2 Chronicles 7:20
in 2 Chronicles 7then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
KJV
Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 7
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThen will I pluck them up by the roots - How completely has this been fulfilled! not only all the branches of the Jewish political tree have been cut off, but the very roots have been plucked up; so that the day of the Lord’s anger has left them neither root nor branch.
This site's exposition
if ye turn away, and forsake
on 2 Chronicles 7:19-22
The warning matches the promise in weight: turning to serve other gods brings Israel plucked up by the roots out of the land, and this house, which is high, cast out of the Lord's sight to become a proverb and a byword among all nations, an astonishment to everyone who passes it and asks why. Clarke reads the plucking up as fulfilled to the letter in the exile that closes the book at 36:15-21, root and branch alike. The answer the passerby is told to give names one cause for it all: because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers and worshipped other gods, therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them, the same verdict the book will hand down on the last kings it names.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the L ORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the L ORD , saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v3-4
This sanctuary would be no sanctuary to them, to protect them from the judgment of God, as they imagined, saying, The temple of the Lord are we, Jer. vii. "This house which is high, not only for the magnificence of its structure, but for the designed ends and uses of it, shall be an astonishment, it shall come down wonderfully ( Lam. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I shall cast from before Me according to the condition between Me and you, viz. (Lev.: 14): “But if you do not heed Me.” What does it say there? (verse 31): “And I shall make your sanctuaries desolate.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
But should you turn away. This means: you and the Israelite nation.
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. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּנְתַשְׁתִּ֗ים | unetashtim | and I will pluck up them | H5428 → | |
| מֵעַ֤ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַדְמָתִי֙ | ʾadmati | land my | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֣תִּי | natati | I have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַבַּ֤יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִקְדַּ֣שְׁתִּי | hikdashti | I have consecrated | H6942 → | 171 times |
| לִשְׁמִ֔י | lishmi | for name my | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אַשְׁלִ֖יךְ | ʾashlikh | I will throw away | H7993 → | 125 times |
| מֵעַ֣ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנָ֑י | panai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְאֶתְּנֶ֛נּוּ | veettenenu | and I will make it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְמָשָׁ֥ל | lemashal | into a byword | H4912 → | |
| וְלִשְׁנִינָ֖ה | velishninah | and into a taunt | H8148 → | |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעַמִּֽים׃ | haamim | the peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וּנְתַשְׁתִּ֗יםand I will pluck up them
unetashtimH5428 →
מֵעַ֤לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
אַדְמָתִי֙land my
ʾadmatiH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֣תִּיI have given
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַבַּ֤יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הִקְדַּ֣שְׁתִּיI have consecrated
hikdashtiH6942 →171 times
לִשְׁמִ֔יfor name my
lishmiH8034 →864 times
אַשְׁלִ֖יךְI will throw away
ʾashlikhH7993 →125 times
מֵעַ֣לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
פָּנָ֑יface my
panaiH6440 →2123 times
וְאֶתְּנֶ֛נּוּand I will make it
veettenenuH5414 →2011 times
לְמָשָׁ֥לinto a byword
lemashalH4912 →
וְלִשְׁנִינָ֖הand into a taunt
velishninahH8148 →
בְּכָל־among all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעַמִּֽים׃the peoples
haamimH5971 →1873 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
Deuteronomy 28:37You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:9
behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents,…
- 1 Kings 9:7–8
then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an…
- Jeremiah 24:9
Through
2 Kings 17:20So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 15:29
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 15:29
Through
1 Kings 9:7then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an…
it leads to
- Psalms 44:14
You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
- Deuteronomy 28:37
You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Psalms 44:14
Through
1 Kings 14:15For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the…
it leads to
- Psalms 52:5
Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- Joshua 23:15–16
But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from…
- Psalms 52:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.