2 Chronicles 20:12
in 2 Chronicles 20Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
KJV
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
⋯
This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWilt thou not judge - Wilt thou not give sentence against them, and execute it upon them? The justice of God is the refuge of those that are wronged. No might - Though he had great armies, yet he seems to have been surprized by these men, before his forces were in readiness to oppose them.
This site's exposition
whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade
on 2 Chronicles 20:10-12
The legal argument sharpens: these are the nations Israel spared at God's own command in Deut 2, and this is how they reward the restraint, coming to cast Judah out of the inheritance. Then the prayer ends with the sentence the whole book keeps as its model: we have no might against this great company, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. Confessed helplessness aimed at God is the posture Chronicles calls strength.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But this is a sovereign remedy, our eyes are upon thee, an eye of acknowledgment and humble submission, an eye of faith and entire dependence, an eye of desire and hearty prayer, an eye of hope and patient expectation. In thee, O God! do we put our trust; our souls wait on thee. " God's Promise of Victory.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
O our God wilt thou not judge them?....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jehoshaphat stood . . . in the house of the Lord, before the new court--that is, the great or outer court (2Ch 4:9) called the new court, probably from having been at that time enlarged or beautified.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And said, O Lord God of our fathers--This earnest and impressive prayer embraces every topic and argument which, as king and representative of the chosen people, he could urge.
Wilt thou not judge them - That is, Thou wilt inflict deserved punishment upon them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
to drive us out of Your inheritance, which You caused us to inherit You Yourself. Therefore, on what basis can they contest our inheritance?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
also their infants It is customary that when troops attack a country, the infants, wives, and children flee the villages to the fortified cities.
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeloheinu | O God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הֲלֹ֣א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁפָּט־ | tishpot- | will you enter into judgment | H8199 → | 202 times |
| בָּ֔ם | bam | on them | ||
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בָּ֙נוּ֙ | banu | in us | ||
| כֹּ֔חַ | koach | [is] strength | H3581 → | 126 times |
| לִ֠פְנֵי | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הֶהָמ֥וֹן | hehamon | the multitude | H1995 → | 83 times |
| הָרָ֛ב | harav | <the> great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הַבָּ֣א | haba' | which is coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֵ֑ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּ | vaanachnu | and we | H587 → | 120 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נֵדַע֙ | neda' | we know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מַֽה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| נַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה | naaseh | will we do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָלֶ֖יךָ | ʾaleikha | [are] on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֵינֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾeineinu | eyes our | H5869 → | 887 times |
אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙O God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
הֲלֹ֣א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁפָּט־will you enter into judgment
tishpot-H8199 →202 times
בָּ֔םon them
bam
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
בָּ֙נוּ֙in us
banu
כֹּ֔חַ[is] strength
koachH3581 →126 times
לִ֠פְנֵי<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הֶהָמ֥וֹןthe multitude
hehamonH1995 →83 times
הָרָ֛ב<the> great
haravH7227 →454 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הַבָּ֣אwhich is coming
haba'H935 →2568 times
עָלֵ֑ינוּon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּand we
vaanachnuH587 →120 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נֵדַע֙we know
neda'H3045 →945 times
מַֽה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
נַּעֲשֶׂ֔הwill we do
naasehH6213 →2628 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עָלֶ֖יךָ[are] on you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
עֵינֵֽינוּ׃eyes our
ʾeineinuH5869 →887 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
Psalms 25:15My eyes are always on the LORD, for He will free my feet from the mesh.
it leads to
- Psalms 141:8
But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.
- Psalms 124:7–8
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the net is torn, and we have slipped away.
- Psalms 31:4
You free me from the net laid out for me, for You are my refuge.
- Psalms 121:1–2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
- Psalms 123:2
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God…
- Psalms 141:8
Through
Deuteronomy 32:36For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
it leads to
- Psalms 135:14
For the LORD will vindicate His people and will have compassion on His servants.
- Psalms 135:14
Through
Psalms 141:8But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.
it leads to
- Psalms 123:1–2
I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven.
- Isaiah 41:17
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Psalms 123:1–2
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.