

As thou didst deal with David my father

on 2 Chronicles 2:3-6

Solomon's letter to Huram opens on precedent, as thou didst deal with David my father, then states what the house is for: incense, shewbread, the morning and evening burnt offerings, sabbaths, new moons and the solemn feasts, an ordinance for ever to Israel. Then comes v6, the confession that the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him, so the house is only a place to burn sacrifice before him and not a residence in the pagan sense. Kings keeps that theology for Solomon's dedication prayer at the temple's completion (1 Ki 8:27); Chronicles moves it forward into the building request itself, so the king writing for cedar already says plainly what the cedar cannot hold.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

No, the heaven of heavens cannot contain him. It is intended only for the convenience of his priests and worshippers, that they may have a fit place wherein to burn sacrifice before him." [3.] He looked upon himself, though a mighty prince, as unworthy the honour of being employed in this great work: Who am I that I should build him a house?

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

In opening the business, Solomon grounded his request for Tyrian aid on two reasons: 1. The temple he proposed to build must be a solid and permanent building because the worship was to be continued in perpetuity; and therefore the building materials must be of the most durable quality.

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הִנֵּה֩here!

    hinehH2009843 times

  • אֲנִ֨יI

    ʾaniH589874 times

  • בֽוֹנֶה־[am] about to build

    voneh-H1129376 times

  • בַּ֜יִתa house

    bayitH10042046 times

  • לְשֵׁ֣ם׀for [the] name of

    leshemH8034864 times

  • יְהוָ֣הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • אֱלֹהָ֗יGod my

    ʾelohaiH4302601 times

  • לְהַקְדִּ֣ישׁto consecrate [it]

    lehakdishH6942171 times

  • ל֡וֹto him

    lo

  • לְהַקְטִ֣ירto make smoke

    lehaktirH6999116 times

  • לְפָנָ֣יו<to> before him

    lefanavH64402123 times

  • קְטֹֽרֶת־incense of

    ketoret-H700460 times

  • סַמִּים֩perfume<s>

    samimH5561

  • וּמַעֲרֶ֨כֶתand [the] row of

    umaarekhetH463510 times

  • תָּמִ֤ידcontinuity

    tamidH8548104 times

  • וְעֹלוֹת֙and burnt offerings

    veolotH5930287 times

  • לַבֹּ֣קֶרfor the morning

    labokerH1242214 times

  • וְלָעֶ֔רֶבand for the evening

    velaerevH6153134 times

  • לַשַּׁבָּתוֹת֙for the sabbaths

    lashabatotH7676110 times

  • וְלֶ֣חֳדָשִׁ֔יםand for the new moons

    velechodashimH2320284 times

  • וּֽלְמוֹעֲדֵ֖יand for [the] appointed times of

    ulemoadeiH4150223 times

  • יְהוָ֣הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּGod our

    ʾeloheinuH4302601 times

  • לְעוֹלָ֖םfor ever

    leolamH5769438 times

  • זֹ֥אתthis

    zotH2063603 times

  • עַל־[is] on

    ʾal-H59215755 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel

    yisraelH34782507 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Exodus 25:30

    And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 24:5–9

      You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,

    • Matthew 12:4

      He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

    • Exodus 39:36

      the table with all its utensils and the Bread of the Presence;

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 2:1

    Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 5:5

      So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne…

  • Through

    Exodus 30:7

    And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 2:28

      And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I…

    • 1 Chronicles 23:13

      The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce…

    • Exodus 27:20–21

      And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.

  • Through

    1 Kings 8:18

    But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 6:7–9

      Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

About 2 Chronicles

Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Solomon Receives the Queen of Sheba, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

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 & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.