Haven’t you driven out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves according to the ways of the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of those who are no gods.
“But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests serving Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work; and they burn to Yahweh every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also set the show bread in order on the pure table; and the lamp stand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening; for we keep the instruction of Yahweh our God, but you have forsaken him.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 He showeth the nature of idolaters which take no…
He showeth the nature of idolaters which take no trial of the vocation, life and doctrine of their ministers, but think the most vilest and greatest beasts sufficient to serve their turn.
Hebrew, fill his hand.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–11 2Ch 13:9 Have ye not cast out the priests…
2Ch 13:9 Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of [other] lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, [the same] may be a priest of [them that are] no gods.
Ver. 9. Have you not cast out the priests of the Lord?] Who should pray for you, and make atonement.
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So that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself.] Heb., To fill his hand, sc., with sacrifices; or haply with bribes.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–11 To consecrate himself, i. e. to make himself a…
To consecrate himself, i. e. to make himself a priest. See Poole "Lev 7:37".
That are no gods; that have nothing of the nature or power, though you give them the name of gods.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–11 But as for us, the Lord is our God,....…
But as for us, the Lord is our God,.... The Word of the Lord, as the Targum; we know and acknowledge no other; not the calves at Dan and Bethel, nor any other idols, only the one living and true God:
and we have not forsaken him; his laws, statutes, ordinances, and worship; for though Abijah was not a religious man, yet it seems the form of religion was kept up, and temple service was observed, in his days:
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and the priests which minister unto the Lord; by offering sacrifices, and burning incense:
are the sons of Aaron; and they only:
and the Levites wait upon their business; some in singing songs of praise, vocally and instrumentally, others in keeping the doors of the temple and the treasures of the house of God, and others in assisting the priests at the altar.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Consecrate - To make himself a priest.
Consecrate - To make himself a priest.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Verse 9. A young bullock and seven rams] He…
Verse 9. A young bullock and seven rams] He who could provide these for his own consecration was received into the order of this spurious and wicked priesthood. Some think he who could give to Jeroboam a young bullock and seven rams, was thereby received into the priesthood; this being the price for which the priesthood was conferred. The former is most likely.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9–11 2Ch 13:9. Have ye not cast out the priests…
2Ch 13:9. Have ye not cast out the priests of the Lord? — The house of Aaron, whom God appointed to minister in holy things. And have made you priests, after the manner of the nations? — In conformity to the custom of the idolatrous nations. So that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock — To make himself a priest, Lev 7:3. Whosoever desires to be in the office, and will be at the charge of his consecration, though ever so much a scandal to the character; the same may be a priest of them that are no gods — That have nothing of the nature or power of gods, though you give them that name. Such, however, though very unfit to be priests, were most fit of all others to be their priests. For what could be more suitable to gods that were no gods, than priests that were no priests?
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v9 Seven rams - “A bullock and two rams” was…
Seven rams - “A bullock and two rams” was the offering which God had required at the original consecration of the sons of Aaron Exo 29:1; Lev 8:2. Jeroboam, for reasons of his own, enlarged the sacrifice, and required it at the consecration of every priest.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 11 Rams. These were sacrificed by the false priests, who…
Rams. These were sacrificed by the false priests, who acted in a very different manner from those of the Lord, Leviticus viii., and ix. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. cast out] R.V. driven out; cp. note on…
9. cast out] R.V. driven out; cp. note on 2Ch_11:14.
to consecrate himself] Lit. to fill his hand. Moses is directed (Exo_29:1 ff.) to ordain Aaron and his sons priests by three ceremonies: (1) by anointing them, (2) by filling their hands, i.e. by presenting them with victims upon which they laid their hands, (3) by hallowing them, i.e. by sprinkling some of the blood of the victim upon them.
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a young bullock and seven rams] Aaronic priests were consecrated with a young bullock and two rams (Exo_29:1).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 (9) The priests of the Lord . . .…
(9) The priests of the Lord . . . and the Levites.—The Hebrew seems to include the Levites among the priests of the Lord.
Cast out.—Banished (Jer_8:3).
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After the manner of the nations of other lands.—Literally, like the peoples of the lands; that is, priests of all classes of the nation, and not members of the divinely chosen tribe of Levi. (See 1Ki_12:31; 1Ki_13:33). The surrounding heathen had no exclusive sacerdotal castes.
So that whosoever cometh . . .—Literally, every one that cometh, that they may fill his hand, with a steer, son of a herd, and seven rams, becometh a priest unto non-gods. “To fill a man’s hand” was the legal phrase for giving him authority and instituting him as a priest. (See Exo_28:41; Exo_29:9; Jdg_17:5.) Every one that came with the prescribed sacrifices (see Exodus 29) was admissible to the new priesthood. The phrase “a young bullock and seven rams” is not a full account of the sacrifices required by the law of Moses for the consecration of a priest. Perhaps Abijah did not care to be exact; but it is quite possible that Jeroboam had modified the Mosaic rule.
The compound substantive “no-gods” (lô’ ’elôhîm) is like lô’ ’êl and lô’ ’elôah (Deu_32:17; Deu_32:21). The calves are spoken of as mere idols, although there is little doubt that Jeroboam set them up as representations of the God of Israel.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v10 Vers. 10, 11. The professions summarized in these two…
Vers. 10, 11. The professions summarized in these two verses were confessedly formally true of the king and priests and nation, although Abijah and kingdom certainly did not carry a clean conscience in them (Mat_15:8; Mar_12:33; 1Sa_15:22; Isa_1:11, Isa_1:16, Isa_1:19) They were, moreover, beyond a doubt really true of multitudes of individuals in the kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. And these were "the salt of the" kingdom. (Mat_5:13) They burnt sweet incense (so 2Ch_2:4; Exo_30:7; Rev_8:3, Rev_8:4) The pure table the candlestick. Although ten of each of these were made, only one was used, or only one at the time (see our note on (2Ch_4:8, compared with (2Ch_29:18; 1Ki_7:48) We have not forsaken him ye have forsaken him. If all the difference that these words have it in them to express could have been put to the credit of Abijsh, what tremendous strength would have now belonged to his position and to his heart!
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v11 (See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
shewbread
(See Scofield "Exo 25:30").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 as for us
as for us
The word "us" refers to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah.
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who are at their work
The word "work" can be translated with a verb. AT: "who are working" (See: Abstract Nouns)
the bread of the presence
The "bread of the presence" refers to twelve loaves of bread that the priests placed on a golden table in the tabernacle or temple building as a sacrifice to God and as a symbol of God's presence.
they also tend the lampstand
"they also take care of the lampstand"
for them to burn every evening
"so that the lamps burn every evening" or "and light the lamps every evening"
translationWords
forsake
burnt offering
servant
works
incense
bread
lampstand
command
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 13:10-11 Abijah’s speech portrays him as concerned about the…
13:10-11 Abijah’s speech portrays him as concerned about the purity of worship at Jerusalem. The account in Kings says nothing of Abijah’s devotion (1 Kgs 15:3-4).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.