2 Chronicles 19:3

19:2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.

Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

KJV

Save image

Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”

Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have taken away the groves out of the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.

Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thy heart to seek God.

19:4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer–sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers.

What does 2 Chronicles 19:3 mean?

2 Chronicles 19:3 is a verse in the book of 2 Chronicles, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אֲבָל (ʼăbâl), טוֹב (ṭôwb), דָּבָר (dâbâr). It connects to 40 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Neverthelessאֲבָלʼăbâl/ab-awl'/H61nay, i.e. truly or yet

there

are

goodטוֹבṭôwb/tobe/H2896good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well)

thingsדָּבָרdâbâr/daw-baw'/H1697a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause

foundמָצָאmâtsâʼ/maw-tsaw'/H4672properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present

thee,

that

thou

hast

taken

awayבָּעַרbâʻar/baw-ar'/H1197to kindle, i.e. consume (by fire or by eating); to be(-come) brutish

the

grovesאֲשֵׁרָהʼăshêrâh/ash-ay-raw'/H842Asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician goddess; also an image of the same

out

the

land,אֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/H776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)

and

hast

preparedכּוּןkûwn/koon/H3559properly, to be erect (i.e. stand perpendicular); hence (causatively) to set up, in a great variety of applications, whether literal (establish, fix, prepare, apply), or figurative (appoint, render sure, proper or prosperous)

thine

heartלֵבָבlêbâb/lay-bawb'/H3824the heart (as the most interior organ);

seekדָּרַשׁdârash/daw-rash'/H1875properly, to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically to worship

God.אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 19:3

CLARKE · whole chapter

eproved, 2Chr 19:1-3. He makes a farther reformation in the land, establishing courts of justice, and giving solemn and pertinent directions to the judges, Levites, etc., to do judgement and justice among the people, in the fear of God, 2Chr 19:4-11. Verse 1 Returned to his house in peace - That is, in safety, notwithstanding he had been exposed to a danger so imminent, from which only the especial mercy of God could have saved him. Verse 2 Jehu the son of Hanani - We have met with this prophet before; see the note on 1Kgs 16:7. Therefore is wrath upon thee - That is, Thou deservest to be punished. And who can doubt this, who knows that he did help the ungodly, and did love them that hated Jehovah? And is not the wrath of God upon all those alliances which his people form with the ungodly, whether they be social, matrimonial, commercial, or political? Verse 4 From Beer-sheba to Mount Ephraim - Before the separation of the ten tribes, in speaking of the extent of the land it was said, From Dan to Beer-sheba; but since that event, the kingdom of Judah was bounded on the south by Beer-sheba, and on the north by the mountains of Ephraim. This shows that Jehoshaphat had gone through all his territories to examine every thing himself, to see that judgment and justice were properly administered among the people. Verse 6 Take heed what ye do - A very solemn and very necessary caution; judges should feel themselves in the place of God, and judge as those who know they shall be judged for their judgments. Verse 8 And for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem - Who were they that returned to Jerusalem? Some suppose that it means Jehoshaphat and his courtiers, who returned to Jerusalem after the expedition mentioned 2Chr 19:4: but if this were so, or if the text spoke of any person returning to Jerusalem, would not לירושלם lirushalem, To Jerusalem, and not the simple word ירושלם Yerushalem, without the preposition, be used? Learned men have supposed, with great plausibility, that the word וישבו vaiyashubu, "and they returned," should be written יושבי yoshebey, "the inhabitants," and that the words should be read, And for the controversies of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. That this was the original reading is very probable from its vestiges in the Vulgate, habitatoribus ejus, "its Inhabitants;" and in the Septuagint it is found totidem verbis, Και κρινειν τους κατοικουντας εν Ἱερουσαλημ, And to judge the inhabitants of Jerusalem. There is a clause in 2Chr 34:9 where we have a similar mistake in our version: And they returned to Jerusalem, וישבו ירושלם where the false keri, or marginal note, directs it, in opposition to common sense and All the versions, to be read וישובו and they returned, which our translation has unhappily followed. Verse 10 Between blood and blood - Cases of man-slaughter or accidental murder, or cases of consanguinity, the settlement of inheritance, family claims, etc. Between law and commandment - Whatsoever concerns the moral precepts, rites, and ceremonies, of the law, or whatsoever belongs to civil affairs. Verse 11 Behold, Amariah - Here was a two-fold jurisdiction, ecclesiastical and civil: in the ecclesiastical court, Amariah the high-priest was supreme judge, in the civil court, Zebadiah was supreme. To assist both the Levites were a sort of counsellors. Without good and wholesome laws, no nation can be prosperous: and vain are the best laws if they be not judiciously and conscientiously administered. The things of God and the things of the King should never be confounded in the administration of justice. Amariah the priest, and Zebadiah the ruler, should ever have their distinct places of jurisdiction. Introduction The Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites, invade Judah,

