Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Parallel Translations
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Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
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And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
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And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 20:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Daniel 9:3 I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
- 1 Samuel 7:6 They gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh.” Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
- 2 Chronicles 19:3 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.”
- Esther 4:16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
- Jeremiah 36:9 Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Yahweh.
- Joel 1:14 Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Yahweh, your God, and cry to Yahweh.
- Joel 2:12-18 “Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.” Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts. Let the bridegroom go out of his room, and the bride out of her room. Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh, and don’t give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” Then Yahweh was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people.
- Jonah 3:5-9 The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least. The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
- Ezra 8:21-23 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions. For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.” So we fasted and begged our God for this: and he granted our request.
- Genesis 32:24-28 Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day. When he saw that he didn’t prevail against him, the man touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained as he wrestled. The man said, “Let me go, for the day breaks.” Jacob said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob”. He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
- Judges 20:26 Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until evening; then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh.
- Psalms 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
- Isaiah 37:3-6 They said to him, “Hezekiah says, ‘Today is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to give birth. It may be Yahweh your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ” So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘Yahweh says, “Don’t be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
- Matthew 10:28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- Genesis 32:7-11 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies; and he said, “If Esau comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape.” Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I crossed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and strike me and the mothers with the children.
- 2 Chronicles 11:16 After them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those who set their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers.
- Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain This declareth what the fear of the godly is,…
This declareth what the fear of the godly is, which is as the prick to stir them to prayer, and to depend on the Lord, whereas it moveth the wicked either to seek after worldly means and policies, or else to fall into despair.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to…
2Ch 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Ver. 3 And Jehoshaphat feared … and proclaimed a fast.] When the Turks fast it is a sure sign that they are in a bodily fear: they also cast dust upon their heads, and their hands up towards heaven, when they are about to enter battle. {a} But Jehoshaphat’s fear was not only natural, of the enemy, but reverential, of God; and his fast not a moral but a religious abstinence, that he might thereby amerce the flesh, afflict the soul, and pray with more edge and earnestness.
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{a} Turk. Hist., 157.
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 Jehoshaphat feared; partly from human frailty, and partly from…
Jehoshaphat feared; partly from human frailty, and partly from the remembrance of his own guilt, and the wrath of God denounced against him for it, 2Ch 19:2.
Set himself to seek the Lord: the phrase notes his settled resolution, seriousness, and earnestness in it, and the preparing and fixing his heart for it.
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Proclaimed a fast; partly in token of his humiliation and penitence for his sins, and partly to make himself and his people more fervent in their prayers.
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 And Jehoshaphat feared,.... Exceedingly, as the Targum adds, not…
And Jehoshaphat feared,.... Exceedingly, as the Targum adds, not merely because of the number of his enemies, for he had forces enough to go forth against them, see Ch2 17:14, but chiefly because the Lord had told him that wrath was upon him from him, Ch2 19:2 and he might fear that this was the time for the execution of it:
and set himself to seek the Lord; by prayer and supplication, with all seriousness, fervour, and constancy:
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and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah; a day of humiliation and mourning for sin before the Lord; when they were ordered to abstain from bodily food and labour, that they might be fit and more at leisure for spiritual exercises.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. Jehoshaphat feared] He found that he could…
Verse 3. Jehoshaphat feared] He found that he could not possibly stand against such a numerous army, and therefore could not expect to be delivered except by the strong arm of God. To get this assistance, it was necessary to seek it; and to get such extraordinary help, they should seek it in an extraordinary way; hence he proclaimed a universal fast, and all the people came up to Jerusalem to seek the Lord.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ch 20:3. Jehoshaphat feared — Partly from human frailty,…
2Ch 20:3. Jehoshaphat feared — Partly from human frailty, and partly from the remembrance of his own guilt, and the wrath of God denounced against him for it, 2Ch 19:2. And set himself to seek the Lord — The phrase denotes his settled resolution, seriousness, and earnestness in it, and the preparing and fixing of his heart for it. And proclaimed a fast — Partly in token of his humiliation and penitence for his sins, and partly to render himself and his people more fervent in their prayers.
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 General fasts had been previously observed by the Israelites…
General fasts had been previously observed by the Israelites (e. g. Jdg 20:26; 1Sa 7:6); but we do not hear of any fast having been “proclaimed” by authority before this.
