2 Chronicles 20:22
in 2 Chronicles 20The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
KJV
And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe Lord set ambushments - “The Word of the Lord placed snares among the children of Ammon and Moab; and the inhabitants of the mountain of Gibla, who came to fight with Judah; and they were broken to pieces:” so the Targum.
This site's exposition
when they began to sing
on 2 Chronicles 20:22-23
The timing clause carries the doctrine: when they BEGAN to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments, and the coalition turned on itself, Ammon and Moab against mount Seir and then every one against another. Who the ambushments were, angelic agents or panicking allies, the text does not say, and the commentators divide without needing to settle it since the sentence's subject is the LORD either way. Judah's only weapon discharged that morning was the refrain of verse 21.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
4 ), but never at their praises. When they did but begin the work of praise God perfected the work of their deliverance. What ground there was for their jealousies one of another does not appear, perhaps there was none; but so it was that the Ammonites and the Moabites fell foul upon the Edomites and cut them off, and then they fell out with one another and cut one another off,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
To sing - So acceptable are the fervent prayers of God's people to God, and so terrible to their enemies.
And when they began to sing and to praise,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The consequence was, that as the mutual strife commenced when the Hebrew procession set out from Jerusalem, the work of destruction was completed before Jehoshaphat and his people arrived at the battlefield.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord set ambushments - These liers in wait have been regarded as angels employed by God to confuse the host and cause its destruction, so that the Moabites and Ammonites first united to destroy the Edomites, and then turned upon each other.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְעֵת֩ | uveet | and at [the] time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| הֵחֵ֨לּוּ | hechelu | [when] they began | H2490 → | 143 times |
| בְרִנָּ֜ה | verinah | with a shout of joy | H7440 → | |
| וּתְהִלָּ֗ה | utehilah | and praise | H8416 → | |
| נָתַ֣ן | natan | he set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מְ֠אָֽרְבִים | mearevim | ambushers | H693 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנֵ֨י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֜וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| מוֹאָ֧ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וְהַר־ | vehar- | and [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| שֵׂעִ֛יר | seir | Seir | H8165 → | 39 times |
| הַבָּאִ֥ים | habaim | who were coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לִֽיהוּדָ֖ה | lihudah | to Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיִּנָּגֵֽפוּ׃ | vaiyinagefu | and they were defeated | H5062 → | 49 times |
וּבְעֵת֩and at [the] time
uveetH6256 →296 times
הֵחֵ֨לּוּ[when] they began
hecheluH2490 →143 times
בְרִנָּ֜הwith a shout of joy
verinahH7440 →
וּתְהִלָּ֗הand praise
utehilahH8416 →
נָתַ֣ןhe set
natanH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֣ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מְ֠אָֽרְבִיםambushers
mearevimH693 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנֵ֨י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֜וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
מוֹאָ֧בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וְהַר־and [the] mountain of
vehar-H2022 →546 times
שֵׂעִ֛ירSeir
seirH8165 →39 times
הַבָּאִ֥יםwho were coming
habaimH935 →2568 times
לִֽיהוּדָ֖הto Judah
lihudahH3063 →819 times
וַיִּנָּגֵֽפוּ׃and they were defeated
vaiyinagefuH5062 →49 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
2 Kings 6:17Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and…
it leads to
- Psalms 68:17
The chariots of God are tens of thousands— thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
- Psalms 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.
- Zechariah 6:1–7
And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze.
- Hebrews 1:14
Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Psalms 68:17
Through
Isaiah 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
it leads to
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 14:20
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 7:22
Through
1 Samuel 14:20Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:23
The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end to the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 20:23
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
3 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 (…
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
- PlaceTransjordanAmmonKingdom east of the Jordan descended from Lot, judged alongside Moab in Zephaniah 2:8-11 and Amos 1:13-15.
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; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.