2 Chronicles 6:18
in 2 Chronicles 6But will God indeed dwell with man upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have builded!
KJV
But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut will God in very deed dwell with men - “But who could have imagined, who could have thought it credible, that God should place his majesty among men dwelling upon earth? Behold, the highest heavens, the middle heavens, and the lowest heavens, cannot bear the glory of thy majesty, (for thou art the God who sustainest all the heavens, and the earth, and the deep, and all that is in them), nor can this house which I have built contain Thee.” - Targum.
This site's exposition
will God in very deed dwell with men
on 2 Chronicles 6:18-21
Solomon's own question, will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth, undercuts the house he has just finished, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him; the same guard against a wrong reading of the temple already stands argued at 1 Kings 8:27. From here the prayer's hinge turns, thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night becoming the refrain hear thou in heaven that will answer every petition still to come, matching 1 Kings 8:28-30 without change. Chronicles keeps the warning and the refrain exactly where Kings placed them, guarding the whole prayer from claiming that the house holds the God who hears it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But here he declares upon what inducements he undertook it, and they are such as not only justify, but magnify, the undertaking. He did it for the glory and honour of God; this was his highest and ultimate end in it. It was for the name of the Lord God of Israel (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
He is infinitely beyond the bounds of the creation and infinitely above the praises of all intelligent creatures. That he, and he only, knows the hearts of the children of men,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Nearly as improper and inadmissible is the idea that a temple can contribute to enhance the glory of God, as a monument may be raised in honor of a great man.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? This is an expression of wonder. Is it possible for man to believe that God will dwell on the earth? For the heaven and the heaven of the heaven, etc.
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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַֽאֻמְנָ֔ם | haumnam | ¿ really | H552 → | |
| יֵשֵׁ֧ב | yeshev | will he dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֛ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָאָדָ֖ם | haadam | <the> humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | <the> earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הִ֠נֵּה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שָׁמַ֜יִם | shamayim | heaven | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּשְׁמֵ֤י | ushemei | and [the] heavens of | H8064 → | 421 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְכַלְכְּל֔וּךָ | yekhalkelukha | they will contain you | H3557 → | 38 times |
| אַ֕ף | ʾaf | indeed? | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַבַּ֥יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּנִֽיתִי׃ | baniti | I have built | H1129 → | 376 times |
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַֽאֻמְנָ֔ם¿ really
haumnamH552 →
יֵשֵׁ֧בwill he dwell
yeshevH3427 →1079 times
אֱלֹהִ֛יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הָאָדָ֖ם<the> humankind
haadamH120 →551 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֑רֶץ<the> earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הִ֠נֵּהhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
שָׁמַ֜יִםheaven
shamayimH8064 →421 times
וּשְׁמֵ֤יand [the] heavens of
ushemeiH8064 →421 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְכַלְכְּל֔וּךָthey will contain you
yekhalkelukhaH3557 →38 times
אַ֕ףindeed?
ʾafH637 →134 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הַבַּ֥יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּנִֽיתִי׃I have built
banitiH1129 →376 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
Isaiah 66:1This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:27
But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 17:24
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
- Acts 7:48–50
However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
- Matthew 5:34–35
But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
- Psalms 132:7
Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool.
- 1 Kings 8:27
Through
2 Chronicles 2:6But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Acts 7:48–49
However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
- Isaiah 66:1
Through
2 Chronicles 32:15So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver…
it leads to
- Exodus 5:2
But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- Exodus 5:2
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.