Lectionary Calendar
Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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THE MESSAGE
2 Kings 11:7
This verse is not available in the MSG!
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Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Christian Standard Bible®
“Your two divisions that go off duty on the Sabbath are to provide the king protection at the Lord’s temple.
“Your two divisions that go off duty on the Sabbath are to provide the king protection at the Lord’s temple.
Hebrew Names Version
The two companies of you, even all who go forth on the Shabbat, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
The two companies of you, even all who go forth on the Shabbat, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
King James Version
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.
English Standard Version
And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king,
And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king,
New Century Version
The two groups who go off duty on the Sabbath must protect the Temple of the Lord for the king.
The two groups who go off duty on the Sabbath must protect the Temple of the Lord for the king.
New English Translation
The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord 's temple and protect the king.
The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord 's temple and protect the king.
Amplified Bible
"Two units of you, all those who go out [off duty] on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house (temple) of the LORD for [the protection of] the king.
"Two units of you, all those who go out [off duty] on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house (temple) of the LORD for [the protection of] the king.
New American Standard Bible
"And two parts of you, all who go out on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king.
"And two parts of you, all who go out on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And two parts of you, that is, all that goe out on the Sabbath day, shal keepe the watch of the house of the Lord about the King.
And two parts of you, that is, all that goe out on the Sabbath day, shal keepe the watch of the house of the Lord about the King.
Legacy Standard Bible
And two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of Yahweh for the king.
And two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of Yahweh for the king.
Contemporary English Version
The other two guard units are supposed to be off duty on the Sabbath. But I want both of them to stay here at the temple and protect King Joash.
The other two guard units are supposed to be off duty on the Sabbath. But I want both of them to stay here at the temple and protect King Joash.
Complete Jewish Bible
while the other two groups of you who come on duty on Shabbat will guard the house of Adonai , where the king is.
while the other two groups of you who come on duty on Shabbat will guard the house of Adonai , where the king is.
Darby Translation
And the two parts of you, all those that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
And the two parts of you, all those that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
Easy-to-Read Version
Your two divisions who go off duty on the Sabbath day will stand guard at the Lord 's Temple and protect King Joash.
Your two divisions who go off duty on the Sabbath day will stand guard at the Lord 's Temple and protect King Joash.
George Lamsa Translation
And two parts of all you that go off duty on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD together with the kings house;
And two parts of all you that go off duty on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD together with the kings house;
Good News Translation
The two groups that go off duty on the Sabbath are to stand guard at the Temple to protect the king.
The two groups that go off duty on the Sabbath are to stand guard at the Temple to protect the king.
Lexham English Bible
Two of the units among you, all who go on duty on the Sabbath, guard the post of the temple of Yahweh for the king.
Two of the units among you, all who go on duty on the Sabbath, guard the post of the temple of Yahweh for the king.
Literal Translation
And two parts of you, all who go out on the sabbath, they shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
And two parts of you, all who go out on the sabbath, they shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But two partes of you all that go of on the Sabbath, shal kepe the watch in the house of the LORDE aboute the kinge
But two partes of you all that go of on the Sabbath, shal kepe the watch in the house of the LORDE aboute the kinge
American Standard Version
And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Jehovah about the king.
Bible in Basic English
And the two divisions of you, who go out on the Sabbath and keep the watch of the house of the Lord,
And the two divisions of you, who go out on the Sabbath and keep the watch of the house of the Lord,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And two partes of you, that is, al that go out on the Sabbath day, shall keepe the watch of the house of the Lorde about the king.
And two partes of you, that is, al that go out on the Sabbath day, shall keepe the watch of the house of the Lorde about the king.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the other two parts of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
And the other two parts of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
King James Version (1611)
And two parts of all you, that goe foorth on the Sabbath, euen they shall keepe the watch of the house of the Lord about the King.
And two parts of all you, that goe foorth on the Sabbath, euen they shall keepe the watch of the house of the Lord about the King.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And there shall be two parties among you, even every one that goes out on the Sabbath, and they shall keep the guard of the Lord’s house before the king.