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 Juda. The whole kingdom was concerned. Sometimes a fast…
Juda. The whole kingdom was concerned. Sometimes a fast was proclaimed for one city, 3 K. xxi. 9., and Jonas iii. 7. C. --- They were accustomed to fast, not only to subdue the flesh, but also for other necessities. W.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Jehoshaphat . . . proclaimed a fast throughout all…
Jehoshaphat . . . proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah--Alarmed by the intelligence and conscious of his total inability to repel this host of invaders, Jehoshaphat felt his only refuge was at the horns of the altar. He resolved to employ the aid of his God, and, in conformity with this resolution, he summoned all his subjects to observe a solemn fast at the sanctuary. It was customary with the Hebrew kings to proclaim fasts in perilous circumstances, either in a city, a district, or throughout the entire kingdom, according to the greatness of the emergency. On this occasion, it was a universal fast, which extended to infants (Ch2 20:13; see also Joe 2:15-16; Jon 3:7).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. set himself to seek the Lord] Render, set…
3. set himself to seek the Lord] Render, set his face to seek unto the LORD.
proclaimed a fast] A fast involved the assembling of the people; 1Ki_21:9; 1Ki_21:12; Jer_36:6; Jer_36:9; Joe_2:15. Special fasts were proclaimed for war, famine, or any other calamity or serious event.
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 (3) And Jehoshaphat.—And he was afraid (scil., at the…
(3) And Jehoshaphat.—And he was afraid (scil., at the news). And Jehoshaphat set his face, &c. Literally, put his face—a phrase used in Dan_9:3 (comp. 2Ki_12:18), and implying resolved, determined.
To seek the Lord.—The Hebrew construction is that of 2Ch_15:13 (le is here a sign of the accusative).
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Proclaimed a fast.—An act of national self-humiliation, implying an admission of guilt, and intended to evoke the Divine pity and succour. (Comp. Jdg_20:26; Joe_2:12-17; 1Sa_7:6; Ezr_8:21.)
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 Proclaimed a fast. This is the first recorded occasion…
Proclaimed a fast. This is the first recorded occasion of a general fast by royal proclamation, and of individual fasting it is remarkable that there is no record before the time and the act of Moses (as e.g. ; Exo_34:28) after which, for individual fasting, come occasions like those of David (2Sa_12:16) and Elijah; (1Ki_19:8) for general fasting, occasions like those of Jos_7:6; Jud_1:20:26; 1Sa_7:6; and for partial fasting, by semi-royal authority, that "proclaimed" by Jezebel. (1Ki_21:9, 1Ki_21:12)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
2Ch_20:3
And proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
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Objections to fasting answered
(on the occasion of a public fast):--A fast may be defined to be a voluntary abstinence from food, as a token of our humiliation before God. Objections--
1. There may be this outward mark of repentance without any real sorrow for sin. Answer--The outward expression then becomes a mockery.
2. A public fast has the appearance of ostentation. Answer--If you alone were to keep the fast, it might aver the appearance of ostentation, but in the case of public fasting, it becomes a duty not only really to fast, but to show openly your compliance with a prescribed service, and gladly to embrace the opportunity of humbling yourselves before God.
3. If we feel repentance in our hearts, God, who sees our hearts, does not require to be informed of it by any external expression. Answer--The same may be said of prayer and also of all the means of grace which God has appointed.
4. Why should fasting in particular be selected as an external mark of humiliation. Answer--
(1) Fasting has always been the public token of humility, and this in heathen nations as well as amongst Jews and Christians.
(2) It was enjoined of God upon the Jews.
(3) It was practised by our Saviour and His disciples; and recommended by them to the world.
(4) It has all the qualities that might reasonably be expected in an external act of humiliation.
(a) It is a duty easily practised.
(b) Requiring no apparatus.
(c) Connected with no expense.
(d) Simple in its own nature.
(e) Equally adapted to all ranks, climates, and places.
(f) It involves an act of self-denial.
(g) It is an act connected with the mortification of those very appetites whence many of the sins for which we thus humble ourselves proceed.
5. Fasting may disorder a person of weak health, and thus indispose him even for the service of the day. Answer--The spirit of the Christian system, insists only on the principle, and leaves the application of it to the case and conscience of the worshipper.
6. A public command to fast is a species of compulsion, and therefore inconsistent with the notion of a voluntary act of humiliation. Answer--All that is done by the command of the Government is, to render that convenient which might otherwise be very inconvenient, and that practicable which might be otherwise impracticable.
7. It is unreasonable to expect the poor to give up a days labour, and to abridge their diet who scarcely ever enjoy a full meal. Answer--It is a voluntary sacrifice: God enjoins no man to make it who is unwilling. No man will really be a loser by serving God. (J. Venn, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 set himself to seek
set himself to seek
This is an idiom. AT: "determined himself to seek" or "devoted himself to seek" (See: Idiom)
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to seek Yahweh
This speaks of seeking Yahweh's advice as if he were looking for Yahweh. AT: "to seek Yahweh's advice" (See: Metonymy)
He proclaimed a fast
The word "fast" can be expressed as a verb. AT: "He proclaimed that all the people should fast" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Judah gathered
This refers to the people of Judah. AT: "The people of Judah gathered" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
fear
Yahweh
preach
fast
Judah
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 20:3-12 Jehoshaphat responded to the news of war with…
20:3-12 Jehoshaphat responded to the news of war with neighboring nations with a prayer of lament, keeping with the ideals of Solomon’s prayer (6:24-40).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.