HENRY_FULL · 2 Chronicles 19:1–4

Jehoshaphat's Piety. ( b. c. 897.) 1 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord ? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord . 3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. 4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. Here is, I. The great favour God showed to Jehoshaphat, 1. In bringing him back in safety from his dangerous expedition with Ahab, which had like to have cost him dearly ( v. 1 ): He returned to his house in peace. Notice is taken of this to intimate, (1.) That he fared better than he had expected. He had been in imminent peril, and yet came home in peace. Whenever we return in peace to our houses we ought to acknowledge God's providence in preserving our going out and our coming in. But, if we have been kept through more than ordinary dangers, we are in a special manner bound to be thankful. There was but a step perhaps between us and death, and yet we are alive. (2.) That he fared better than he deserved. He was out of the way of his duty, had been out upon an expedition which he could not well account for to God and his conscience, and yet he returned in peace; for God is not extreme to mark what we do amiss, nor does he withdraw his protection every time we forfeit it. (3.) That he fared better than Ahab king of Israel did, who was brought home slain. Though Jehoshaphat had said to Ahab, I am as thou art, God distinguished him; for he knows and owns the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Distinguishing mercies are very obliging. Here were two kings in the field together, one taken and the other left, one brought home in blood, the other in peace. 2. In sending him a reproof for his affinity with Ahab. It is a great mercy to be made sensible of our faults, and to be told in time wherein we have erred, that we may repent and amend the error before it be too late. The prophet by whom the reproof is sent is Jehu the son of Hanani. The father was an eminent prophet in the last reign, as appeared by Asa's putting him in the stocks for his plain dealing; yet the son was not afraid to reprove another king. Paul would have his son Timothy not only discouraged, but animated by his sufferings, 2 Tim. iii. 11 , 14 . (1.) The prophet told him plainly that he had done very ill in joining with Ahab: " Shouldst thou, a godly man, help the ungodly, give them a hand of fellowship, and lend them a hand of assistance?" Or, " Shouldst thou love those that hate the Lord; wilt thou lay those in thy bosom whom God beholds afar off?" It is the black character of wicked people that they are haters of God, Rom. i. 30 . Idolaters are so reputed in the second commandment; and therefore it is not for those that love God to take delight in them or contract an intimacy with them. Do I not hate those, says David, that hate thee? Ps. cxxxix. 21 , 11 . Those whom the grace of God has dignified ought not to debase themselves. Let God's people be of God's mind. (2.) That God was displeased with him for doing this: " There is wrath upon thee from before the Lord, and thou must, by repentance, make thy peace with him, or it will be the worse for thee." He did so, and God's anger was turned away. Yet his trouble, as recorded in the next chapter, was a rebuke to him for meddling with strife that belonged not to him. If he be so fond of war, he shall have enough of it. And the great mischief which his seed after him fell into by the house of Ahab was the just punishment of his affinity with that house. (3.) Yet he took notice of that which was praiseworthy, as it is proper for us to do when we give a reproof ( v. 3 ): " There are good things found in thee; and therefore, though God be displeased with thee, he does not, he will not, cast thee off." His abolishing idolatry with a heart fixed for God and engaged to seek him was a good thing, which God accepted and would have him go on with, notwithstanding the displeasure he had now incurred. II. The return of duty which Jehoshaphat made to God for this favour. He took the reproof well, was not wroth with the seer as his father was, but submitted. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness. See what effect the reproof had upon him. 1. He dwelt at Jerusalem ( v. 4 ), minded his own business at home, and would not expose himself by paying any more such visits to Ahab. Rebuke a wise man, and he will be yet wiser, and will take warning, Prov. ix. 8, 9 . 2. To atone (as I may say) for the visit he had paid to Ahab, he made a pious profitable visitation of his own kingdom: He went out through the people in his own person from Beersheba in the south to Mount Ephraim in the north, and brought them back to the Lord God of their fathers, that is, did all he could towards recovering them. (1.) By what the prophet said he perceived that his former attempts for reformation were well pleasing to God, and therefore he revived them, and did what was then left undone. It is good when commendations thus quicken us to our duty, and when the more we are praised for doing well the more vigorous we are in well-doing. (2.) Perhaps he found that his late affinity with the idolatrous house of Ahab and kingdom of Israel had had a bad influence upon his own kingdom. Many, we may suppose, were emboldened to revolt to idolatry when they saw even their reforming king so intimate with idolaters; and therefore he thought himself doubly obliged to do all he could to restore them. If we truly repent of our sin, we shall do our utmost to repair the damage we have any way done by it to religion or the souls of others. We are particularly concerned to recover those that have fallen into sin, or been hardened in it, by our example.

WESLEY · 2 Chronicles 19:3

Good things - Good marks proceeding from an honest heart; which God more regards than this particular error: and therefore though he will chasten thee, yet he will not utterly destroy thee.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Judges 8:35

Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

1 Samuel 20:27

And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?

1 Samuel 20:30

Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness?

1 Samuel 20:31

For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.

1 Samuel 22:7

Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;

1 Samuel 22:9

Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

1 Samuel 22:13

And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

2 Samuel 7:15

But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

2 Samuel 7:16

And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

2 Samuel 15:13

And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

2 Samuel 16:11

And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him.

2 Samuel 20:1

And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.

1 Kings 11:13

Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.

1 Kings 11:34

Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

1 Kings 12:16

So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

1 Kings 12:17

But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

1 Kings 14:13

And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

1 Chronicles 17:14

But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

2 Chronicles 12:12

And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

2 Chronicles 12:14

And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 17:3

And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;

2 Chronicles 30:19

That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

Ezra 7:10

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Psalms 2:1

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

Psalms 57:7

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:7

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 11:1

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Jeremiah 33:20

Thus saith the Lord; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;

Jeremiah 33:21

Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

Jeremiah 33:25

Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;

Jeremiah 33:26

Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

Ezekiel 37:24

And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

Ezekiel 37:25

And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

Amos 9:11

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

Luke 1:32

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Luke 1:33

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Luke 19:14

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

Luke 19:27

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

John 6:66

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with 2 Chronicles 19:3.

Genesis 1:10

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 2:12

And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Genesis 24:50

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

Genesis 32:19

And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

Genesis 4:14

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Frequently asked questions

What does 2 Chronicles 19:3 say?

2 Chronicles 19:3 (King James Version) reads: "Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God."

Is 2 Chronicles 19:3 in the Old or New Testament?

2 Chronicles 19:3 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of 2 Chronicles.

Reflect

As you read 2 Chronicles 19:3, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on 2 Chronicles 19:3 →

← 19:2 19:4 →