And there shall be two parties among you, even every one that goes out on the Sabbath, and they shall keep the guard of the Lord’s house before the king.
English Revised Version
And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
Berean Standard Bible
the two divisions that would go off duty on the Sabbath are to guard the house of the LORD for the king.
the two divisions that would go off duty on the Sabbath are to guard the house of the LORD for the king.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe twei partis of you alle goynge out in the sabat, kepe ye the wakyngis of the hows of the Lord aboute the kyng.
Forsothe twei partis of you alle goynge out in the sabat, kepe ye the wakyngis of the hows of the Lord aboute the kyng.
Young's Literal Translation
and two parts of you, all going out on the sabbath -- they have kept the charge of the house of Jehovah about the king,
and two parts of you, all going out on the sabbath -- they have kept the charge of the house of Jehovah about the king,
Update Bible Version
And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh about the king.
And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh about the king.
Webster's Bible Translation
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
World English Bible
The two companies of you, even all who go forth on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh about the king.
The two companies of you, even all who go forth on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh about the king.
New King James Version
The two contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king.
The two contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king.
New Living Translation
The other two units who are off duty on the Sabbath must stand guard for the king at the Lord 's Temple.
The other two units who are off duty on the Sabbath must stand guard for the king at the Lord 's Temple.
New Life Bible
And two parts of all of you who go out on the Day of Rest must keep watch over the house of the Lord for the king.
And two parts of all of you who go out on the Day of Rest must keep watch over the house of the Lord for the king.
New Revised Standard
and your two divisions that come on duty in force on the sabbath and guard the house of the Lord
and your two divisions that come on duty in force on the sabbath and guard the house of the Lord
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, two parts of you, are all that are going out on the sabbath, - so shall ye keep the watch of the house of Yahweh, as touching the king.
And, two parts of you, are all that are going out on the sabbath, - so shall ye keep the watch of the house of Yahweh, as touching the king.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But let two parts of you all that go forth on the sabbath, keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.
But let two parts of you all that go forth on the sabbath, keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.
Revised Standard Version
and the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the sabbath and guard the house of the LORD,
and the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the sabbath and guard the house of the LORD,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king.
"Two parts of you, even all who go out on the sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house of the LORD for the king.
Contextual Overview
4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the captains of the bodyguards and the Palace Security Force. They met him in The Temple of God . He made a covenant with them, swore them to secrecy, and only then showed them the young prince. 5Then he commanded them, "These are your instructions: Those of you who come on duty on the Sabbath and guard the palace, and those of you who go off duty on the Sabbath and guard The Temple of God , are to join forces at the time of the changing of the guard and form a ring around the young king, weapons at the ready. Kill anyone who tries to break through your ranks. Your job is to stay with the king at all times and places, coming and going." 9The captains obeyed the orders of Jehoiada the priest. Each took his men, those who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, and presented them to Jehoiada the priest. The priest armed the officers with spears and shields originally belonging to King David, stored in The Temple of God . Well-armed, the guards took up their assigned positions for protecting the king, from one end of The Temple to the other, surrounding both Altar and Temple. 12 Then the priest brought the prince into view, crowned him, handed him the scroll of God's covenant, and made him king. As they anointed him, everyone applauded and shouted, "Long live the king!"
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
parts: or, companies, Heb. hands
go forth: 2 Kings 11:5, 2 Chronicles 23:6
Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 9:25 - seven
Cross-References
Genesis 1:26
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
Genesis 3:22
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
Genesis 10:20
These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.
These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.
Genesis 10:32
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood.
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood.
