2 Chronicles 21:18
in 2 Chronicles 21After all this, the LORD afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And after all this Jehovah smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
KJV
And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAfter all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. What it was is not agreed upon; some take it be an "hernia", or rupture; others, the falling of the "anus", or a fistula in it; others, the colic, or iliac passion; but generally it is thought to be a dysentery, or bloody flux; the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord broke him.''
This site's exposition
in his bowels with an incurable disease
on 2 Chronicles 21:18-19
The second half of the sentence lands in Jehoram's own body: an incurable disease in the bowels that runs two full years before his bowels fall out and he dies of the sickness itself, the very sequence Elijah's letter had named at verse 15. His people make no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers, the aromatic fire Asa was given at his death in 2 Chr 16:14 withheld here as a public verdict on the reign rather than an oversight.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem . . . like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab--that is, introduced the superstitions and vices of Phœnician idolatry (see on De 13:6-14). On this account, as well as for his unnatural cruelties, divine vengeance was denounced against him, which was soon after executed exactly as the prophet had foretold.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-curly-quotes
The Lord smote him - “And after all these things the Word of the Lord smote his bowels,” etc. - Targum.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and at the end the end that the prophet had foretold him of.
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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַחֲרֵ֖י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זֹ֑את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| נְגָפ֨וֹ | negafo | he struck him | H5062 → | 49 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּמֵעָ֛יו | bemeav | in bowels his | H4578 → | 32 times |
| לָחֳלִ֖י | locholi | to a sickness | H2483 → | 24 times |
| לְאֵ֥ין | leein | to there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַרְפֵּֽא׃ | marpe' | [was] healing | H4832 → |
וְאַחֲרֵ֖יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
זֹ֑אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
נְגָפ֨וֹhe struck him
negafoH5062 →49 times
יְהוָ֧ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּמֵעָ֛יוin bowels his
bemeavH4578 →32 times
לָחֳלִ֖יto a sickness
locholiH2483 →24 times
לְאֵ֥יןto there not
leeinH369 →789 times
מַרְפֵּֽא׃[was] healing
marpe'H4832 →
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 Chronicles 21:15And day after day you yourself will suffer from a severe illness, a disease of your bowels, until it causes your bowels to come out.’”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 21:18–19
After all this, the LORD afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 1:18
(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
- Deuteronomy 28:67
In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you…
- 2 Chronicles 21:18–19
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
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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.