Genesis 11:4
Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
Genesis 11:5
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
Genesis 11:12
When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
Genesis 42:23
Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
Deuteronomy 28:49
If you listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God , your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God , your God: God 's blessing inside the city, God 's blessing in the country; God 's blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God 's blessing in your coming in, God 's blessing in your going out. God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads. God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God , your God, is giving you. God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God , your God, and live the way he has shown you. All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe. God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God , your God, that I am commanding you today. Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods. Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you: God 's curse in the city, God 's curse in the country; God 's curse on your basket and bread bowl; God 's curse on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's curse in your coming in, God 's curse in your going out. God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me. God will infect you with The Disease, wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess. God will set consumption and fever and rash and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you. They'll hunt you down until they kill you. The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate. God will defeat you by enemy attack. You'll come at your enemies on one road and run away on seven roads. All the kingdoms of Earth will see you as a horror. Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away. God will hit you hard with the boils of Egypt, hemorrhoids, scabs, and an incurable itch. He'll make you go crazy and blind and senile. You'll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; you'll never get to where you're going. Not a day will go by that you're not abused and robbed. And no one is going to help you. You'll get engaged to a woman and another man will take her for his mistress; you'll build a house and never live in it; you'll plant a garden and never eat so much as a carrot; you'll watch your ox get butchered and not get a single steak from it; your donkey will be stolen from in front of you and you'll never see it again; your sheep will be sent off to your enemies and no one will lift a hand to help you. Your sons and daughters will be shipped off to foreigners; you'll wear your eyes out looking vainly for them, helpless to do a thing. Your crops and everything you work for will be eaten and used by foreigners; you'll spend the rest of your lives abused and knocked around. What you see will drive you crazy. God will hit you with painful boils on your knees and legs and no healing or relief from head to foot. God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! You'll plant sacks and sacks of seed in the field but get almost nothing—the grasshoppers will devour it. You'll plant and hoe and prune vineyards but won't drink or put up any wine—the worms will devour them. You'll have groves of olive trees everywhere, but you'll have no oil to rub on your face or hands—the olives will have fallen off. You'll have sons and daughters but they won't be yours for long—they'll go off to captivity. Locusts will take over all your trees and crops. The foreigner who lives among you will climb the ladder, higher and higher, while you go deeper and deeper into the hole. He'll lend to you; you won't lend to him. He'll be the head; you'll be the tail. All these curses are going to come on you. They're going to hunt you down and get you until there's nothing left of you because you didn't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep his commandments and guidelines that I commanded you. The curses will serve as signposts, warnings to your children ever after. Because you didn't serve God , your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you'll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you. Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he'll put an iron yoke on your neck until he's destroyed you. Yes, God will raise up a faraway nation against you, swooping down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you can't understand, a mean-faced people, cruel to grandmothers and babies alike. They'll ravage the young of your animals and the crops from your fields until you're destroyed. They'll leave nothing behind: no grain, no wine, no oil, no calves, no lambs—and finally, no you. They'll lay siege to you while you're huddled behind your town gates. They'll knock those high, proud walls flat, those walls behind which you felt so safe. They'll lay siege to your fortified cities all over the country, this country that God , your God, has given you. And you'll end up cannibalizing your own sons and daughters that God , your God, has given you. When the suffering from the siege gets extreme, you're going to eat your own babies. The most gentle and caring man among you will turn hard, his eye evil, against his own brother, his cherished wife, and even the rest of his children who are still alive, refusing to share with them a scrap of meat from the cannibal child-stew he is eating. He's lost everything, even his humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. And the most gentle and caring woman among you, a woman who wouldn't step on a wildflower, will turn hard, her eye evil, against her cherished husband, against her son, against her daughter, against even the afterbirth of her newborn infants; she plans to eat them in secret—she does eat them!—because she has lost everything, even her humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. If you don't diligently keep all the words of this Revelation written in this book, living in holy awe before This Name glorious and terrible, God , your God, then God will pound you with catastrophes, you and your children, huge interminable catastrophes, hideous interminable illnesses. He'll bring back and stick you with every old Egyptian malady that once terrorized you. And yes, every disease and catastrophe imaginable—things not even written in the Book of this Revelation— God will bring on you until you're destroyed. Because you didn't listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, you'll be left with a few pitiful stragglers in place of the dazzling stars-in-the-heavens multitude you had become. And this is how things will end up: Just as God once enjoyed you, took pleasure in making life good for you, giving you many children, so God will enjoy getting rid of you, clearing you off the Earth. He'll weed you out of the very soil that you are entering in to possess. He'll scatter you to the four winds, from one end of the Earth to the other. You'll worship all kinds of other gods, gods neither you nor your parents ever heard of, wood and stone no-gods. But you won't find a home there, you'll not be able to settle down. God will give you a restless heart, longing eyes, a homesick soul. You will live in constant jeopardy, terrified of every shadow, never knowing what you'll meet around the next corner. In the morning you'll say, "I wish it were evening." In the evening you'll say, "I wish it were morning." Afraid, terrorized at what's coming next, afraid of the unknown, because of the sights you've witnessed. God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found.
If you listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God , your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God , your God: God 's blessing inside the city, God 's blessing in the country; God 's blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God 's blessing in your coming in, God 's blessing in your going out. God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads. God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God , your God, is giving you. God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God , your God, and live the way he has shown you. All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe. God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God , your God, that I am commanding you today. Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods. Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you: God 's curse in the city, God 's curse in the country; God 's curse on your basket and bread bowl; God 's curse on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's curse in your coming in, God 's curse in your going out. God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me. God will infect you with The Disease, wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess. God will set consumption and fever and rash and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you. They'll hunt you down until they kill you. The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate. God will defeat you by enemy attack. You'll come at your enemies on one road and run away on seven roads. All the kingdoms of Earth will see you as a horror. Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away. God will hit you hard with the boils of Egypt, hemorrhoids, scabs, and an incurable itch. He'll make you go crazy and blind and senile. You'll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; you'll never get to where you're going. Not a day will go by that you're not abused and robbed. And no one is going to help you. You'll get engaged to a woman and another man will take her for his mistress; you'll build a house and never live in it; you'll plant a garden and never eat so much as a carrot; you'll watch your ox get butchered and not get a single steak from it; your donkey will be stolen from in front of you and you'll never see it again; your sheep will be sent off to your enemies and no one will lift a hand to help you. Your sons and daughters will be shipped off to foreigners; you'll wear your eyes out looking vainly for them, helpless to do a thing. Your crops and everything you work for will be eaten and used by foreigners; you'll spend the rest of your lives abused and knocked around. What you see will drive you crazy. God will hit you with painful boils on your knees and legs and no healing or relief from head to foot. God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! You'll plant sacks and sacks of seed in the field but get almost nothing—the grasshoppers will devour it. You'll plant and hoe and prune vineyards but won't drink or put up any wine—the worms will devour them. You'll have groves of olive trees everywhere, but you'll have no oil to rub on your face or hands—the olives will have fallen off. You'll have sons and daughters but they won't be yours for long—they'll go off to captivity. Locusts will take over all your trees and crops. The foreigner who lives among you will climb the ladder, higher and higher, while you go deeper and deeper into the hole. He'll lend to you; you won't lend to him. He'll be the head; you'll be the tail. All these curses are going to come on you. They're going to hunt you down and get you until there's nothing left of you because you didn't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep his commandments and guidelines that I commanded you. The curses will serve as signposts, warnings to your children ever after. Because you didn't serve God , your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you'll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you. Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he'll put an iron yoke on your neck until he's destroyed you. Yes, God will raise up a faraway nation against you, swooping down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you can't understand, a mean-faced people, cruel to grandmothers and babies alike. They'll ravage the young of your animals and the crops from your fields until you're destroyed. They'll leave nothing behind: no grain, no wine, no oil, no calves, no lambs—and finally, no you. They'll lay siege to you while you're huddled behind your town gates. They'll knock those high, proud walls flat, those walls behind which you felt so safe. They'll lay siege to your fortified cities all over the country, this country that God , your God, has given you. And you'll end up cannibalizing your own sons and daughters that God , your God, has given you. When the suffering from the siege gets extreme, you're going to eat your own babies. The most gentle and caring man among you will turn hard, his eye evil, against his own brother, his cherished wife, and even the rest of his children who are still alive, refusing to share with them a scrap of meat from the cannibal child-stew he is eating. He's lost everything, even his humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. And the most gentle and caring woman among you, a woman who wouldn't step on a wildflower, will turn hard, her eye evil, against her cherished husband, against her son, against her daughter, against even the afterbirth of her newborn infants; she plans to eat them in secret—she does eat them!—because she has lost everything, even her humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. If you don't diligently keep all the words of this Revelation written in this book, living in holy awe before This Name glorious and terrible, God , your God, then God will pound you with catastrophes, you and your children, huge interminable catastrophes, hideous interminable illnesses. He'll bring back and stick you with every old Egyptian malady that once terrorized you. And yes, every disease and catastrophe imaginable—things not even written in the Book of this Revelation— God will bring on you until you're destroyed. Because you didn't listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, you'll be left with a few pitiful stragglers in place of the dazzling stars-in-the-heavens multitude you had become. And this is how things will end up: Just as God once enjoyed you, took pleasure in making life good for you, giving you many children, so God will enjoy getting rid of you, clearing you off the Earth. He'll weed you out of the very soil that you are entering in to possess. He'll scatter you to the four winds, from one end of the Earth to the other. You'll worship all kinds of other gods, gods neither you nor your parents ever heard of, wood and stone no-gods. But you won't find a home there, you'll not be able to settle down. God will give you a restless heart, longing eyes, a homesick soul. You will live in constant jeopardy, terrified of every shadow, never knowing what you'll meet around the next corner. In the morning you'll say, "I wish it were evening." In the evening you'll say, "I wish it were morning." Afraid, terrorized at what's coming next, afraid of the unknown, because of the sights you've witnessed. God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found.
Psalms 33:10
God takes the wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots down the world's power-schemes. God 's plan for the world stands up, all his designs are made to last. Blessed is the country with God for God; blessed are the people he's put in his will.
God takes the wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots down the world's power-schemes. God 's plan for the world stands up, all his designs are made to last. Blessed is the country with God for God; blessed are the people he's put in his will.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath,.... The course that went out of service at the end of the sabbath; these were not suffered, not any of them, to go into the country, but were detained for the present purpose, and divided into two parts:
even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king, these were placed in the temple where the king was, or where he should be brought forth, and be a guard on his right and left; this interpretation seems to be agreeably to the order of the text here, and is the sense of Jarchi; but there is this objection to it, that, by such a distribution of both courses, no provision is made for the services of the temple; wherefore Dr. Lightfoot c divides them into six parts, each into three, one third of the course that came in for service, the other to keep the watch at the king's house, and the other third at the gate Sur; and the course that went out, one third of them was placed at the gate behind the guard, and the other two to keep the watch of the house for the king's safety; but according to the account in 2 Chronicles 23:4, there were but three ranks or orders of them in all; wherefore the sense of Kimchi, Ben Gersom, and Abarbinel, seems most agreeable, that the first consisted of those that went in on the sabbath, not of all, but half of them, the other half being employed in the service of the sanctuary; and the other two of the course that went out, even all of them, they being entirely at leisure, who were divided into two parts, and disposed of as above.
c Prospect of the Temple, c. 20.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Five divisions of the guard under their five captains are distinguished here. Three of the five divisions âenter inâ on the Sabbath; the other two âgo forthâ on the Sabbath 2 Kings 11:7. By the former phrase seems to be meant the mounting guard at the royal palace (the âkingâs house,â where Athaliah then was); by the latter the serving of escort to the sovereign beyond the palace bounds. Jehoiada orders that of those whose business it would be to guard the palace on the ensuing Sabbath, one company or cohort should perform that task in the ordinary way, while another should watch the gate of Sur - or better, âthe gate of the foundationâ 2 Chronicles 23:5 - that by which the palace was usually quitted for the temple, and a third should watch another of the palace gates, called âthe gate of the guardâ (see 2 Kings 11:19). The two companies whose proper business it would be to serve as the royal escort beyond the palace walls, he orders to enter the temple, and surround the person of the young king.
2 Kings 11:6
That it be not broken down - The one word in the original text of which this is a translation occurs nowhere else; and its meaning is very doubtful.
2 Kings 11:8
Within the ranges - Rather, âwithin the ranks.â If anyone tried to break through the soldiersâ ranks to the king, or even to disturb their order, he was to be immediately slain.
